Big Baller L

iTrader: (5)

^^yah diy stuff always costs more...especially when ur testing stuff out...today i wasted 5 leds and now i gotta get more!! Its fun watching them burn out tho!!! Is the pod the whole pillar or just a section of it?

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

Just a section. They only have the full pillar for two or more gauges. It says the propod brand is made for both sedan and coupe, but I'm not so sure. The autometer one I got didn't fit too well. I hope this one does. You burned out LEDs? I guess you didn't use resistors, lol.

Big Baller L

iTrader: (5)

^^^im sure the pod will fit...if not bust out the heat gun!! Well i did use resistors, but i though they were already burned out...so i took them out and tested them on the first 12v source i could find....so i touched the positive and they lit up...and so i took it away...then i wanted to see what would happen....so i did it again and saw them get dimmer and then they turned like yellow and red before totally burning...it was actually pretty cool!! So yah i just horsed around with them thats why they burned out. Okay i got a question. If i string 4 leds in a row from negative cathode to positive cathode etc... and run it straight to a 12 volt source without resistors technically it should be the proper power right? Cuz they are 3 volts each. I want to do that for the leds in my vents, but i dont wanan burn them like before!!

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

I'm not exactly sure. Someone who knows about electronics said that just hooking them up to the battery will fry them cause there's too much current. I think each LED needs a resistor in front of the positive lead. If I'm not mistaken, blue is 3V, and others are 2V. I used 680 ohm resistors for mine. That guy who did his nissan had the current split for the speedo and tach (2 LEDs each). I just followed his diagram. I don't really know too much about LEDs, just enough to follow a circuit diagram.

Big Baller L

iTrader: (5)

hmmm....im guessing that if there is a resistor strong enough on the first one then all the rest will recieve the same ammount of current. I attached all the ones in my vents to the same string...positive negative thing....with one resistor on the first one...im gonna hook that up to a 12v source and see what i get. If they burn out then i will forget about it!!! leds are gettin kinda expensive!!

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

You may want to check out autolumination.com since they sell individual LEDs for only $2 instead of $4, and they come with built-in resistors. I'm not sure they would be good for backlight, cause you want a normal bulb so the light diffuses evenly.

Big Baller L

iTrader: (5)

^sweet ill check it out...thanks!!! good luck on ur project...post the results!!

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

I'm extremely pissed right now. After spending all day soldering in 194 blue bulbs into the cluster, I hook it up only to find that they light up a greenish color. Had to tear everything apart and redo it.

I've decided to keep the amber gauges with blue needles, since the only way to change the color would be with opaque LEDs. But seriously I'm done modding. I also have a nasty burn from that soldering.

For the odometer, I took out that piece and put in a strip of that tissue paper type stuff that they put your pretzel in at Sam's Club. It diffuses the light pretty well. Only thing was it was VERY bright amber. So I just took out the bulb behind it and let the other backlight bulbs light it. It's now a very dim amber, but still barely visible.

One thing I have not been able to fix is the blue mixing with the amber to give a pinkish color near the bottom of the speedo. I think the numbers are just too close to the center. At this point, it's good enough that I'm not messing with it anymore.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

I got my pro pod in the mail and it's the same as the autometer one for the coupe. Sucks, but I'm gonna make do and just install it anyway. I'll get some updates and pics in here tonight.

Big Baller L

iTrader: (5)

**** that really sucks!! I spent my day soldering in leds for my vents and they turned green also...so i took of the resistor to give them more juice. Its better than green forshure. I too also got a friggin burn on my finger from soldering....hurts like i bitch...and its minue degree weather out here!!! NOT FUN!! oh well...hope the guage pod works out for you!

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

I think everything worked out okay. To anyone doing this DIY: Do not use colored light bulbs for anything! LEDs are the only way to get the color you want. Condoms will make the lights way too dim. I'm finally done with this, so if anyone has specific questions, ask away and good luck!!

ImPulse

iTrader: (32)

lol, im afraid to try this now! Im thinking of making the dash an amber color... but i cant really see how that looks good IMO, isnt it look misplased kinda? I really want white :x gggggrrrrrrrrrrrr

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

The amber really looks nice when you see it in person. It's alot like regular light. Looks good in a sedan at least, cause the stock color is a greenish yellow. The amber is much brighter and will match everything. I don't see any other way to do this unless you use white LEDs (opaque kinds so the light won't be focused in a spot) for the backlight.

I gues I can humor myself and try those smaller blue bulbs I'm getting soon, but I don't think it will be bright enough and the right color.

Impulse--The needle DIY is easy. Just follow the steps.Didn't you do blue LEDs in the A/C controls already? You can always just buy some reverse indiglo gauges and not worry about backlight.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

I guess you could always try those hyper white bulbs from autolumination, but I don't know how bright they are.

I really wanted the gauge backlight to be blue also, but I guess the amber will have to do. The amber dash lights actually look good, but the gauges are a bit much. I don't know if I should try those opaque LEDs or not.

