LED question

Hey everyone! I have been reading the forum for months now, and finally have a question I can't find the answer to. Maybe someone could help.

I have done the instrument cluster back light change, and have gone to blue. Looks great! I do want to change the LED underneath the power window switch. I tried a 3.7 volt LED from Radio Shack (it was all they had in blue), and I think I blew it. What LED can I use to replace the stock orange LED?

 

Maybe I'm speaking out of turn, but I have lots of electronic engineering experience.

LEDs are current devices. You need to limit the current going through the LED or it burns out. In order to tell you the exact range of resistors, I'd need to know the spec on the LED. Maybe the stock LED has a built in current limiter or you installed yours backwards.

Make sure the cathode of the LED (the flat side) goes to ground.

However, most LEDs are good for 100mA, give or take. So try 100 to 300 ohm 1 watt. The lower the resistor the brighter the LED. Personally, I hate a bright dash light. Two LEDs in series would give 2x the light at the same current, but you'd go for a lower resistor.

LEDs & resistors are cheap, so experiment.