Lexucan

Yep, the backlights are just ordinary little incandescent bulbs but they can be replaced with LEDS too when it's necessary.

You're lucky! Like I said before - pretty rare to have all four working in a 15 y.o. car!
Glad the whack job did the trick! (probably the easiest and cheapest DIY ever!) LOL
Dimming your display brightness should help to preserve them too.

tuan92129

Hha since some people still have working needles, I'll put more tips on keeping the needles alive longer
Heat, I read on Lextech is bad for Leds, especially in the Southern California sun. Use a windshield cover and if the top of the dash feels hot, then turn the needles down.
Get used to the fact that during the day, you don't really need to see your needles...I just turn them all off.. (my friend said it looked cool b/c it was blacked out lol )
Haha if you look on the first pg, i accidentally bought 10 led bulbs, so fortunately i found the white bulb that matched
Will post pics when it gets darker.

Parker Gen

I'm soo confused... I've gone to all the motor acessories shops round here, and none of them have the 5mm 3W bulb for the backlghts. And none have LED's that can match the size of the original bulb. Do any of you have a link where you bought the LED's from so I can buy some?? My problem is shipping to Australia.
And another question. Did these LED's that you guys bought fit straight into the housing for the original bulb? No soldering needed?
Thanks.

P.S. I got chrome needles in my cluster :thumbs:
Pictures when I put it back into my car with new Backlights (That's all I'm waiting for now!!)

tuan92129

man!! you stole my idea
For during the day, I wanted to paint two strips on both sides of the red led part of the needle so it looks like this.. ======== <- during the day and -------- at night. the Mercedes c230 and 90's acura had the silver needles, so i think that would look cool.

Also for the backlighting leds..there is no direct led replacement for it that will fit 100%
However, the #74 bulb Lexucan recommended will work, but is somewhat loose b/c its a little thinner. I used electrical tape to stuff the extra space.
Link to ebay seller.
Shipping took 10 business days though, and I would order 10 bulbs just in case? if you search "74 led" you should come up with plenty of other sellers.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2pcs-...spagenameZWDVW

Parker Gen

HHAHA. Too bad bud.
I got to chuck some pictures up now, just to claim originalty


Oh... is that link where you bought yours from or???

Lexucan

I bought #286 5mm wedge-base white/blue flat top LEDs for my cluster backlights and they were the perfect size. I just took the old bulbs out of their sockets and popped the LEDs into the same sockets - no soldering involved. Getting flat-top LEDs is important b/c they throw light in more directions than the usual dome-top LEDs which produce only a narrow beam of light.

Here is the item number for a current ebay listing for this type of LED

Item number: 200098292944

tuan92129

No wonder the bulbs didn't fit perfectly..i needed #286 bulbs
???? I could have sworn i didn't see #286 bulb in the write-up last week??? lol

Ariyanna

This is what your cluster should really look like, try installing 64 Super Bright LEDS in the cluster and this is what u get. Took me 8 hours to complete and calibrate.

tuan92129

Let us in on the secret
Although 64 leds is kind of excessive..
maybe 18 leds would be a better compromise..
hmm..I wonder if you can fit a couple of led strings or something similar inbetween the back of the circuit board and the face plate?

Slooooooow

iTrader: (1)

I don't get it.
Remove the old bulbs.
Insert the LEDs in their place.
What's to calibrate? Why 8 hours?
Looks GREAT btw!

Lexucan

I've been wondering the same thing.
I guess putting in 8 times as many LEDs as there were original bulbs might take a while longer (maybe they are the type that incorporate multiple LEDs into one light?) but what needs calibrating?
You might need sunglasses at night to read the gauges without being blinded by the light from the cluster

tuan92129

I think Ariyanna customized the unit to work with 64 leds?
I know lextech offers this service where they modify the rear to add 1 led under each number.

Parker Gen

I think the question I'm in need of is... "Why would you??" Other than that, looks good, but maybe a little over the top.

Lexucan

If that was the case, it would only require 20 or so LEDS, not 64 of them

tuan92129

Thats why Lextech offers a 64 led conversion