So about 4 years back I replaced my dash (instrument panel) lights with LED's hoping to never having to change them ever again...i was wrong, after maybe only 2 years with the LED's they started going out and now finally its to the point where I have to change them again.

At first I blamed it on cheap LED's I bought from EBAY; however, at that time I ordered 10 LED's, 8 went behind the dash and the other two went in my corners next to my headlights. ALL but ONE of the dash lights are out but both corner lights are fine.

I was always under the impression that it would take forever for LED's to burn out, except that these LED's went faster then the incandescent's that were originally behind the dash.

I am wondering is there anything else at all that this could be? Could they have shaken loose? A fuse somewhere? I just need suggestions before I order new LED's and then find the ones I have work and something else is the problem. I am thinking about going out to pull the panel and check before I order anyways, but I don't really want to.

Thanks guys.

 

are you useing just straight leds are the plug and play led bulbs??

 

I have about 6 years on my plug and plays. 3 of them like to to flicker from half bright to full, or just go black.

Annoying but they still work.

 

They were plug and plays but I am pretty sure they are not made specifically for 12v, I think that is the reason check out this thread.Help with LED lighting in my vehicle - Glock Talk

For anyone else looking at doing this I would recommend buying LED's with internal resistors for 12v applications, I just ordered new ones from SUPER BRIGHT LEDS home

 

Thanks for your input guys

 

i just got some leds and resistors and went to town sodering em in. they work great havent had any problems yet. you shouldent have any problems out of the ones from superbrightleds.com they carry pretty good stuff

 

LED Plug-ins have an LED and a Resistor and they do like to breath, I mean not get too hot, and inside the dash it does get warmer than on the side of the vehicle.
The resistor is mostly the culprit but connections do vibrate loose, check the connections for all of the LED Plug-ins and plug the cluster back in and see if it helps.
Not sure but maybe you can take the Plug-ins apart and check the resistors, probably just a chip and subject to overheating.
Maybe you can check the LED outside the dash, clean it up and see what happens; worth a shot.

One more thing, voltage needs to be constant, LED have a very small working range and they need to stay in that range or they will go out. LEDs can dim some but again not much and not as much as an incandescent bulb.

Now the question arises, what about colored HD194s to light the dash.
Someone on this site posted some red bulbs but i do not know how things turned out.