red guage cluster needles how to..

[HyperTek]

So I did this with a spare cluster using a Red Sharpie marker, is this right? I didnt want to do it to the cluster in my car just incase this red marker affects light quality. But it doesnt look like it would. It looks pretty cool on the stock black face s13 cluster with red needles. I just want to know if thats the same way others have done this before I do it to the one in my car.

[twitchy]

I used a sharpie marker for the tips of the needles and some accenting

its dark at first but after a week or so it fades and looks way better

I originally put blue lights behind the cluster but they turned white before too long..I might try green this time

see attachment...now all i need is the nismo 300 kph speedo and my instrument cluster will be perfect!

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid125/p4a3243aebc80c2e9a15f91effb41e734/f8030fbf.jpg

[HyperTek]

Yah I got red bulb condoms on mine so it shines red at night, just didnt know if with the red needle trick if I wont be able to see the needles at night.

I like how you did the 3k mark in red hehehe.

[Demik]

how about those "things" (the glow needle kits) from import intelligence.. how do u install those?

[twitchy]

i think youll be safe if coloring the whole needle, only use 2 coats of marker, max and give it a little time to wear off..that pic doesnt really do it justice but you can see right through it before long.

i did the 3kRPM mark to help me save gas.. its the economy redline!

[nightwalker]

hey guys, where did you get the red bulb condoms. I've been looking for some.

[HyperTek]

I got mine at a local Speedometer shop, ran by a bunch of old fart hot rod guys hehee. Made by VDO.

[nightwalker]

hahaha, I know exactly where one of those are around here. Thanks.

[twitchy]

"speedometer shop??"

[TheTimanator]

http://www.cardomain.com/member_pages/show_image.pl?fg=000000&bg=CCCCCC&migration=1&image=http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/6/web/594000-594999/594002_14_full.jpg
guage cluster is white by day and red by night! Red needles with a white numbers would look funny to me IMO. I got red bulbs from the rice isle at pep boys and got little red sleeves for the smaller bulbs at a local electronics surplus store.
Nightwalker you can get different color bulb sleeves at autozone or pepboys...cept there like $3 instead of $0.15.

[andrave]

you can use any kind of transparent paint, a light coat of fingernail polish, or (and this works good) taillight paint for model cars.

Also, as far as making the cluster red, the whole point of making the needles red would be so they contrast and are easier to see. if you make it all red... whats the point?

[citizen]

red light doesn't stimulate the rods in your eyes, other wavelangths stimulate both cones and rods. Rods are used for night vision, so when you look at red wavelangth light it doesn't mess it up. So its good to have red instrements because your eyes don't have to adjust to them during the night. that's the point.

[TheTimanator]

red light doesn't stimulate the rods in your eyes, other wavelangths stimulate both cones and rods. Rods are used for night vision, so when you look at red wavelangth light it doesn't mess it up. So its good to have red instrements because your eyes don't have to adjust to them during the night. that's the point.
yeah, uh, what he said :ugh: :rofl:
To me the red needles would be a lot darker than the than the white so they would stand out less. But that's just me....

[twitchy]

and you cannot use LEDS in the cluster right...something about it not working properly. I think OLD S13 did something to that effect but its probably a total nightmare fab job

[MasterOFDrift]

you think it would hurt they eyes to compeltely make the instrument panel blue?

also how many bulbs are in the instrument panel!!??

[Grant]

3 bulbs (there is a 4th one on s13's i think.. but doesnt affect the cluster much).

[AlexAtPerformanceNissan]

BMW runs red gauge cluster lighting on pretty much all of their cars... so i'm pretty sure that there is nothing wrong with the fact that it's red on red.... But it does look kinda wierd to see a 240 with a cluster that stands out that much.... i always loved the IntelliGlow needles.....very sweet looking and also very klean.. ;-) Klean with a "K." :wiggle:

-Alex B.

[TheTimanator]

BMW runs red gauge cluster lighting on pretty much all of their cars... so i'm pretty sure that there is nothing wrong with the fact that it's red on red.... But it does look kinda wierd to see a 240 with a cluster that stands out that much.... i always loved the IntelliGlow needles.....very sweet looking and also very klean.. ;-) Klean with a "K." :wiggle:

-Alex B.
http://www.importcarpartsplus.com/Needles.htm
and exspensive! :coolugh: I think that's overkill. I don't see how you can call that clean though, cept it uses factory needles. Reminds me of something I'd see in superstreet.....
:barf: Superstreet :rl:

[Kid Zelda]

http://kidzelda.freewebspace.com/images/picture_0849.jpg

TYYYPE XX OONNEEELLY

[citizen]

So uh kid zelda, do you operate a lumber mill in your car or something, cuz thats a lot of dust in there. as to making to panel blue, it won't matter much as long as its not too bright. Of course it still is best to have red.

[ALTRNTV]

on mine, i just used a red Sharpie on the tips of the needles, just like Twitchy, it looks cool, i'll post pics later

[nightwalker]

Thanks for the extra info guys. I pulled out a gazillion bulbs from other 240s at junkyards when I was DOHC guage cluster hunting. That, and the rest of the instrumentation in my car is amber. Just need to make the cluster match now.

[HyperTek]

I soo wanted the kouki guage cluster since its digital and its just rare, but the wiring harness is different on it.

Anyways, I think the kouki cluster lights up red too? and it has red needles.

[HyperTek]

almost forgot...

can you spot whats* red?? heheh
http://img24.photobucket.com/albums/v72/streetphase/cluster.jpg

[cdlong]

kid zelda, how do those look at night? got any pics? and did you use a sharpie or something else?

or is that a stock jdm cluster?

[the head]

hyper tek how did you change the color of your clock

anyone know where on the net i can get those red bulb condoms for the gauge cluster i dont have any shops around here that carry VDO

[Ghettokracker71]

Yeah Hypertek how the ***** did you do that?

