[Mgs] LED instrument lights

[PaulHunt73]

Because the LEDs take so little current they need a dimmer that inserts a higher resistance in the circuit to shunt enough voltage away from the LEDs to dim them.  They should dim, I have a couple of incandescents still in circuit on both my cars and the LEDs dim to some extent, but not as much as all incandescents.

Normally dimmers are just a series resistance, i.e. two wires, and you connect it between the supply and the lamps i.e. in the same place the factory dimmer is.

The factory dimmer should still turn the lights off altogether (both mine do) , so an alternative is to connect a parallel resistance with the lights to boost the current (1.5 amps is neither here nor there in the total load on the alternator), so that the factory dimmer works.  In theory - based on the relative currents - a 15 ohm 10 watt resistor should boost the load to that of the original four 2.2w bulbs.  But as the voltage/illumination characteristics are different as well there may still be a difference.

PaulH. 
  ----- Original Message ----- 


  Although the bulbs are advertised as “dim-able” in my experience they are either on or off — full brightness or not visible. It could very well be that a electronic dimmer is required, and they don't “dim” with the old-fashioned rheostat.


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