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I used Optix Neo-blue wire from streetglow. It looked pure blue like neons, but when I actually put it behind the gauges, it became a teal color (blue-green). It's cool anyway. Must be a problem with the gauges that filters out some light. Oh well, I'm happy

Good call on the wire, AlienX. And I bet it will last longer than the condoms, which may start to fade over time.

 
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condoms look ugly... when I did my A/C controls I used some transparent blue plastic, and it came out a little aqua colour. Once I get batteries for my digi I will post some pictures, but Im thinking of keeping the blue plastic, but then add a blue LED, that should even out the light and and give it the right contrast.

With the cluster, maybe stick with EL cables, but use the darkest blue which is the 3rd from the right instead of a lighter blue.

Gear, do you think adding a layer of blue glass paint to the guage cluster will make a differance ?

 
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I will attempt the blue EL cable cluster tommorow.. WIsh me Luck

 
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The teal color from the cables actually gives a good contrast so everything is not all LED blue. Even after clearing the back of the cluster, there's still something in it that's changing the color. The cable was a bright blue color outside. Blue glass paint is too transparent to work for this. It won't really transmit blue light through it unless you put it on thick (but then there won't be much light getting through).

I think LEDs are best for everything except the backlight. EL cable works great for that, even if it's not matching exactly.

 
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woah... looks like a lot of work.. but good job.

 
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Good luck. For the cable, you need to still acetone the back of the gauges to get the colored filter off.

Use the superglue and attach the cable to the plastic light shield in circles. I positioned the strands between the tick marks and numbers, so it shines on both. It will never be exactly perfect. Working from the back after removing the circuit board will be easiest. So from the top it should be gauge face, then plastic light shield, then cable glued to the bottom, then circuit board.

 
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This was an insane amount of work and pitfalls. Everything is finally figured out now. Post pics when you finish yours.

--> First page updated with EL wire info.

 
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I read through the entire thing and I'm confused as ever haha. All I want to do is the area around the radio. I'm sure this was answered but if you dont mind me asking a question...

Now as far as I can tell this was done with led. Do i have to solder?

 
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why dont his needles light up??

i am gonna do the condoms, just cause my dome lights have condems on them too. so then they will all match. imp:

 
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if I were to pay someone..could u do this exact thing with the lights for me in green?

pm me

thanks jon

 
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The needles do light up, but only half as bright. The pic doesn't show it since my digicam sucks, but trust me they do light up, just about half as bright.

Gearbox, thanks for the PM, I think I'll give the EL cable a try. Do you know if it will also light up the needles or do I still need to use led's for that, thanks. I'm guessing I still need led's though...

 
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did u clear the needles?? i just wonder if they glow if i havent cleared them. i dont wanna take the ****in thing apart again.

 
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Nope, if you clear them the lighting will be uneven (bright at base, but dark towards tips). The white paint behind the lexan needles helps promote even lighting throughout the needle. Now, if you do gearbox's led DIY for the needles, then it don't matter as they will be bright as hell. With condoms this is an issue as condoms aren't as bright as stock ambers (prolly about 70-80% brightness) or leds. The reason why the needles are not bright though, is because the top paint is red, which with amber light that has a little red/orange promotes the red paint brightness on the needles. If you want your stock needles bright using condoms, you'd have to either clear them or repaint to light blue/teal or whatever color condoms you use. Hope this helps. I've been too lazy to do this, plus it is a pain to take the needles off and have to adjust them. So for now, I just live with needles that aren't as bright, but I can still see them, so it's cool.

 
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blah, i got the EL cable.. and its a crappy blue.. its not real blue..
its this kind of blue


I was hoping it would be darker... I will post some pictures of the blue EL cable compared to a blue neon. Will rubbing alcohol work to remove the colour because I couldn't find acetone.. all the nail polish removers are acetone free now

 
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In the last picture you can't really tell the difference in colour too much but if you compare picture 1 and 2 you will see that the EL cable is a slight aqua colour.

 
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ekk.. i think i might have gotten my self into a little mess... it looks like my cluster needles are grey on the slides this is gonna be a hell of alot of fun.

 
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fak ! I can't get the needles off.. i got the speedo but can't get the tach fuel and temp... its pissing me off and hurting my fingers

edit: I got them off... ouch my fingers.. thats all I can say. I didnt think you would have to pull soo hard on them... thats a tip for anyone else that is going to attempt this... needles are a
b-itch to take off..