[amolao]

When I took my cluster apart to get vinyl overlays on it I painted the needles Safety orange (spray can), is the color use to paint things like around working areas, heavy equipment,etc. The cluster broke (tach needle broken :duh: ) but the needles came out great . They look like my toyota sequioa, black cluster and orange needles. When I get a new cluster thats the look I will go for but I would not take the needles off (too risky) I might just tape and paint, I think is looks way better than the Sharpie way. I will send pics later when I get home.... :eek3d:

[matlock]

I also painted my needles red or colored them I should say and I made the "E" for my empty red, and the "H" for the Hot red, just thought it would be different, but I guess a bunch of people are doing it. I like the red clock too.

[Ricer240sx]

i got a Blue needle kit if u want it, i decided to replave the regular lights with Blue LED's so i doint need the needle kit any more!

i payed like $80 for, ill sell them for $50 shipped, i never used them!!

[amolao]

My gauge mod........

[HyperTek]

If my digicam didnt bust id break down my spare stock cluster to take pics. You have to take teh whole cluster apart, and remove teh clock, there is basically a white piece of plastic as the backface to it, and on the opposite side is painted blue (which the bulb shines on). I sanded the blue off and sprayed that side with red Tamiya model paint. Basically when the bulb comes on, the red lights up, where as when it was blue, it would light up white. Pretty cool trick. Im sure you could do green also, just cant get it blue I dont think.

[HyperTek]

hey amolo, I was thinking about getting those overlays, how does it look at night? just wonderin cuz they seem to be glossy. ALso on the the 105 mark on teh speedo, is that a sticker you suppose to put to fill in teh "0"???

I was thinking of ordering some gray overlays to simulate the kouki cluster but it would be glossy and I dont know if that would look good.

[amolao]

Is not really glossy, it just (choice of words use by my wife) "looks fake", Yes she is right sometimes. Is just not the same. The material and detail of the overlay is just not good enough. At night the lightning is good, the light still comes thru and is easy to see. The reason is missing pieces (like the center of the "0"...) is because when you pull the backing of the sticker overlays off it pull those and I didnt even noticed. Honestly I wouldnt reccomend the overlays, the quality is not there, and you can break your cluster very easy when you take the needles off. Mine broke and Im very careful and took my time. It seems like the RPM needle is a lot more delicate than the MPH's one... :bash:

[Brian]

hahah cool zelda, i love the late model clusters for 180sx.
digital odo is sweet.
i remember noticing those on my friend's kouki 180sx.

[vvtisupra]

i heard nail polish works well

[cdlong]

ok, stupid question time, do you color the front or the back of the needles? or would either work, just give you a different look?

[amolao]

Actually is not a stupid question, I painted the top of the needle, the back is got a greenish "fluorescent" paint, I didnt want it to loose the bright of the needles when they lights are on so I painted the top part, some people say you can sand it off (the fluorescent paint) and paint whatever color you want. The way I did it I think works and looks better .................. :boink:

[cdlong]

i will probably end up doing that soon, when i put on my new gauge cluster cover. i already have a red sharpie so i guess i'm all set.

what if you sanded off the reflective paint (i assume that's what it's for) and put on the red marker or red translucent paint then painted over that with a silver paint for reflectiveness. that would probably work better but sounds like too much work.

[sleep]

http://www.centsibleamusements.com/browseproducts/Bulb-cover-sleeves.HTML

Anyone know if those would fit over the bulbs in the gauge Cluster?

[justinhustle]

dont bump old threads =/

bulb condoms are a waste of money, get led bulbs from autodynamic

[Marty]

i think id like to make my gauges light up green like in saab's

[HyperTek]

nah... condoms are the best! wont color fade, and your using OEM bulbs... ill post pics if only i knew how to take night pictures

[the240sxer95]

green lights + red needles :) thats effen awsome right there.

[brianglawson]

hypetek how did you get your clock to shine red??????

[MurdarioStomp]

scroll up and read. he already said how he did it.

[axiomatik]

Well, I thought that I would add to this old-ass thread rather than making a whole new one, try to consolidate this information in one place instead of spread all over the place. I installed JDM cluster on my s13 recently, and the lighting was dimmer and looked a little pinkish, so I thought I would try some wide-angle LED bulb-replacements. I love the way VW gauges look, so I tried blue first.

Here is how the cluster looked originally:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v685/nbrindley/240SX/IMG_4021.jpg

I first replaced all of the bulbs with the blue LEDs, and it was just too much blue. Also, the odometer and the legends for the warning lamps were pretty hard to read. Another side effect that I hadn't considered before is that my redline completely disappeared. I was hoping that it would be brighter than the stock bulbs, because they were pretty dim, but unfortunately, they are about exactly the same brightness.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v685/nbrindley/240SX/IMG_4027.jpg

So I changed the odometer and warning lamp legend lights back to the bulbs for now.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v685/nbrindley/240SX/IMG_4030.jpg

Next time I order some LEDs, I am going to try white, according to their data sheet, they are about 50% brighter than the blue ones. I'll post results again when I get them. I also plan on replacing the warning lamps with LEDs as well.

[Ghettokracker71]

Holy old thread batman!

[NemeGuero]

Where'd you get your LED bulbs?

[axiomatik]

I got the bulbs from superbrightleds.com (http://superbrightleds.com/1157.htm). I used the "Single LED Wedge Base Bulbs" (#194/168 replacements) about 3/4 down the page. Next time I order from them, I will probably try the white versions of the same LED bulbs as well as some of the 5-LED wedge bulbs. Because of the way the light is distributed across the gauge faces, you have to use wide angle leds.

And I know the thread is old, but there is good info in here, so I thought I would add to it.

[Lurkable]

There's no reason not to have posted in this old thread. Nice pictures and info. :)

[ThatGuy]

Awesome nbrindley, that is the same site I was planning to get red l.e.d.s from. Now that I have the results of your cluster, I will be doing it for sure. :w00t:

[rossfashow]

i want my cluster to look like the sentra vspec ser...

[FaLKoN240]

That looks pretty cool. Definately a way to revamp the old looking dash of S13s.

[SoSideways]

I've been using red bulbs from Auto Zone (or is it Discount Auto? either one, one of the store's lights are of a lighter shade of red, thus looking kinda pinkish, while the other is brighter thus more deep RED) for almost 2 years, they're still nice and bright red, not fading at all. And they were pretty cheap too.