ImPulse

iTrader: (32)

they dont make guages that glow white =\ I really want the 03? guages... But, i dont want to do the swap. Plus i dont really feel like spending 80$ on a new cluster just for the overlaythingy... Would it be less expensive to just order that one part? Cause my cluster is fine....?

OsOBooSTeD

iTrader: (5)

I DONT THINK U CAN ORDER JUST THAT ONE PART OR IF IT WILL EVER WORK....


GOT CAPS

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

Here's what happened to me.

1) I considered doing an all-white dash, but I needed at least 20 LEDs at $5 each = $100=way too much.

2) I did some more major gauge mods. All the bulbs that tell you if you're in P, N, R, D are gone because I couldn't get them to match (only amber).

2) I soldered in #74 blue incandescent bulbs from autolumination for the gauge backlight. Looks a little dim, but very cool at night. The numbers are almost like a white blue. Looks really nice. Also took out LCD backlight (didn't match again).

2) I'm doing the dash now with blue LEDs. I'm almost done with the HVAC console, and then I'm doing my voltmeter. That's all. I tried the moonroof area but had to give up after a few hours cause nothing was fitting or lighting up right. I just unplugged that as well Oh and I unplugged the light for the bottom shifter cause I couldn't get that to match. So now I'll never know what gear I'm in at night. Oh well.

This is going to look amazing hopefully. I'm gonna post pics later tonight and some from the DIY. All I can say is the cluster looks excellent with regular blue bulbs. The reason it's dim has to do with the fact that incandescent light doesn't put off much blue light (mostly red/yellow). I thought of LEDs for the cluster, but it would be another $40 at least for 10 more. Plus the way that the 01 cluster is set up, the shift indicator would have been green with white backlight--the green paint is on the front. So the blue nicely hides that

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

I think I might be able to redo the moonroof area if I had 7 LEDs to make it light up properly. I'm not wasting time on it since you can't really see them anyway from above.

tfnaaf

iTrader: (2)

i love your idea, but i couldnt pass up on E-bay just got them installed what do ya think?

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

Looks great. I always liked those indiglos and used to have them myself. Just wanted to go in more of a stock direction.

Check first post for major update ->

abmerop18

iTrader: (26)

i like how you did everything in blue. what kind of resistors and how many did you use when doing the control *****? how many leds per **** and button?

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

Well, for each button like A/C defrost I used a single LED. For the bottom buttons, you can make a series curcuit like this with 660 ohm resitsors before each LED. The most you can hook in series is 3 LEDs. This only applies to blue LEDS!!

power-->resistor-->LED-->resistor-->LED-->resistor-->LED-->ground

For the control *****, you'll notice that there are only two bulbs in the side. I replaced each bulb with 2 LEDs facing towards the front. You'll have to make two circuits of 2 LEDs each. Put them right where the bulbs used to be. Make sure they face forward, since LEDs are very dim from the sides.

For the voltmeter, I just hooked up a single LED with resistor.

I could NOT do the moonroof and other controls in that area, so if anyone knows how, please post. Also the shift assembly down below is impossible to do due to filters that can't be removed.

Also, I have no way to tell which gear I'm in. I had to take out the gauge indicator lights and the shifter lights on the bottom so that everything is blue.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

The blue bulbs from autolumination worked really well. I just hope the paint doesn't fade over time. I think I used close to 20 LEDs in all. This was so expensive and tedious.

UPDATE: I just finished doing the power window switch and the mirror button only. For some reason the cruise button is really dim with the LED, and the moonroof button is impossible to get 3 LEDs in there. So I just did the mirror. The AUTO window light was the hardest and most frustrating. Let me know if you're interested, and I'll post more pics.

mrchowmein

awesome!

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

Remember that you can do this with any color LEDs. The only part I used bulbs for was the gauge cluster backlight. It still has that uneven light, and I've thought about putting more bulbs back there. Only problem is trying to make them stay in one place and running more wiring. Post pics if anyone has done parts of this, like dash LEDs or something else.

AlienX

iTrader: (2)

Has anyone tried the #74 Instrument Panel & Gauge LEDs as a replacement for the current stock bulbs ? How did that come out ?

tfnaaf

iTrader: (2)

Good question im kind of curious myself

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

The LEDs would be too directional. I used blue bulbs because the light diffuses better. I guess you could try shaving down the tips or using the opaque lens.

The only thing I worry about with my bulbs is the blue coating fading over time.

AlienX

iTrader: (2)

one thing that I am thinking about is that the light from the bulb/led would travel thought a plastic that directs it to its place, like in the AC controls. If this the same kind of design in the guage cluster ?

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

The gauge cluster does have a plastic light guide, but only to send light to the needle holes. With blue light, the needles do not light up very well--hence the need for separate LEDs for each needle.

The rest of the cluster is just lit by the bulb glow. This is why some parts of the display are brighter where the bulbs are. There's no light guide to even out the number lighting. They put paint on the back of the gauge faces to filter the light evenly, but you need to take this off if you want a brighter, different colored light.