 
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Haha. My needles are easy to take off after 50 times of doing it. Don't worry about the grey plastic around the needles. Those are just covers. Underneath should be a clear needle.

When you clear the needles, be sure to use alcohol. Also, you MUST paint the back portion of the needle. Even with LEDs, just clear needles won't light up. When I had the amber backlight and white needles, they still lit up a bright amber. With the EL cable, they lit up very dim. LEDs are the best way to get them lit up.

AlienX, my EL cable was a bright blue color like neon. But when I put it in the back of the gauges, it turned teal. I think it's my cluster face. Maybe the white numbers filter the light or something. My old silver faces that got messed up had clear numbers and would have been better. I still wanted a black face, though.

If anyone is near Illinois and wants help, just let me know.

 
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Here's one last pic. It's photochopped to make the colors accurate. The numbers look a bit dimmer towards the center, but it's less noticable in real life.

 
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i returned the EL cable.. I have decided to go with LEds, I'm going to use 12-15 LEDs in the cluster, and 2 per needle.

gearbox, my needles are already painted white underneath. All i will have to do then is strip the orange paint off the top.

Since the electronics store is closed now, I will get the LEDs tommorow and post pictures of my final result.

 
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this is the colour i'm going for...

 
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gear, when u were clearing out the back with acetone, was it really hard to get the paint off, or should it go pretty easy, because i'm doing it with nail polish remover, and its a pain in the ***, but worth it

gear, how did u seperate the needles ?

 
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Hey, the needles are white underneath, but there's also a layer of orange above the white. You'll see once you clear the top. Use 90% alcohol to strip it--nothing else! Then paint the bottom with white transparent glass paint and a liner brush. One medium coat to make it white.

Acetone would be easiest. You can get it from lowe's or somewhere. Just be careful not to mess up the front of the cluster. I don't think you can clear the icons like turn signals, engine, oil lights, etc.

That's cool you're gonna use LEDs. I think the light would be spread better if you actually space the LEDs out throughout the cluster, rather than just putting them in the holes.

Can't wait to see the results. I never thought anyone else would try this. Definately worth all the days of work.

 
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Needles can be separated by gently prying the corners from the bottom. Just go slow and the base will pop off. If it breaks, you can always use glue to fix it.

I've got 5 white LED lights now. Any idea what to do with them?

 
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put them near the door handles! make em come on when the dome light goes on :O

 
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Great idea, but my door panels have dynamat. I could never get the wiring through there. That would have been cool, and I have 4 doors.

Did you see how the gauges turned out finally? Pics are on the first page. It's really an experience to drive it at night. Pics don't do it justice.

Gauge numbers are an aqua blue color, and the rest is LED blue. Deck doesn't match as well. Has purple buttons and EL display. Still looks nice.

 
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I got an idea again

Hehe, Ive done this already, but I dont mind people doing it

Items Needed:
LEDs
Resistors
LED Place holders
1 Pushbutton Switch, Normally Closed

setup the 5 LEDs in parallel, add resistors to all of them. Follow Ohm's Law to select the proper ohm value. COnnect the Push button switch to the ground that connects all the 5 LEDs. Attached the pushbutton somewhere in your glovebox area that will make contact with it, make/drill little holes for the LEDs(and their holders) and place them in and around your glove box area to give it light


Muhahah ! I'm good

 
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update on my progress:

I got 50 super bright LEDs I dont remeber their strength rating.. I think its 3000. and 50 resistors to go with that

I will place as much LEDs as I need to get an even lighting...

Pictures of Results Coming Soon.. Same LED Forum, Same LED Thread...

I just wanted to say that

 
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You're crazy dude. How much did that run you, cause I paid $4 a pop for blue LEDs. Can't wait for the pics.

 
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I cut a deal with the guy... I told him I would buy 50 of them if he dropped thd price. I got them for $1 each and 5c for each resistor. The other electronic stores beside where i got them were selling 1 blue LED for $6 !!! the the next one was $3.50 of something.. it was insance.

I saved 50c on each LED because I got 50 of them.. I will post pictures of my LEDs and how i managed to get them to spread the light better.. Just break them