A friend of mine has Autometer Phantom gauges for his S14, and he just bought a set of S14 SE gauge cluster from the junkyard, and we put red bulbs in everything, so now everything matches up when you turn it on at night. The S14 SE cluster is pure sex when it lights up at night.

[ThatGuy]

nbrindley, mine giving us a full run down of all the bulbs when you purchase them. I don't want to pull my cluster just to count lights. :D Thanks for the info. :bow:

[Shawn_of_the_Dead]

man, I hate all you guys. DAMMIT! My guage lights no workie from the the day I bought the car used. I cannot figure it out! I guess I will have to try and swap in another cluster and see if they work. If so, I am going all red with yellow or orange needles.

[axiomatik]

Sorry it took me so long to get back to this thread, I was out of town on business all this week. Anyway, these are the bulbs that I used:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v685/nbrindley/240SX/webpage.jpg

This is the back of the digital cluster. I don't know how the analog cluster differs.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v685/nbrindley/240SX/IMG_4062.jpg

The lights that are so professionally circled are the primary illumination lights. The blue one on the bottom I believe is for the clock and the dark brown ones on the left are the individual warning lamps. Number one (1) lights up the legend for the warning lamps (see the next pic for reference). Number two (2) is for the Temp. gauge. Numbers (3), (4), & (5) in combination illuminate the tach and the fuel gauge. In the picture below, I've circled the tach needle in number 5, but really I think it is just illuminated by all three, though I am not certain. Finally, number (6) lights up the odometer and the trip odo.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v685/nbrindley/240SX/IMG_4030markedup.jpg

What you see on the back of the cluster are actually little sockets that the bulbs sit in. They come out with just a quarter turn, and then the bulb will just pull out of the socket. I believe the smaller bulbs are #73/74 bulbs, though I haven't found any confirmation. If anyone can confirm this, let me know.

[nigel1]

Nice setup you got there...

I did super diy cluster bulbs, and I ordered 30 super brite, LED's off ebay for six dollars shipped. Next I went to the electronics store and bought resistors, I dont remember the exact rate though, but I soldered them to the LED's are then soldered them directly to the cluster. its easy enough to unsolder them if the burn out, but I doubt they will any time soon. I need to do the criuse control switch and the climate control soon. I really want to figure out how to diy up a set of red needles powered by led's..

if anyone knows please chime in...

[NemeGuero]

Sweet, thanks for the info. What are all the black bulbs around #1? What do they light up?

[ThatGuy]

^Looks like the individual warning lights to me. "Cruise Control, Low Fuel, Battery, etc. etc."

[NemeGuero]

But in the first post he has with pics.. he says it was just that bulb right? Or he changed all those little guys too?

[ThatGuy]

First pic he has the bulb circled that lights up the little "icons" under the warning lights. That one bulb lights up all those, but each warning light is it's own bulb. Does that make sense? I don't know if I'm explaining it well enough.

[NemeGuero]

So the big bulbs owns all the litte ones?

[turbo2nr]

will it be the same for s14 dash to convert to led? i wana do white w/ red needles...

anyone have info on this?

thanks

[axiomatik]

thatguy is correct. on the s13, the warning lamp icons are always lit, whether or not a warning exists. above each icon is a separate, round light that comes on when there is a warning. See the pic below. I've copied and pasted the oil pressure warning light over to all the other icons to sort of show what it would look like if all the warning lamps were on (in actuality some are different colors). All of the icons are lit by the bulb marked (1) in the earlier photo. The actual warning lamps are lit by individual bulbs, the black/dark brown ones that aren't circled in the earlier photo.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v685/nbrindley/240SX/warninglamps.jpg

the icons are in the yellow boxes. these are always visible, and are lit by bulb number (1). The actual warning lamps are in the red boxes, and are individually lit by those black/dark brown bulbs. I have not changed those yet, but plan to in the future.

[OMGWTFBBQ]

time to whore it out
my S14 setup
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c385/MikoSlam/S14TypeR2.jpg
few sets of bulbs from kragen

[NemeGuero]

Well that makes sense..

[Irukandji]

time to whore it out
my S14 setup
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c385/MikoSlam/S14TypeR2.jpg
few sets of bulbs from kragen


What bulbs did you use exactry?

[OMGWTFBBQ]

What bulbs did you use exactry?
I forget the exact brand...
They came in a yellow package, I found the bulb size in another cluster color thread then just looked at what they had at kragen. They are NOT led's though, from what I could gather they will eventually fade into a pinkish color but whatever they're like a dollar a pack. IIRC they also came in orange, green, and blue..

[Irukandji]

thanks for the info, I'll research on the bulb size I need.

[Irukandji]

I just finished mine,

daytime pic (it's much red(der?) at night time)

For future reference, Non-HUD s13 cluster only needs 3 bulbs.
I used the ricelights from pepboys, about $6 total and 40 minutes of my time.

http://img409.imageshack.us/img409/1253/dsc036764pl.jpg

[ThatGuy]

^JDM pink in day light. :keke:

Nice work though. I'm planning to do a FULL color change on a Digi-cluster, as soon as I get a new one. I'll post a how-to if people are interested.

[nigel1]

I reallly want to figure out how do make my needles red while still having the rest blue.. I may just tackle the task soon. :P I hate working 12 days in a row. no time to do anything :(

[Irukandji]

They sell those little "needle kits" but it's kind of a waste of money imo.



EDIT: forgot to mention, those little bulb condoms are garbage. When I was switching out my bulbs today, I realized that my stock lights had blue condoms on them the whole time... The lighting at night time was actually green and my speedometer was very very dull.

[ThatGuy]

I would love to know how to wire in a "Start-up sequence" like Defi Gauges, into my cluster needles. That would be P-I-M-P! I think the new Lexus IS has it actually.

[Irukandji]

I would love to know how to wire in a "Start-up sequence" like Defi Gauges, into my cluster needles. That would be P-I-M-P! I think the new Lexus IS has it actually.


that WOULD be pimp

the STi does that as well... it makes me cry everytime I see it.

