Sorry, dying or painting LEDs doesn't help.  LEDs emit a very narrow band
of color, and anything you put over it will simply make it dimmer -- maybe
*much* dimmer.  The color of an LED lens is simply to make it look that
color when it's not lit, it can't alter the color of the lighted LED in any
way.

There are a couple or three basic ways to make that LED brighter -- 1) use
a brighter LED; 2) increase the gain of the amplifier; 3) combine 1 and 2;
4) install a thermocouple with greater output.  I'm not sure yet, but I
have a notion that some people's thermocouples are putting out more than
others -- some folks have a display that's just as dim^H^H^Hbright as the
other lights in the panel.

The brighter LED is falling-off-a-log easy except for desoldering the old
one -- it's electronic soldering, but at the easy end of the scale.

If you want to work with the amplifier, here's the schematic:
http://pws.prserv.net/synergy/Vanagon/Pilotmod_schematic.gif

If you want me to modify the panel for you we can work something out.

david

At 08:12 6/10/2000, Joe L. wrote:
>clothing die. I know this last works for tinting some plastics as I used to
>do it to simulate tinted windows on model cars I used to build. If these
>sound worth a try I would try the thin paint wash first. If you dont like
>what the paint does you can wash it off.  Because the die works as a stain
>and not a paint, depending on what kind of plastic the LED is made from,
>that die will either go on forever or it wont go on at all. Also note that
>the color you end up with will be a MIXTURE of the LED color and the die
>color. Color 1 plus color 2 makes color 3. Apply the wrong color die and you
>may end up with a black LED.

David Beierl - Providence, RI
  http://pws.prserv.net/synergy/Vanagon/
'84 Westy "Dutiful Passage"
'85 GL "Poor Relation"