Here is what I did;

1) Went to Superbright LED's.com and purchased said LED's recommended above. Those being 194 4LED wedge bulbs. That is a DIRECT QUOTE from his post above.

Here is a picture of those 194 4LED wedge bulbs;


I got mine exactly as in the picture, in white.

2) Took out my instrument cluster
3) Removed the plastic cover that protects the back of the cluster and the bulbs "twist lock" connectors.
4) Removed the 6 (six) 194 bulbs with their "twist lock" connectors.

Right away I knew I was gonna have to do some "jerry rigging" to get them to work as the LED's I purchased above DID NOT COME AS A "TWIST LOCK" STYLE bulb base.

5) Thankfully CMNT having thousands of bulbs lying around in his light bulb drawer found 6 194 "TWIST LOCK" style base bulbs to be donors. They are identical to the ones I took out of my instrument cluster right down to the manufacturer..."Wagner".

6) CMNT then disassembled those donor bulbs removing the bulb itself from the "Twist Lock" connecter base.

7) CMNT then assembled the 194 4LED wedge bulbs he bought from SuperbrightLEDs.com. He did this by twisting down the little leads so that they fit through the bases of the "Twist lock" connectors. Once the 194 4LED wedge bulbs were firmly seated in the "Twist Lock" connector, I bent each electrical lead back over the "twist lock" connectors electrical contact and then soldered them to further secure them.

8) Per SuperbrightLED's website, these bulbs will only come on when installed the right polarity. So in order to verify this, I inserted all 6 194 4LED wedge bulbs NOW in their "twist lock" connectors into the circuit board of my instrument cluster. In order to see which ones lit and which ones didn't, I essentialy ended up disassembling my entire cluster so that just the circuit board dangles with 194 4LED wedge bulbs in their "Twist Lock" connecters installed, plugged it into the electrical connector, turned on the lights and sure enough, some did not light. Simply removing them and turning them around solved the polarity problem and another test by turning on the lights, they ALL CAME ON. They WERE brighter than all hell and damnation. I was excited. I then tested my solder connections by wiggling the bulbs in place while on to see if they'd flicker. None did.

9) At this point I completely REASSEMBLED my entire instrument cluster by installing the circuit board, gauge overlay, all plastic housings and put it back in place, turned the lights on and was highly dissappointed.

I'm not dissappointed in the lighting being blue. After all, the color on the gauge cluster backing is blue for Chevy's. It however was not bright at all. It was about the same as that in your picture. It was brighter slightly in spots where the 194 4LED wedge bulbs in the "Twist Lock" was right behind the gauge it was lighting. I drove around in some dark areas of town to make sure it was not just my optically challenged self. But it was not my eyes.

I got home, removed the cluster again, removed that plastic cover, removed the 194 4LED wedge bulbs in their "Twist Lock" connectors and re-installed the 194 "Twist Lock" clear incandescant bulbs I originally took out, replaced the cover, re-installed the cluster and turned the lights on again.

Night and Day difference. The stock bulbs were twice as bright and were WHITE...the color I really wanted. Lighting was consistent throughout the gauges with no place being brighter where there was a bulb directly behind it.

Please tell me where I did something wrong? I'm a person that is pretty darn thorough in everything I do and tested it several times. Many here who know me personally will tell you how **** retentive I am with perfection. As I said, when they were on without the cluster overlay, they were brighter than all shiznit. It's just when I placed the gauge overlay over them, that brightness just did not follow through.

I honestly forgot last night to upload pictures but I have them and you can see the night and day difference. And they aren't close ups. They are from a distance where you can really determine brightness.

 

Ok, after taking a look at your picture you're getting the same results I did.

- On the tachometer, look between numbers 1 & 2. Note they are a tad bit brighter there than throughout the rest of the tachometer.

- On the speedometer, look at the 15-20mph area and then the 75-80mph area. Once again, they are brighter than the rest of the speedo.

- On the voltage gauge, look at the first 1/4 hash mark to 14. Once again brighter than the rest.

- The temp gauge is brighter than the other three around it in general.

My needles are still orange, whereas I think you have a Denali cluster with white needles, so I can't compare that.

The reason for this brightness in the certain areas I mentioned is because the 194 4LED wedge bulbs are RIGHT behind the gauge overlay there.

Mine were about the same brightness as yours, but the problem is, when I'm driving, I don't have my head stuck through the steering wheel an inch away from the cluster.

 

Its not the denali cluster...its the sierra cluster, the orange on the needles were scraped off..
Unless you're senile, you don't need to put your head through the steering wheel. It looks fine to me. Yea, it may be a little dimmer than the stock brightness, but to me its easier on the eyes.
Like you said, you didn't like it so you put it back to stock....good for you...

 

Well, here are the pics. You can chose/determine (as can others) which looks brighter. The camera I used is an old Sony Mavica FD-88. I DID NOT change any settings between taking these pics. It was set for a dark+ setting with no flash, 0ev and auto white balance.

So make your decisions on your own. My eyes don't deceive me...stock is much brighter.

Pictures taken from back in a normal driving position
LED #1


Stock Bulb #1


Pictures taken with the camera resting on the steering wheel aimed at the tachometer and speedo

LED #2


Stock Bulb #2


You be the judge.

 

Now the pics aren't working. They worked when I previewed them before I posted.

Anyway, if you cannot view them, go to http://community.webshots.com/user/cmntmxr81

 

First of all, I don't know why you're complaining on this thread about the gauge cluster LEDs. We aren't selling those.
Second, you can't compare yours to MacADaYear's. The hot spots on yours are really bad. The 98 and older trucks have that problem. Not the 99-02...
Sorry yours didn't turn out good.
MacADaYear's look

 

I wasn't complaining about people buying them simply stating I did and it didn't work so that others can make an educated decision whether to do it or not. Is that not what this website is for? To exchange information. I've exchanged and proven that when I did it, it didn't work. Someone else may take that as food for thought.

And my truck IS a 2002, not a 98 or older.

 

You probaly didnt have all the bulbs in.

Mine is really bright and looks trick

 

LOL.. ah memories.. hahaha

 

Can't see any pics Mac.
Can you email them to rjrigby@hotmail.com? Thanks!