:hyper:

[Shawn_of_the_Dead]

If none of the lights on my cluster work for the actual guages, but the warning lights sometimes work...could it be bad bulbs causing the rest to not turn on? I took them all out and checked them, but nothing looked burnt out to me. I stuck em all back in and still nothing.

[Irukandji]

hmm if you have an extra cluster lying around, try plugging that in. If the lights don't work, then you know it's a wiring problem. Check the fuse (i think there should be one)

Also, double check all your connections going into the back of the cluster.

[axiomatik]

If you look at the back of the cluster, you can see the circuit that controls the illumination, just trace the copper lines that connect the primary illumination bulbs. One side will be marked 'Ill+', and the other 'GND'. Try applying 12 volts to just that lighting circuit and see if the cluster lights up. I think the bulbs are wired in series, so if one went out, they all would. If it lights up when you apply 12 volts to it, you know the problem is in your harness somewhere, if it doesn't light up, get a replacement bulb and try replacing them one at a time.

edit - the blue condoms are just to counteract the inherent yellowness of incandescent bulbs so that the gauges appear white, not intended to make the gauge blue.

[Ess14]

Regarding changing clock color:
I'm going to change my face to blue bulbs, hyper commented that the reflection on the clock was colored blue so it illuminates white.

How could you change it for blue? A darker blue? And I'm wondering if anyone has an idea what a good blue would be.

Nigel hows the red needles / blue background coming? Have you found a way to do it?

[preveink]

red is definatly easier on the eyes, at night in my vw it kinda hurts your eyes on long trips

[P4rD0nM3]

Reddish Pink for the win man!

[ZooMxxl]

i had replaced my stock bulbs w/red bulbs and used that for awhile. later on i felt it looked a bit tacky/cheesy having the both the needles and numbers the same color. a friend and i modded my gauges to make the needles light up with blue l.e.d.'s.

Gauges01 (http://home.comcast.net/~mrtran/ZooM/Gauges01.JPG)
Gauges02 (http://home.comcast.net/~mrtran/ZooM/Gauges02.JPG)

with 212k miles, my car still runs like a champ! no...i had replaced my old gauges during this experience and i did not roll down the mileage. everything looks brighter in the picture. in person, the blue lighting does not leak through the needles as shown. how the rpm is is how it really looks in person. i still like this look way way better than everything being all one color. looks more classy and a lot nicer imo. it also matches my panasonic deck that lights up blue.

-----------------
visit DRIFTABILITY (http://www.DriftAbility.com)

[upSLIDEdown]

i had replaced my stock bulbs w/red bulbs and used that for awhile. later on i felt it looked a bit tacky/cheesy having the both the needles and numbers the same color. a friend and i modded my gauges to make the needles light up with blue l.e.d.'s.

Care to share how you did the needles??

In repsonse to That Guy... superbrightleds.com is good people. I ordered some stuff from them (individual leds, along with led bulbs)...all great quality. I will be doing this to my cluster when I swap my iinterior from tan to black. Going all red or maybe super white with red needles, I dunno yet. I like red because it's easy on the eyes. But I am thinking of going with Defi BF gauges, which only come in white or amber I believe, so I dunno...

Also, if response to the opening sequence on gauges like Defi, they are electronic stepper motors, I don't think you could do that to our stock gauges.

Also, can someone post up how to change the clock color, I didn't see a detailed explanation unless I just missed it.

Thanks,
Bryan

[ZooMxxl]

i left all of the stock bulbs in. if you look at the back of each of the gauges, you'll see that there are clear plastic strips expanding out; 1 on the gas and temp. gauges, 2 on the speedo and rpm gauges. those plastics lead to the needles. i shrinked wrapped 1 blue l.e.d. to each one of those plastic pieces to eliminate the stock bulbs light from coming through. the blue really does not look bad or is bad to the eye. the camera made it look a lot brighter than it really is.

the connector to the clock is brown i think. if you look at where the clock is and eye its location to the back you should find it. as for changing its color, i have never tried to change it so i dont know if it will work/look good/still be able to see the numbers.
-------------------
Visit DRIFTABILITY (http://www.DriftAbility.com)

[turbo2nr]

some pics would be helpful if you have any thanks

[Jay Dee M]

This is a pretty interesting thread. I just ordered some white LED bulbs. Can't wait until I do this to my car.

[ZooMxxl]

turbo2nr, if your talking to me..i have posted links to the pics above my last post(gauges01, gauges02) of them installed. i dont have pics of the setup that ive done and i really dont want to take out my cluster again now that i have it working properly(i had to adjust the l.e.d.s to shine right into the plastics so itd shine its brightest).

my friend and i ordered a bunch of l.e.d.s and resistors and plan on interchanging all the rest of the interior bulbs to l.e.d.s in our cars. i also have a lil extra mod that i'll be doing with the l.e.d.s but its going to be a secret until i get it done, then i'll post it.

[Dutchmalmiss]

yeah does ANYone have the non-hud clusters with white LED bulbs and red needles? you know, kinda like the stock kouki 180sx guage cluster???

[turbo2nr]

what do you mean by adujust the led to shine the brightest? im asking b/c i just ordered led for my dash so i want to convert the needle to red. just trying to visualize it but im a little lost. thanks.

[ZooMxxl]

well l.e.d.s shine in a form of a projectile not like regular bulbs. so if you dont aim it right through the plastic piece in the back, it will not shine as bright or shine at all for the needles. i used 2 6 volt batteries to test how the shine was coming through, then i mounted them in place with shrink wrap.
http://home.comcast.net/~mrtran/ZooM/Gauges1.JPG

http://home.comcast.net/~mrtran/ZooM/Gauges2.JPG

again...the white bubs are stock, blues are l.e.d.s, and the needles all shine as bright as the speedo/rpm. the camera made the other two shine much brighter.

~Xuan
-----------------
SEE NOW--DRIFTABILITY (http://www.DriftAbility.com)

[AllenRPS13]

i really like your gauge, Zoomxxl!!! i will try to make it also if i have time... (busy school... ><)

[axiomatik]

For those that wanted pictures, here you go (this is the back of the tach):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v685/nbrindley/240SX/IMG_4192.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v685/nbrindley/240SX/IMG_4191.jpg

As you can see, there are little clear 'legs' coming out from the base of the needle. The ends of these 'legs' point at the bulbs in the cluster and funnel the light to the needle. If you attach an LED of your color choice to the end of these, you will be able to change the color of your needles independent of the rest of your gauges.

