Red cluster lights

[ike84]

Let's admit it, no one likes the amber lights in the dash. Several guys (pwave was the first I think) have replaced all the cluster lights with LEDs and change the color that way. This seemed a bit labor intensive sooooo...

The instruments are illuminated by 4 lights. The two central ones are t10s and the two peripheral ones are t5 (I think). Anyway, the larger ones can be removed from the wonky base and contacts so I swapped them for these

Yorkim 194 Led Bulb Red Canbus... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MXKVZ85?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

The two peripheral ones that light up the speedo and fuel gauge are actually custom jobbers and can't be switched for standard bulbs without soldering. No worries, red crayon marker to the rescue! (I tested this on an incandescent bulb previously... The wax did not melt off or run at high temps, nothing caught on fire, and while not perfectly red I think that the red LEDs will compensate).

Lastly, the lcd displays... They are lit by incandescent bulbs from behind but again not the size that can be swapped out easily. Off to Walmart I went to get a 3m automotive lens repair kit, which comes with a very nice red gel filter. They are adhesive, which I didn't use, but I suppose you could in order to really make this a permanent change. Anyway, with the cluster open, pop off the silver retaining frame over the lcd screens, cut the red plastic down to size (make it small enough that it fits inside of the 4 white posts, otherwise the frame won't seat back down), and then replace the frame. Repeat for the other two lcds and voila.

My dash is in a hundred pieces at the moment (working on a true push button start setup) so I won't have any pics of it in operation for a bit but I will post them as soon as I can.



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[ike84]

Corresponding mod for HVAC control...

Disassemble display, remove yellow filter, cut new red filter and reassemble. Grease pen comes back out to coat the LEDs.

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[ike84]

Boom! How ya like them apples?



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[ike84]

Btw, I was wrong. The smaller bulbs in the cluster can be replaced with LEDs also. You can now buy the twist lock bases for them to fit.

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[tommy583]

Looks pretty good. I prefer the blue, but yours really seem to pop!!

[ike84]

Originally Posted by tommy583

Looks pretty good. I prefer the blue, but yours really seem to pop!!

I thought that blue setup was sweet too! Having had blue lights on radios in the past though, I think that color is really hard for night time driving. Just personal preference though.

Again though, the marvelous world of technology has evolved to the point where anything is possible! Just pick your color and buy on Amazon lol. No more bench testing for polarity and soldering the little ****************s in place. I have mad respect for the guys who did that, but damn if ain't nobody got time for that.

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