dashboard lights !!!

[gabi]

well... i thought my dashboard light runs on a little bulb or two, but i just found that it has 22 bulbs, of which 8 are running constantly when the headlights are on.
this are around 4 Watt bulbs, times 8 around 30 watts
that means the alternator has to produce over 60 something Wats..... well.. thats almost a 10'th of a horsepower... just for the dashboard lights???
i know they are dimable,but still..

my solution;
i instaled a garden solar light on the top of the dashboard, and i wired the bulb right in front of the panel ,which gives me enough light to see all the indicators

[Christ]

Not a bad idea, and cheap/easy, too.

I use garden lights in my house because I leave so early in the morning, rather not turn a light on.

[Joenavy85]

60 Watts/12 Volts = 5 Amps

not sure what size alternator your vehicle has, but this is likely a low % of the output. though i will use my saying here of "a lot of rain drops make a puddle". very small effect on fuel consumption, not likely you'd even be able to calculate it from what i can tell. But i will say, that's a lot of watts just to light up the tiny area, i'm about to put a couple LED rings into my dash to light up the cluster

[akumabito]

Couldn't you just replace the bulbs with LED lights? You could light up your dash like a christmas tree and only use a few Watts worth of power..

[Christ]

Yup, but you would have to take apart your dash then, buy pre built LED assemblies, or build your own, then install them. some people can't or won't do all those things for various reasons.

[Joenavy85]

i did it on my Jeep, solely to eliminate having to replace them all the time. i replaced all my bulbs except the headlights, fog lights and turn signals with LEDs. it cost about $110 total, but that is only about 50% more than what i had already spent replacing the tail light bulbs when they burnt out. it will take some time, but they will pay for them selves.

[Christ]

You spent $75 to replace tail light bulbs?

[gabi]

Originally Posted by Joenavy85

i did it on my Jeep, solely to eliminate having to replace them all the time. i replaced all my bulbs except the headlights, fog lights and turn signals with LEDs. it cost about $110 total, but that is only about 50% more than what i had already spent replacing the tail light bulbs when they burnt out. it will take some time, but they will pay for them selves.

same here,
i replaced them all exept headlights
i ordered a set of HID's though, 35 watt , versus 55 watt original headlight bulbs
..it all adds up

[Joenavy85]

Originally Posted by Christ

You spent $75 to replace tail light bulbs?

i had gone through over 20 tail light/back-up lights in my first 3 years owning my jeep. i wired all the rear lights through 12v voltage regulators (about $1.25ea) to keep voltage constant.

[dennyt]

Originally Posted by gabi

i ordered a set of HID's

Ddi you get new projectors, too? If you install the HID bulb kits into halogen reflectors, you will be Mr. Glare. Prepare to be high-beamed endlessly.