[turbo2nr]

thank you sir that helps alot. ill be trying this to my s14 dash. if all go well ill have white led backlit and red led gauges.

thanks

[ZooMxxl]

thanks for your comment allen. its a pretty nice mod and easy the second time doing it. the only part thats a pain in the rear is mounting the led to the "legs" then trying to bolt the gauges back onto the cluster WHILE keeping the leds from moving from their positions or else youd have to take it apart again and re-line the led. plus wires run everywhere for each led, so you gotta know where to run your extra lines out from the cluster.

[a2low240]

For those of you guys who want a drop in kit without any fabrication you can use for free shipping for Zilvians. Here's a couple links for the lighting:coupon code 6307 on our website

#194 Bulbs Hyper Red and White ( Not LED Bulbs )
http://www.importintelligence.com/FMPro?-DB=cart.fp3&-Format=194.htm&-Token=12778446&-RecID=12778446&CustID=194&-Error=index.html&-Edit

Needle Kits:
http://www.importintelligence.com/FMPro?-DB=cart.fp3&-Format=Iglow.html&-Token=12778446&-RecID=12778446&CustID=Iglow&-Error=index.html&-Edit

Here's a collection of pics from the past.
http://www.bee.net/a2low240/gauges/Intellic1.jpg
http://www.bee.net/a2low240/gauges/xtal/jr1.jpg
http://www.bee.net/a2low240/temp/s14blue.jpg

[krustindumm]

Also, if response to the opening sequence on gauges like Defi, they are electronic stepper motors, I don't think you could do that to our stock gauges.

For fuel & temp you would just need a DPDT relay and a timing circuit. Then it would just flip them both to ground for like 3 seconds on startup. For the tach and speedo, it would be easiets with a similar timing setup, but would also need a couple frequency generator circuits. When I figuured that out I stopped caring.

[bxsvx]

would my s14 dash look like the picture on importintelligence if I go led's? I want to put led's but dont want it bright in one area and light in another area, and also light sticking out like the pic, If I get the bulbs from where nbrindley got em would they be even all around? Thanks

[TipStylez]

might as well add my write-up

http://www.nissanpacific.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=569

[240silvia]

I did this about 6 months ago. I used a transparent paint so the lights would shine through the needles. Red paint for the needles, and amber bulbs.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid202/p11040007f1c8c9d5f2727bf3690df4f1/efe3e22f.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid202/p8dd0c53271e7736539adea1bcc197293/efe3e227.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid202/p6c27c16a902b158bccbe7ed73a96f950/efe3e23c.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid202/p32850c5bc52653dfea0646aaacf178e8/efe3e234.jpg

-Charles.

[AllenRPS13]

i have a similar setup like u, but i just have not paint the needle... hehe, i used 2 red bulbs and one amber bulb for the gauge

[fliprayzin240sx]

Im running red bulbs for my cluster using polarg bulbs. Only downside is that after a couple of years, the red bulbs have a tendency to fade. Im on my
2nd set of bulbs since i started doing this back in 02.

Stock white faced cluster with red bulbs, looks like the shiet at night.

[AllenRPS13]

i am running polarg and some other JDM bulbs also... i dunno if they will fade... but couple years... i dun care, hehe

[crazy9ceguy]

hey the lights for the AC control unit and window switch doesnt shine, is there a bulb that makes it shine so i can replace it with the LED bulb?

[P4rD0nM3]

I just finished mine,

daytime pic (it's much red(der?) at night time)

For future reference, Non-HUD s13 cluster only needs 3 bulbs.
I used the ricelights from pepboys, about $6 total and 40 minutes of my time.

http://img409.imageshack.us/img409/1253/dsc036764pl.jpg


Man this is the colour that I want at night...not at morning though.

[HyperTek]

w/ importintelligence face covers
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v72/streetphase/100_09392.jpg

[240meowth]

BMW runs red gauge cluster lighting on pretty much all of their cars... so i'm pretty sure that there is nothing wrong with the fact that it's red on red.... But it does look kinda wierd to see a 240 with a cluster that stands out that much.... i always loved the IntelliGlow needles.....very sweet looking and also very klean.. ;-) Klean with a "K." :wiggle:

-Alex B.

actually, it's more orange than red, sort of amber. It's what I did w/ mine. Raining outiside don't want to go and take picture. I just painted the bulbs w/ transparent paint and BAMN done.

Also a note on the LEDs, it will not work because LED's light angle is not wide enough. Basically, the bulb lights up around the bulb, and the LED lights up more in one direction. Since the instrument panel is designed for the regualr bulb, when you chuck a LED in there, it'll be complete failer.

[AllenRPS13]

actually, it's more orange than red, sort of amber. It's what I did w/ mine. Raining outiside don't want to go and take picture. I just painted the bulbs w/ transparent paint and BAMN done.

Also a note on the LEDs, it will not work because LED's light angle is not wide enough. Basically, the bulb lights up around the bulb, and the LED lights up more in one direction. Since the instrument panel is designed for the regualr bulb, when you chuck a LED in there, it'll be complete failer.

yes, i have tried to put LED bulbs on the gauge... it just seems very dim...

[axiomatik]

Also a note on the LEDs, it will not work because LED's light angle is not wide enough. Basically, the bulb lights up around the bulb, and the LED lights up more in one direction. Since the instrument panel is designed for the regualr bulb, when you chuck a LED in there, it'll be complete failer.

