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LED gauge bulb replacement

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31K views 18 replies 14 participants last post by  that0neguy  
#1 · (Edited)
So at the request of a couple of you guys, this is how you replace the gauge cluster bulbs in your bike
1. Remove fairings use kkim's DIY thread http://www.kawiforums.com/ninja-250r/110849-lets-get-nekkid.html

2. To remove the front cowl begin by pushing in the black circular rivets at the bottom of the cowl using a small Flathead or a pen.

3. Next remove the bottom two screws that hold the windshield on to the front cowl

4. Remove the screws that hold the cowl to the sides of the frame.

5. Now the front cowl will be able to be pulled away from the bike and you will be able to remove the headlight plugs (you can reach through the area and unplug them first if you want too)

6. Remove the bulbs from the gauge housing (The ones you need to replace are labeled in the pic). It is kind of hard to do so what I did was push the boot to one side with my fingers and then attempted to pull it out in a twisting circular motion. Or you can grab the middle of the boot with needle nose pliers and do the same but do it gently you want your fingers to take most of the work of pulling it out.

7. Next place your led bulb in the housing and test that it lights up by turning the bike to the on position. If it doesn't light then you need to flip it the other way around. I got 6000k white leds from vleds. The bike uses 194 type wedge base bulbs.
This is the bulb:2 HID 6K WHITE SMT 5 LED LIGHT BULBS 194 168 158 2821 Link may not work sometime in the future so its a 5 LED SMT bulb
EDIT: there seems to be some stuff on this latter in kkim's thread so read it
 

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#4 · (Edited)
Hasn't melted my plastic those do not get as hot as one high powered led. If you feel that way do it at your own risk:) As I said I've driven my bike over 4 hours came home ripped the bike apart and there was no melting. This isn't highly deformable plastic so its not going to melt really easily either.
 
#3 · (Edited)
These are pics of how it looks installed. As usual cameras just can't get that effect that our eyes can but It looks really good in person. It creates a nice white halo effect and the blue in the numbering has a nice cerulean blue color to it. It also helps to light the cluster more evenly than stock. Superbrightleds makes the same kind of bulb so order from them if you like them better (and you can order exactly three bulbs as opposed to 4 I just happened to have three for this luckily). I was originally going to do green to have a green halo effect but I like the white better. I think that green would do fine and wouldn't distort the coloring on the gauges to bad since green is right in the middle of the visible spectrum.

Next i am painting those gauge needles red or blue cause I'm not digging the orange.

The last pic is just to show how those rivets should look when you are ready to put them in. Push in the middle and it will click and you are all set.
 

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#8 ·
Thanks! enjoy modding your bike:D
Oh and by the way when placing the front cowl back on be sure to line up the little lips on the cowl with the radiator fairing before you start tightening things up . It can be a bit of a pain getting all three of the lips to get aligned the right way.
 
C
#11 · (Edited)
Just a note:

The LED light bulbs will not work with the turn signal light. It will cause your turn signal lights to blink slower, and the turn signal indicator light bulb will only blink when you signal one direction. For instance, if you signal right, it will turn on. But if you signal left, it won't. And the LED light bulb doesn't work very well when the oil light turns on. You're better off just leaving the incandescent bulb in for the oil indicator light. But other than that, I replaced my gauge bulbs with LED's and they look amazing! :thumbup:
 
#14 ·
caseymyhro said:
The LED light bulbs will not work with the turn signal light. It will cause your turn signal lights to blink slower, and the turn signal indicator light bulb will only blink when you signal one direction. For instance, if you signal right, it will turn on. But if you signal left, it won't. And the LED light bulb doesn't work very well when the oil light turns on. You're better off just leaving the incandescent bulb in for the oil indicator light. But other than that, I replaced my gauge bulbs with LED's and they look amazing! :thumbup:
Click to expand...
Are you sayin this MOD is better if you just replace the 3-dial Lights RPM/SPEEDO/TEMP..

and keep the rest stock light.:confused:
 
#13 ·
I did this mod today using the OPs instructions and bulb recommendations. I must admit for a semi-pointless mod, I really rather like it. Everything is a uniform bluish tint and much better looking than the OEM incandescent bulbs.

I was primarily attracted to this mod because I installed 6000K HIDs in the headlights and LED license plate bolts that are very blue as well. Now everything matches and is much better looking. I know it makes little sense, but the bike looks more expensive, a little higher end now. The cheap incandescent bulbs looked bad and the new HIDs look amazing. Not a bad $20 spent.

Thanks for the detailed instructions on what is really just another excuse to tear apart the bike and have a little fun for an hour or so.
 
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#15 ·
Has anyone got a fresh link to the best type of led's to use for the conversion.
I want to do a complete conversion, I heard there maybe an electronic item that can be installed to maintain the indicator function, any help and direction would be appreciated, just want to play whilst running in.
 
H
#18 · (Edited)
Hi fellow 250'ers,


I thought I'd start giving back to the community since many of you have already helped me out a bunch :) I wanted to post a little more info on this subject. I've just got my 2010 about 2 months ago. LED guage lights were on my list and I finally got around to doing it. I only replaced the three main ones because the others are almost never used, I will likely swap the neutral light as well. I found the process, both, super cheap and quicker than the original post. Total install time was 20 minutes and I was chillin', taki' my time and chatting to someone at the same time. I could do it again in 15 minutes. The key is, don't take off all the stuff! :)

You only need to remove this one piece:
Image


These are the bulbs I used, they are longer than a 194 but fit just fine. Super cheap, you just have to wait about 2 weeks for delivery from China:
eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices
Image


Once you remove the one panel, this is the access you have. Turn the wheel to the right to change the rights side bulbs and vice-versa for the opposite.
Image


I didn't know how the little trim pieces worked, so I thought I would add a picture for other newbies like me :) Top one is in installed position, middle one is in the "ready to install" position, and the third one is in the remove positon.
Image


And the result:
Image



Oh and one tip because there is limited room to work with. Two light sockets came out easy, the third was a b*itch. I found that if you take a flat head screwdriver and just wedge between the gauge body and the rubber boot it will pop it out a little and it comes right out.



No face change required. The problem is that 194 leds are not standardized. Different makers will use different leds and have a different color effect. You need to find ones that look good when turned on and then ask someone where they got it from. Mine is pretty blue and you can still get them at the link above.

Enjoy
 
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