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Impulse, I mentioned above that I just used parts from the 01 cluster and moved them onto the 02. I'm still using my 02 cluster on the car--the only difference is it has 01 needles and 01 gauge faces.
I repainted the needles, this time only on the bottom. Now they look white during the day and still seem bright enough at night.
I also ordered some blue bulbs for the backlight. Amber just doesn't look right. I'll just leave the rest of the dash amber. I think this will look good, like I just have some reverse gauges and the rest stock.
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I repositioned the LEDs so that they're sitting below the needles, and this took away that glow around the bezel. I don't know if I'm gonna move them back of not. I'll let you know what happens. It's frustrating cause nothing is working right and one is purple. Ahhhhhh.......
Thank you guys. I just finished soldering in the new LED and it matches thank goodness. I've had my cluster in and out at least 20 times already.
IMPORTANT NEW ADDITIONS:
1) When you shave down the LEDs with sandpaper to get them flat, go from large grain to small. Use very fine paper at the end to smoothen it. Then, you'll want to pick up some Meguiar's clear plastic polish and apply that to the LEDs. This will help make them shinier. I've found that sanding them down makes them alot dimmer than the original. You still need to do this to diffuse the light. The unsanded ones do a great job of focusing the light exactly upwards. Well, the needles have light guides as well, and using unsanded LEDs will cause the needle glow to get brighter and dimmer as the needle moves. You must sand them, even though you'll lose some brightness.
2) I repainted the needles, this time only painting the bottom and using one medium coat. This makes the needles look white during the day instead of clear. Leaving the needles all clear will not light up at all!! You must paint them. Paint only the bottom portion that is exposed. (Not the part under the sheath.)
Impulse, unless you have bigger bulbs back there, you can't make the backlight hyperwhite. The gauges have some kind of paint on the front that still makes the light amber. I held them up to my halogen light and they were still amber. Then I held them up to my 194 hyperwhite dome light and it lit up white. You really need a brighter light to do this.
If you use colored bulb replacements for the backlight, you may be able to just clear the needles and let the backlight channel through to the needles. LEDs will be brighter, though, especially in blue.
I would also recommend positioning the LEDs upwards, so they're even with the plastic shield. Don't put them down on the needle base. If you bend the cable up, you should be able to just position the LEDs in the holes without glue.
I remember that DIY up there. But he used something like 2 for each hole, and I believe it looks blue. That would cost nearly $40 just for LEDs.
I finally finished the needles. If you push them all the way down (but not too far), you won't get that uneven sideglow. Right now I'm just running the needles and no backlight. Looks clean, but hard to see. I'm waiting on blue cluster bulbs I got for only $6 shipped. We'll see how that looks.
Have you thought about the shift indicator light? There is a piece in there that makes the light red and green for the D,R,N... numbers. I first used that red lens repair tape to change them all to red, but now it's off and it lights up a bright amber. I got a blue folder to try, but it didn't give a good blue until I had 8 layers on it, and then the light was too dim to see. I'm thinking to just leave it clear (amber).
If the blue gauge lights work out, I'm just leaving the other dash lights amber. Everything blue may look weird. This way it looks like I have reverse gauges or something and evereything else stock. I'll post pics when they come in.
Here's the one you were talking about with white light. Looks okay. Maybe you should just follow his diy I guess they have replacement LEDs that fit in the stock bulb holders. You could technically buy 5 LEDs from autolumination and swap them in. Don't know how bright they would be. I would advise on getting the opaque ones, otherwise you're just gonna see bright spots where the LEDs are.
I guess they have replacement LEDs that fit in the stock bulb holders. You could technically buy 5 LEDs from autolumination and swap them in. Don't know how bright they would be. I would advise on getting the opaque ones, otherwise you're just gonna see bright spots where the LEDs are.