Actually, LEDs work fine as long as you get wide-angle LEDs. The pictures I posted above with the blue lighting are all LEDs, and the color is completely consistent across the IP. The LEDs that I purchased have an inverted cone molded into the top of them, so that the light is scattered all around instead of focused. With the analog cluster, things may be different, due to the different placement of the bulbs, but I doubt that it will be much different. It is also just as bright as stock lighting, though I had been hoping that it would be brighter, since stock is a little dim for my tastes. The brightness that you get also depends on the color you choose. Certain color LEDs, due to the materials used to acheive that color, are inherently dimmer than others. Also, I've noticed that the blue lighting is just hard for my eyes to focus on. It looks cool, but isn't terribly practical. I plan on changing to white LEDs. They are brighter, and it should be easier to read. Because of the blue tinting on the back of the gauges, they will still be a little bluish.

hey the lights for the AC control unit and window switch doesnt shine, is there a bulb that makes it shine so i can replace it with the LED bulb?.

The HVAC controls do have a bulb, actually two bulbs for illumination. However, because of the way it is designed, you can't just replace it with an LED bulb for lighting. The stock lighting system only uses the light that comes out of the sides of the bulbs (perpendicular to the axis of the bulb), so even wide-angle LEDs wouldn't work. Also, the bulbs are tiny. I have actually converted my HVAC unit to LED lighting, but you have to disassemble it, pull out the stock bulbs and lighting prism, and replace it with a small circuit of LEDs. I have been meaning to post pictures with a how-to for a while, but just haven't gotten around to it yet. I'll try posting it tonight or tomorrow. I have also put LEDs in the buttons around the steering column (headlights up/down, cruise, hazards etc.) Those were difficult to do, but it looks pretty slick to me, and all the bulbs were burned out on my car. I'll post pics of those as well.

[Irukandji]

Man this is the colour that I want at night...not at morning though.


I used the generic bulbs at Pep Boys. They look great at night, but its a little pink when its light outside.

[s13poop]

what brand/size are the pep boy bulbs?

[Irukandji]

what brand/size are the pep boy bulbs?


Its covered on the previous pages.. but since I'm feeling nice...

Bulb size 194.... brand doesnt matter...

[s13poop]

Thanks!!! :)

[P4rD0nM3]

Yeah, thanks man.

[SwiftS14]

For my 97 240sx SE, i put in white LEDs into the cluster and they came out purple.

[AllenRPS13]

For my 97 240sx SE, i put in white LEDs into the cluster and they came out purple.

any pics? :wavey:

[axiomatik]

I've been getting a lot of questions regarding my HVAC illumination, so here is a little how-to. It is not terribly in-depth, since I didn't take pics of every step, but it should be enough info to get people started, and if anyone has questions, feel free to ask me. For those who haven't seen the pics in the pic thread, here's how my dash currently looks:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v685/nbrindley/240SX/Gauges004.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v685/nbrindley/240SX/Gauges009.jpg

I was inspired to do this by a thread on freshalloy, along with some know-how gleaned from hidplanet.

For the HVAC illumination, I used 5mm white LEDs from superbrightleds.com (http://superbrightleds.com/), specifically the RL5-W2545 (quantity 7). This is the circuit I used (from the LED Wizard (http://led.linear1.org/led.wiz):

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v685/nbrindley/240SX/untitled.gif

I'll assume you can figure out how to remove the HVAC controls from your car. If you do need some tips, let me know. Opening the controls isn't too difficult. If I remember correctly, I think there is just one screw on the top of the unitand the rest of the case is snapped together. The hard part is disassembling it without breaking the snaps (I broke them), all is not lost if they do break. You will have to slide the bottom half of the case off of the unit. To do this, you will have to unplug the short plug on it (that goes to the main unit) and pop off the handles of the sliders (they just snap back on, all you have to do is pry them off). After removing the housing, you will see the backside of the circuit board on the top (with the two lightbulb sockets) and the lighting prism on the bottom. You will have to remove both sockets, and then the prism, which is just sitting in the housing.

I built a circuit that sits where the prism used to be. In order to power the circuit, you will have to determine which lead for the lightbulbs is +illumination, and which is -illumination. To do this, simply trace the leads back to the plug on the back of the unit and identify which pins they are connected to. You can use a multimeter and test for continuity to double-check. In order to determine which is positive and which is negative, simply go back to your car and measure the voltage of those two pins that you have identified when you have the headlights/driving lights on.

Here is a picture of the circuit installed in the unit. The first pic shows the top cover in place, the second pic shows it removed. You will have to remove it to access the circuit board.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v685/nbrindley/240SX/240sx065.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v685/nbrindley/240SX/240sx069.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v685/nbrindley/240SX/240sx071.jpg

As you can see, I have one LED mounted behind each button. The viewing angle of these LEDs is only 45 degrees, so I wanted to ensure complete coverage. The two on the left side are angled slightly to illuminate the entire slider.

(I seem to remember that I had to slide the HVAC circuit board back a little bit for some reason, perhaps to remove the prism. To do this, you have to unsnap each of the button covers from the actual button on the circuit board, and then gently pull it back.)

For power, I soldered some leads to the original lightbulb leads.

Here are the results:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v685/nbrindley/240SX/240sx082.jpg

The color is actually much more even than this pic would suggest.


The buttons were a little trickier. Some of them have little sockets that you can remove and replace the bulb with. Others have to be disassembled. For the ones with a socket, I simply removed the lightbulb and put an LED in it's place. You will have to use 3mm LEDs here (I used RL3-W3030 for white, RL3-R4545 for the Hazards). At first, I attempted to mount the resistor with the LED so that I wouldn't have to modify the wiring, (see below)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v685/nbrindley/240SX/240sx072.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v685/nbrindley/240SX/240sx096.jpg
The first pic shows the sockets, and just how tiny these bulbs are (that's the original bulb on the right). The second pic shows one of the switches that have to be disassembled. Be careful you don't lose any springs or other parts when you disassemble them!!!


But that really only worked on one switch, where the bulb was mounted on the back of the switch. On at least 2 of the switches, the sockets are on the side of the switch, so that the LED had to be mounted perpendicular to the socket. It proved to be too difficult to mount the LED with the resistor on these, so I gave up and lounted the LED only within the switch. I then snipped the wire leading up the the switch an mounted the resistor there, in series with the switch. For the buttons, you will again have to determine which pins are +illumination and which are -illumination.

