Piranha / Superflux LEDs
Piranha LEDs (also called superflux LEDs) are high-brightness, wide-angle through-hole emitters with a distinctive square body and four leads arranged in a 2×2 grid. This four-pin design sets piranha LEDs apart from conventional round DIP LEDs: four leads provide superior mechanical stability on a PCB, much better thermal conductivity (heat dissipates through all four leads instead of two), and a wider, more uniform light distribution pattern. The result is an LED that sits flat, grips the board firmly, and throws light over a wide angle — typically 100–140° depending on the package variant. We stock piranha LEDs in three subcategories: 3mm piranha, 5mm piranha, and flat piranha — each available in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, white (warm and cool), pink, UV, and RGB (common anode and common cathode).
Automotive gauge cluster repair is the single largest use case for piranha LEDs. When the factory incandescent bulbs behind an instrument cluster burn out or dim with age, technicians and enthusiasts replace them with piranha LEDs for brighter, longer-lasting illumination that draws a fraction of the power. The wide viewing angle floods the cluster face evenly, and the four-lead footprint sits stable on the cluster’s PCB pads. GM, Ford, Toyota, Honda, and aftermarket cluster rebuilders all use piranha LEDs for speedometer, tachometer, fuel gauge, and temperature gauge backlighting. HVAC control panels, radio displays, and seat heater buttons in the dashboard also use piranha-style backlighting. Beyond automotive, piranha LEDs appear in illuminated signage, channel letter lighting, architectural panel indicators, point-of-sale displays, and any application where you need wide-angle, high-brightness output from a through-hole LED that mechanically locks to the board.
The three piranha form factors serve different brightness and profile requirements. 3mm piranha LEDs have the smallest lens dome, producing a slightly tighter beam pattern and fitting applications where board space or height is constrained. They are popular for cluster rebuilds where the factory LED cavity is shallow. 5mm piranha LEDs have a larger lens that captures more light from the die and produces higher brightness readings (typically 8,000–12,000mcd depending on color). The 5mm is the most popular piranha size — it fits the majority of automotive and signage applications. Flat piranha LEDs eliminate the lens dome entirely, creating an ultra-low-profile package that sits nearly flush with the PCB surface. Flat piranhas produce the widest beam angle (up to 140°) and are the best choice when vertical clearance is limited — inside thin gauge cluster housings, behind control panel overlays, or in slim-profile signage channels.
Electrical specifications for piranha LEDs follow standard LED conventions. Forward voltage ranges by color: red, orange, yellow, and amber LEDs typically require 2.0–2.2Vf; blue, green, white, UV, and pink LEDs require 3.0–3.4Vf. Maximum drive current is 20mA for standard single-color piranhas. RGB piranha LEDs have four leads — one common (anode or cathode) plus three individual color leads — and require a separate current-limiting resistor on each color channel. Use our LED resistor calculator to find the correct resistor value for your supply voltage. The piranha’s square body has a small notch or flat on one corner to indicate polarity — check the product page for the pinout diagram specific to each model.
Piranha vs. standard DIP LEDs: the key advantages of piranha LEDs over conventional 3mm or 5mm round LEDs are mechanical stability (four leads vs. two), thermal dissipation (four solder points spread heat better), wider default beam angle (100–140° vs. 15–30° for a clear-top round LED), and a compact square footprint that tiles neatly in arrays. The trade-off is that piranhas are slightly more expensive per unit and require a four-hole footprint on the PCB instead of two. If your application uses a breadboard, LED holder, or panel-mount bezel, standard round DIP LEDs are the better fit. If you are soldering directly to a PCB and need wide, even illumination, piranhas are superior.
If your power source is 12V automotive, piranha LEDs still need a current-limiting resistor in series. For gauge cluster rebuilds running on 12–14V DC from the vehicle’s electrical system, use our LED resistor calculator to determine the correct resistor value based on the LED’s forward voltage. If your power source is AC or DCC track voltage, add a bridge rectifier and smoothing capacitor to convert to clean DC first — see the AC/DCC wiring guide. If you want to skip resistor calculations entirely, our 12V built-in resistor LEDs connect directly to any 12V DC source with no external components needed. New to LEDs? Our pre-wired LEDs ship with the resistor already attached — just connect power and ground.
KiCad footprint: if you are designing a custom PCB for piranha LEDs, we provide a free KiCad library with a custom 7.6mm × 7.6mm footprint, schematic symbol, and reference layout. The download link is on each piranha product page under the EDA / CAD Files section. The footprint uses the standard 2.54mm pin pitch for the four-lead square grid and includes courtyard, fabrication, and silkscreen layers.