13 replies to this topic

[RossKnight]

I have a center speedo that I'm going to be putting in my 92 city, which had the 2 clock jobby before. I have a center speedo, but no wiring for it at all, and no bulb holders.

 

I've decided I'm going to put in LED bulbs, but I need to find some holders that will work with the center speedo, and also hold LED bulbs, can anyone help me out?

 

 

Another side note, do I need a voltage stabilizer on it? There is a bracket on the side of the clock, but nothing attached to it.. Where can I get one if so?

 

 

Thanks

 

[leaky]

Just get the centre clock conversion loom from mini spares. That has the bulb holders then you just need the 501 bulbs to go in. No idea about the other bit though.

[RossKnight]

I don't fancy paying £33 plus postage on a wiring loom I can make myself haha.

 

Found these which are cheap, no idea if they'll fit in the holder though, i'll buy one and test it

 

Edited by RossKnight, 10 March 2014 - 10:57 PM.

[Gremlin]

Once you found some bulb holders, the wiring wont be difficult, you'll need a voltage regulator which I believe you can get from Minispares, you put a feed in and you get a set voltage out, think it's about 9V, then you put that on your gauges and the other side of the gauge off to the senders which then earth out

[Dan]

LEDs won't work for the single common indicator repeater or no-charge light and will stop the alternator working. They can be made to work for both but you will need extra components.

[RossKnight]

LEDs won't work for the single common indicator repeater or no-charge light and will stop the alternator working. They can be made to work for both but you will need extra components.

 

I'll probably just use LEDs for the illumination, and normal bulbs for the rest. I read about the alternator thing, can you just explain it to me? Is it because the LEDs will be taking more power?

[bikewiz]

I agree the indicator won't work properly because of the low resistance of the LED bulb so you would need an electronic flasher or an inline resistor, but as far as the no charge light it shouldn't make a difference what bulb you use the resistance of the bulb shouldn't affect the circuit it may glow at lower differences but that should be all. I've had an LED in mine for over a year with no change in the charging system.

You can read KernowCoopers write up on how the circuit works here;

http://www.theminifo...g-how-it-works/

[Dan]

That's not what I meant about the indicators. The centre speedo uses a single repeater common to both sides, it gets its ground through whichever side of the circuit isn't in use at the time and so current flows through it both ways. An LED only works in one direction and fails if reversed. So it will only work for one side and may allow all the lights on the car to light at once as for the hazards because it uses so little power. You can get bi-directional LED bulbs which would work but a regular one won't.

Most, and actually I thought all apart from possibly the MPi one, alternators used in Minis need to see a load of 2.2 watts on the warning lamp terminal. The resistance in the warning circuit has to be of the designed amount so that the voltage the alternator sees on the terminal is right. Some alternators just switch on based on the warning circuit but the Lucas ones in Minis actually sense the voltage on it.

[RossKnight]

So normal bulbs all round except the two for the backlit illumination it is then, thanks :)

 

Quick question, what are the two amber lights on the speedo for? Is the green one at the top indicators?

[bikewiz]

That's not what I meant about the indicators. The centre speedo uses a single repeater common to both sides, it gets its ground through whichever side of the circuit isn't in use at the time and so current flows through it both ways. An LED only works in one direction and fails if reversed. So it will only work for one side and may allow all the lights on the car to light at once as for the hazards because it uses so little power. You can get bi-directional LED bulbs which would work but a regular one won't.

Most, and actually I thought all apart from possibly the MPi one, alternators used in Minis need to see a load of 2.2 watts on the warning lamp terminal. The resistance in the warning circuit has to be of the designed amount so that the voltage the alternator sees on the terminal is right. Some alternators just switch on based on the warning circuit but the Lucas ones in Minis actually sense the voltage on it.

OK I was unaware of the single bulb circuit in the center speedo. I was a bit confused based on the age of the car. I stand corrected.

 

However I still don't think the resistance/wattage of the bulb in the warning circuit matters. Based on what you're saying if the bulb burns out the charging system won't work because you have no load. Am I missing something? They designed the charging circuit to fail from a blown 2.2 watt bulb? So playing devils advocate if I remove the bulb the alternator won't charge the battery or run the system? I may try it to see what happens, purely out of curiosity.

[Dan]

The centre speedo came with different numbers and colours of lamps depending on what car it was being fitted to but all the replacements available now seem to have the same set. Originally the ones with two amber lamps used one for low oil pressure and the other for oil filter blockage, detected by a differential pressure switch in the filter head. The green is the common indicator, blue for main beam and red for charge warning.

Yes it is the case that if the ignition / no charge warning fails the alternator cannot start. You are supposed to notice if the lamp doesn't light when you turn the key and find out why. This is common to just about all cars.

[wwwardle]

So would putting in a LED light cause the fuel gauge to malfuction?

[Dan]

No.

[Udo]

Ive done this modification and to get round the indicators simply swapped the two amber and one green lens for two green and one amber for oil pressure. I had a spare speedo and simply dismantled it for the parts. I didnt bother with the charge warning light and just put a standard bulb in, not worth the hassle of messing around.