Here's some results with the buttons:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v685/nbrindley/240SX/240sx077.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v685/nbrindley/240SX/240sx076.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v685/nbrindley/240SX/240sx078.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v685/nbrindley/240SX/240sx079.jpg

For the HVAC controls, the buttons are tinted blue to overcome the inherent yellowishness of the incandescent bulbs. The result is a light, icy blue which looks very good to me (see first pic). The buttons have no such tinting, so they appear perfectly white. Both are more than bright enough.

[FinalDrive]

nice write-up
it doesn't seem too incredibly hard to do

...time to start ordering some LEDs

[crazy9ceguy]

can u just buy the LEDs with the socket for the HVAC? i have a s14 so it might be different?

[AllenRPS13]

nice write-up
it doesn't seem too incredibly hard to do

...time to start ordering some LEDs

yes, it does not seem too hard, but i am lazy, hehe :smash:

[axiomatik]

can u just buy the LEDs with the socket for the HVAC? i have a s14 so it might be different?


for the s13 at least, I doubt that would work. If you look at this picture, the lightbulbs sockets are inserted in the two holes where the red and green wires go through the HVAC circuit board.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v685/nbrindley/240SX/240sx065.jpg

All of the light used for the illumination comes out of the sides of the lightbulbs. The light coming out of the end is not used at all. Because of how directional LEDs are, I don't think that even wide angle LEDs will work.


And no, this project is really not very difficult. It takes a little time, but it's not too bad. Since I store my car for the winter, I had plenty of time to work on this. Just use the LED wizard (link in my last post) in conjunction with the LED data sheets to make sure you use the correctly sized resistors.

[IWantRWD]

im not shure this has been done/said..but with my neon what i did was pull off the black overlay with the numbers and stuff on them..and put a green sheet of transparent colored plastic that comes in the little strobe lights..then i measured the thickness compared to stock and shaves that much off the electric motor mounts..it was ALOT of work, but it lookd stock

Also, for my needles, i colored all but the very last inch with a black sharpie, so only the tip lit up, it was alittle hard to see at night but looked very nice, if your accurate enough, you can make it look like an arrow..i think i got a pic of it somewhere

[HKSdrift3r]

ok sorry to bring up a dead thread but.. as far as the HVAC buttons go, is it possible to just the LEDS that have the resistors already wired in (ebay) instead of building a circuit. I am not to electrically inclined and would be lucky if I can solder something so small as those leds. thanks!

-George

[ThatGuy]

www.superbriteleds.com

Just replace the bulbs and call it a day.

[TipStylez]

can u just buy the LEDs with the socket for the HVAC? i have a s14 so it might be different?

Yes you can.

[axiomatik]

I don't know what LEDs you are referring to, but if they have a resistor prewired so that they can run on 12V, then yes you can use them. In reference to ThatGuy's comment, on the S13, you can't just replace the HVAC bulbs with LED bulbs (don't know about S14). First, the bulbs are tiny, maybe a quarter of the size of the LEDs I used in the above picture. I have not seen any LED bulb-replacements small enough to fit there. Secondly, the bulbs are oriented vertically, so that if you were to place an LED where the bulbs were, it would not be pointing towards your buttons, but towards your windshield.

[sittinsideways]

so moral of the story is leds is a bad idea in an s13? i have some amber ones waiting to go in but if its really going toake so much work.......idk

[ThatGuy]

nbrindley, the site I posted sells Miniature and micro led bulbs that might fit in the HVAC. However I can see your point on the referencing of the bulbs. :bow: I know they have multi-directional led's that work in the Instrument Cluster. :rawk:

[TipStylez]

^Superbright leds right?

Yeah, they have everything. The bulbs that are mostly in 240s...are wedge based bulbs. Where you would keep the base, and pull off the old incendescent(sp) bulb and replace it with a LED bulb. Then just plug it back in like you would normaly do with a incendescent(sp) bulb.

[axiomatik]

Superbrightleds is where I got my LEDs. I used the wedge-based bulbs in my dash cluster (#194), but the smallest LED bulbs that I see on their site are the #74, which are the ones you would use for the warning lights on the cluster. It's hard for me to remember, but I am pretty sure that those are still too large for the HVAC unit. I am pretty sure that the HVAC uses the same bulbs as the Hazard button etc., which are maybe half the size of the #74.

[JDMClifford]

I had an interesting idea, buy some dual or tri color leds and put them in the gauge cluster. But where red to the normal color, but then you hit the gas to the floor have it change a color, then when you hit the breaks have it change to the last color. Just an interesting thought i had... Just have some fun watching the mood of your car change through out a nice drive, when its pushing hard "full open throttle" turns red. When you hit the breaks it turns blue "chill" when when you hit the clutch turns green. Witch would be kinda cool to see red, a flash of green, red... would not be hard to wire up.

[Syncmaster]

To the Top :ugh:

Seriously,

I would like to know if there are people who have the kits of needles red of “importintelligence”. What does the kits include exactly?

Is this a led? if yes can take take dual color or tri color?

How its really functions :-/

[ruben705]

dang man i just read this whole thing. and maybe im an idiot but i have no idea how to and what to change the bulbs on my s14 or how many i need and such sorry guys but if someones changed bulbs on a s14 can ya help me out a bit?

[Irukandji]

dang man i just read this whole thing. and maybe im an idiot but i have no idea how to and what to change the bulbs on my s14 or how many i need and such sorry guys but if someones changed bulbs on a s14 can ya help me out a bit?

If you can't understand what you're reading.. you shouldn't be touching your car....

[xblack240x]

Hehe, old thread, but just got through reading and will be changing my cluster to the white just for a little brighter... One question though, whats the best to use on the needles? Nail polish or light paint or marker?

[KA-T_240]

I did the red bulbs thing for the cluster. I only have one question/compliant. the speedo is not as bright at the rest of the cluster.

[axiomatik]

dang man i just read this whole thing. and maybe im an idiot but i have no idea how to and what to change the bulbs on my s14 or how many i need and such sorry guys but if someones changed bulbs on a s14 can ya help me out a bit?

huh? what are you trying to do? just replace your bulbs with regular bulbs? replace them with LEDs?

