So after a very long and drawn-out saga fighting various configurations of LEDs and colored packaging tape, I finally have finished this project. Gearbox was kind enough to snag the exact part I wanted and needed to do this right, a '01 Sedan Manual cluster with the black faces. After spending far too much time on half-baked ideas, I spent 15 minutes changing out a few parts, and bam.
Technically, the lights are pale green, but they're so pale you wouldn't realize they're not white unless I told you. I'm very happy with the results. The black matches the interior of the car much better than the silver ones did.
^ same chip? what did you swap out exactly- just the "overlays" and keep the same guts of the cluster? Pics of the process would be cool.
BTW you must have some really rough hands- your almost due for a new steering wheel
I alluded to the three or four other ideas I tried. For all those processes, I took pictures and things like that, but this was so simple I didn't even bother. I just took it apart as per the instruction manual. The highlighted part in the picture below is the only thing that the explosion doesn't show. But that is really simple, no screws or anything. The needles pull straight off, and then you remove the four plastic snap rings and lift off the gauge faces. Then you've got a white plastic casing around the PC board that snaps off. Then that time-honored phrase comes into play: "Installation is the reverse of removal."
And about the wheel, yeah, it was like that when I got the car two years ago. It's just worn out. I was looking into getting a new steering wheel when I spied this on handaaccessories.com and I think I might go for it. It looks to be just what I need, as the rim is the only part that's worn out. It's genuine leather, OEM, and sewn on. I usually consider steering wheel covers tacky for obvious reasons, but this seems to be an exception to the rule.
I got that steering wheel cover way back when, just take your time while doing it or youll just get sick of it and rip it off like I did, i thought it was tight when i stitched it but it ended up loosening up and looked awful.
its fine on the car, just pull really hard, dont be afraid to rip the leather, it can take it. and do it on a warm day too so that it doesnt expand later.
