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Post by jkdv8 on Oct 17, 2014 18:40:12 GMT -5
Ok so I picked up an instrument cluster. Thought I had all the bases covered however, it is for a 4x2. More concerned with the tach being different (3.0=6K, 3.5=6250K) than it being 2 or 4 wheel. Figured it would just be a matter of popping some bulbs in but to my dismay even if the bulbs work the light doesn't shine through. It has the indicator printed on the back side of the face but no light passes through. Makes no sense. So back to the drawing board. Brainstorming to see if I can cut out the indicator lenses I need neatly and swap them (they are plastic.) Most of it would be hidden behind the black trim piece anyways. Was just going to cut a lil slit in the speedo so can I slip the face over the needle then it's just a matter of the A/T temp light and the green 4x4 indicator. Would try to pop the needles off but the speedo looks like a very delicate instrument. If anyone has done this before with tips it would be appreciated.
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Post by jkdv8 on Oct 20, 2014 19:53:57 GMT -5
Well preliminary test went ok. I ended up just removing the faces and transferring them over. As for the indicator/idiot lights I just sanded down the backside of the indicator section for the tach and temp side til I could see through it. As of now the indicator/idiot lights appear as they have a tint. The after picture isn't as good so that's part of it. I was gonna find some bright leds to stick in there and see if it helps and if not I'll just cut the black ones off(for the back lighting.) Backlighting is kind of a greenish orange color as well which is the first agenda. I did however get carried away with grinding on the fuel gauge. Also made a cut from the center hole to the screws on the mph and tach which wasn't really necessary. Didn't notice til after the fact that the needles are different between the two. Also need to back the screws off some. All in all still looks better than the dull black. Sorry large pics, they are the only ones I could get to go this time. Does show the detail a little better   |
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Post by chrisho on Oct 20, 2014 20:11:33 GMT -5
Well preliminary test went ok. I ended up just removing the faces and transferring them over. As for the indicator/idiot lights I just sanded down the backside of the indicator section for the tach and temp side til I could see through it. As of now the indicator/idiot lights appear as they have a tint. The after picture isn't as good so that's part of it. I was gonna find some bright leds to stick in there and see if it helps and if not I'll just cut the black ones off(for the back lighting.) Backlighting is kind of a greenish orange color as well which is the first agenda. I did however get carried away with grinding on the fuel gauge. Also made a cut from the center hole to the screws on the mph and tach which wasn't really necessary. Didn't notice til after the fact that the needles are different between the two. Also need to back the screws off some. All in all still looks better than the dull black. Sorry large pics, they are the only ones I could get to go this time. Does show the detail a little better Wow! looks great! |
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Post by jkdv8 on Oct 21, 2014 18:51:23 GMT -5
Thanks man. I appreciate it. Looks as if I am going to have to put some brighter led's in. The speedo was getting hung up so had to take it back out and went ahead and cut the black ones off. Still not as bright as I would like. Also to much white at the base of the needles.  |
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Post by youngblood on Oct 22, 2014 7:54:06 GMT -5
I have read your post on the gauges and mine seem to be very low on illumination. all my bulbs are new, could the rheostat dimmer be causing the low illumination in the dash? my temperature, fan and floor directional to the right of my dash seem fine for illumination just the instrument cluster seems weak on illumination?
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Post by jkdv8 on Oct 22, 2014 20:22:11 GMT -5
That is quite possible. Although before they seemed pretty bright. They are the old bulbs though. I should of rephrased that statement. It's seems they just need more light to go through the blue tint rather than the white. Thinking about doing the gauges with blue LEDs and put some bright white ones behind the idiot lights. Have to check the bulb sizes and I will list them. Smaller ones look the same as the ashtray light I think. 74 something?!? Not sure on that yet. 25 of those depending on model and 4 of the bigger ones.
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Post by chrisho on Oct 22, 2014 21:44:23 GMT -5
That is quite possible. Although before they seemed pretty bright. They are the old bulbs though. I should of rephrased that statement. It's seems they just need more light to go through the blue tint rather than the white. Thinking about doing the gauges with blue LEDs and put some bright white ones behind the idiot lights. Have to check the bulb sizes and I will list them. Smaller ones look the same as the ashtray light I think. 74 something?!? Not sure on that yet. 25 of those depending on model and 4 of the bigger ones. Let me know what you find out. I just found out I need to replace some of my bulbs. Thanks! |
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Post by jkdv8 on Oct 23, 2014 21:25:24 GMT -5
I ordered some 194 led's for the backlighting. They say they're a little longer than stock bulbs. Hopefully they'll fit in the base. There looks to be enough room for clearance. The cheapest 74 leds I could find were $3-4 a piece. That adds up just doing the indicator lights. Some of the superbrightleds.com bulbs do come with bases however. If these fit I will let you know.
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Post by chrisho on Oct 23, 2014 22:44:21 GMT -5
I ordered some 194 led's for the backlighting. They say they're a little longer than stock bulbs. Hopefully they'll fit in the base. There looks to be enough room for clearance. The cheapest 74 leds I could find were $3-4 a piece. That adds up just doing the indicator lights. Some of the superbrightleds.com bulbs do come with bases however. If these fit I will let you know. Great deal! Thanks! |
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Post by jkdv8 on Oct 27, 2014 18:35:00 GMT -5
Ok. Well they're blue. Camera doesn't really capture the colors very well. They do look kinda purple on the lowest setting but with the brightest they're very blue. For you guys wanting a more stock look I would go with the white ones. I was kinda hoping I could file the orange off of the needles but decided against that. They are very delicate.   |
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Post by youngblood on Oct 27, 2014 19:31:49 GMT -5
Looks darn good, nice work!
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Post by jkdv8 on Oct 28, 2014 9:41:08 GMT -5
Thanks man. I did fail to mention the bulbs are from autolumination.com although superbrightleds.com has the same for the same price. I do think the superbrights are the same length as factory bulbs. $4.99 a piece, 194 SMT towers, select your color. They also have an 8k white that might act more like the factory bulb with the blue cover. It's in between the blue I got and the pure white.
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Post by mrgalantguy on Nov 26, 2014 12:26:26 GMT -5
What did you do to remove and reinstall the needles? Its been awhile I did something like this on my old Galant in which I had to spin my tach needle a full 360 pull a little more before I pushed it full down so it can rest on the stopper on my Galant.
I bought some Super White SMD LED's to replace my gauges cluster lights but looking to do the white face swap, but debating if I should.
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Post by jkdv8 on Nov 26, 2014 22:18:24 GMT -5
I didn't remove the needles. I practiced on the donor cluster and broke all but one. They're just really fragile. They're also different between the different clusters. Also like you mentioned if the stopper tab is removed they will wind back. Couldn't tell you how far. I just cut the hole bigger and slipped them over the needles. Basically I did the eBay style white gauges but used factory faces.
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