[420sx]

quick question: which bulb for s14 cluster can find a reference on silvania's website

[xxxjovaxxx]

Hehe, old thread, but just got through reading and will be changing my cluster to the white just for a little brighter... One question though, whats the best to use on the needles? Nail polish or light paint or marker?

xblack, my advice is to use taillight tinting FILM instead of spray. stick it on and just use an exacto to cut away the excess. i had painted them before and it sucked because on really hot days, the paint would get kinda tacky and my needles would stick a little, then jump once it pulled off the little stopper they put in there to hold the needle from falling beyond its stopping point.

[soon2bRB240]

Here's my idea. My friend has a lexus with factory led gauges, and of course it looks great. What I noticed was the clear "glass" covering the gauges was tinted, and the gauges were lit the entire time the car was running.

I'd like to replicate this look with my 97 240, just curious if anyone else has thought of/tried this? I'm assuming i'd just have to tap the light power source for the gauges into a switched source that is always getting power when the car is running. After that is figured out, get some like smoke tail light film and apply it to the clear plastic.

If this ends up being too dark, or just shitty looking, I could just peel off the tint.

Any thoughts?

[Rikter]

Hey folks,



Like many of you I have decided to change the bulbs in the back of my speedometer cluster. I have an '89 240SX non digital non hud etc basic speedo cluster.

I ordered up some LED's and took out the cluster and replaced the three main big bulbs. I figured all was well and put the cluster back in the car. Nope... that night when I turned my lights on the main section of the cluster was a nice red but at the far left and far right corners it still shone slightly white.

That was frustrating so I took it apart again and found two more locations for the bigger sized bulbs. I made sure I had the LED's in the right way and put them into the cluster and put it all back together feeling confidant i had the problem solved.... NOPE! ARgh! I turned the lights on this evening and the same white light is shinning in both coners.

Am I missing something? I'm ready to tackle it again tomorrow but if I need two smaller bulbs or something I'd like to get them first before taking it apart.
Help-Rik

[axiomatik]

I think the non-hud (analog) cluster uses 5 bulbs for illumination, unlike the digital cluster which uses 3. I am not positive on that, though, hopefully someone else can chime in.

[middy]

Resurrecting the thread again... I just put red LEDs in my instrument cluster, and I bought 5 because there were spots for 5 #194 bulbs in the back. What I found is that the 2 in the left and right corners do not seem to illuminate the gauge portions of the cluster. I'm not even really sure what they are supposed to illuminate, because if you peek inside the hole with the bulb & base out, you'll see that it's almost completely enclosed with plastic inside the housing. With my red LED installed the low gas warning light, which is supposed to be yellow when your tank is low, lit up red while my tank wasn't low. I'm not sure what's going on in there, but I put the original plain white bulbs back in each corner. The illumination across the whole cluster is not perfect, but it's pretty good. The battery and gas tank icons are a little dim, but I know what they are anyway...

Rikter, what kind of LEDs did you put in the main 3 sockets? I made sure I bought wide-angle LEDs so the light would be dispersed as much as possible. I ordered the inverted cone-style 194s from superbrightleds.com. It sounds like maybe you have slightly narrower angle bulbs which aren't quite getting all the way to the corners.

Really, it's Nissan's fault for poorly designing the inside of the cluster. :) My boyfriend's completely stock beater 89 240sx coupe has really dim spots in the corners, too.

One other note - I bought a #74 size blue LED for my clock. It lights up super bright, though slightly dimmer on the right side than the left. I wanted red to match my gauges, but wasn't willing to take apart the cluster and remove the blue film on the inside which sits right behind the clock. Blue and red match my Sony faceplate illumination. I haven't decided if I'm going to leave the clock blue or put the original bulb back.

[Rikter]

Hi Middy,

It's possible I didn't get the wide enough angled ones.. I'm really not sure at the moment which I ended up getting in the end. I put a couple red lil ones in the corners to get them to light up red at the corners which is why my gas light and the other side are always on now just from the shine of the corner ones. What is weird is when I did that the lights turn on when I haven't actually turned on my dash lights. *shrug* I'm not too worried about it at the moment as with my upcomming sr20 swap I've got to re-do the dash cluster anyway (1989 240sx so I have to change the cluster). When I re-do the cluster I'll figure out the lights. I do enjoy the red at night though. Goes well with the AEM digital guages.
-Rik

[KnightRyderx2]

Here is mine. I did all the numbers and such on the gauges with a 99 cent transparent folder from the store and I did the needles with a red sharpy.
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r56/knightryderx2/DSC01497.jpg

[smelly240]

u just cut the blue folder up and put it behind the cluster? LOL - nice

[ixfxi]

http://clearcorners.com/products/nissan/240sx1/imgs/featcarE09.jpg

i have nothing important to say or add to this thread, just felt like being a jerk and posting a picture of my once functional interior

i miss my car, tear...............

[KnightRyderx2]

u just cut the blue folder up and put it behind the cluster? LOL - nice
Yeah, pretty much. The most expencive part was the red sharpie, was 1.99 for a pack of blue, black, and red...

[Bushido]

anyone ever done a DIY gauge needle led light, ala import intelligence?

[smelly240]

yeah - you call matt and give him 30 bucks.

[Bushido]

nah, i'd rather use up a a few of the thousand LED's i have sitting here.
and 70 bucks is a little steep for 4 led's... Rather spend that at the bar.

[undesiredshoe]

nah, i'd rather use up a a few of the thousand LED's i have sitting here.
and 70 bucks is a little steep for 4 led's... Rather spend that at the bar.

If you have leds, i assume you can wire them up and if you passed kindergarten, then im sure you can think of a way to make the needles glow with the leds.

[Bushido]

yeah, no shit sherlock.
i was just wondering if someone could offer a little insight into whats involved. but seeing that i have an extra gauge cluster here, i may take the bull by the horns and do a little write up myself.
just so this post isn't completely as useless as yours, heres a pic of the LED retrofit i did on my dome light:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v259/domeniccucunato/my%20240sx/dome-light1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v259/domeniccucunato/my%20240sx/dome-light2.jpg

[smelly240]

i dont like it - i dont like a lot of led stuff tho - I do however like mikes led lighting.