instrument cluster led problem

Discussion in 'Electrical' started by AGreager18, Dec 23, 2012.

  1. AGreager18

    AGreager18 Member

    I replaced all the lights in my cluster with bugman leds back in April. By June one led slowly blinked out, then another by August. This really didn't bother me untill now when my other speedo light went out just today. So 8 months later and I only have my tach lit up. Any ideas to what is causing them to flash like crazy and go out one by one over the past months
     
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  3. OP
    AGreager18

    AGreager18 Member

    Also my door ajar light comes on with vibraton along with the dome and chime, tried spraying the latch still nothing, could it be a short in that sensor which could be the reason my gauges are goin out???
     
  4. mcdonald58

    mcdonald58 New Member

    do they come back on after they go out? with one of mine it will go out or dim but then come back to normal i asked buggman and he said that one of the contacts on my leds isnt on all the way. but im not going to take apart my whole dash for one led. i would send him a pm.
     
  5. OP
    AGreager18

    AGreager18 Member

    When they each went out they flash for bout 2 weeks then go out for good. Every once in awhile one may blink on for a second
     
  6. klinger86

    klinger86 Moderator

    i would tear it back apart and make sure they are all plugged in sometimes they like to shimmy themseelves out of the holder....
     
  7. buggman

    buggman Do not touch the trim!

    That's kinda odd, but I'm leaning towards the contacts in the sockets.
    There's not much room inside there & the wires have to align almost perfectly.
    Even with normal driving it might be possible for them to wiggle their way out of alignment.

    I've also seen where the actual bulb socket contacts weren't making perfect contact with the back of the cluster, causing led's & even regular bulbs to blink or go out even when the led or bulb was still good.

    You can use some 400+ grit sandpaper to clean off the contacts on the bulb holders & on the cluster & even bend the contacts on the holders down a hair to make sure they're getting the best contact possible.

    They're usually super reliable & should last for thousands of hours of use, but sometimes they can have an issue & crap out prematurely :thumbdown:

    Let me know how if the cleaning or re-aligning helps & then we can go from there.
     
  8. SalRanger2

    SalRanger2 Ranger Lover

    would the cold have any effect on the LEDs?
     
  9. Scrambler82

    Scrambler82 Old Guy User

    No, maybe if it got really cold but typical temp swings shouldn't bother them.

    Chk the sockets, and you might chk each bulb outside of the dash.
     
  10. SalRanger2

    SalRanger2 Ranger Lover

    oh ok, thanks. yea i was just curious, they seem to flicker or a few be dim when its cold (like 10-20 degrees) but im sure it could be coincidence and more a socket/connection issue.
     
  11. Hooligan

    Hooligan Rangerholic!!

    Try this. Sometimes they are hard to snap in so that may be the problem. I know I've used pliers to make sure they were twisted in there tight. As far as the door goes, try lithium grease on all the latches and work it in.
     
  12. OP
    AGreager18

    AGreager18 Member

    I didn't get a chance to tear it apart yet. Way to cold. So for now I'm using a battery operated led dash light. The door on the other hand is a no go. I've been spraying it a lot for over the past year and it still dosent work. Think I may need a whole new latch assembly.
     

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