When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I was looking to replace the white LEDS with green ones so the speedometer and tachometer are lit up green instead of white in the dash and was wondering what type or size of LEDS I need to get to replace them.
When I modded my 2002's cluster, I had to custom make LED "bulbs" to ensure the light output was proper. Basically, took the cluster apart, affixed SMD LEDs to the acrylic diffuser panel in the 5 (I think?) flat spots that take in the light and disperse it in a fiber optic sort of manner, then use solid strand wire (18 gauge wire, IIRC) to make connections to the T1.5 socket. They'll need a 470Ω resistor wired in line to make sure you don't burn the resistor out.
I should note that I used different LEDs than they used in that guide. SMD LEDs, while harder to work with, put out more light than 3mm or 5mm LEDs with the acrylic dome over it.
I should also note that I had a gauge face overlay for the numbers, since 1) the LED light output "sucked" for the actual gauge face, 2) the coupe comes with a red film on the backside of the gauge cluster that could only be removed by carefully using rubbing alcohol (and I didn't wanna risk messing up the actual gauge face) and 3) the only lighting I was concerned with changing was the needles (which I had to remove, remove the red film from, and reinstall and recalibrate -- which, by the way, was a huge pain in the *** to do).
Here's what my old car's cluster looked like
I would say an easier way would be to find a gauge face overlay like mine had, but those are really, really hard to find nowadays. That gauge face overlay cost me $20 back in 2004, when finding them on eBay was a dime a dozen.
12-06-2018
