DIY: LED gauge cluster
06-13-09, 06:17 PM
#16
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DAVEGS4, if you want a proper DIY on how to an led retofit here it is.
Schwarz sorry but i just cant believe you about "no" hot spots. I wont lie this is one step better then just putting 1 led bulb into each light socket but it retains that original problem of hot spots. Like they say the proof is in the pudding. Look at the images of the CCFL ring mod, no hot spots. You look at the images the guy who did a proper led retrofit (my link) and you see no hot spots. You look at your images and you can see hot spots. Bottom line is you NEED more leds and you NEED to evenly space the leds. Unless those 2 conditions are meet, you MUST have hot spots.
I just dont think its really smart to make this diy into an faq when their are far better guides online.
Schwarz sorry but i just cant believe you about "no" hot spots. I wont lie this is one step better then just putting 1 led bulb into each light socket but it retains that original problem of hot spots. Like they say the proof is in the pudding. Look at the images of the CCFL ring mod, no hot spots. You look at the images the guy who did a proper led retrofit (my link) and you see no hot spots. You look at your images and you can see hot spots. Bottom line is you NEED more leds and you NEED to evenly space the leds. Unless those 2 conditions are meet, you MUST have hot spots.
I just dont think its really smart to make this diy into an faq when their are far better guides online.
Not even the same CAR! He never said NO hotspots, he said NO hotspots to the NAKED eye.
schwarz, keep doin what your doin' it's a good DIY + money saver bro!
06-13-09, 06:44 PM
#17
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Look...I never said they have NO hotspots...they have 1 dim spot on the 4 of the tach. To MY naked eye, they don't exist IRL but in the pics, they do. Of course, you would know of all my hotspots in real life since you have seen my cluster up close and personal. And since you seem to have perfect vision, why don't you see your way out of this thread. It's my DIY, it's my way of doing it and it's my end result. If people want to do this, they can and I showed them how to. If they want to do it your way, then they can use your DIY and do it your way but don't sit there and say YOUR way is the ONLY way.
06-13-09, 08:10 PM
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And grinding the **** out of your cluster with a Dremel to fit in CCFL tubes is a good idea? At least with LED's you can take them out and put it back the way it was. Either way, like I said before, people will make their own decisions about doing this mod. If they want to do it your way, they will follow your guide, likewise, if they want to do it my way, then here it is for them to do it.
06-13-09, 08:12 PM
#20
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The needles don't pull apart, but lift straight off the cluster. Be sure when you pull them off, to pull them straight up and off. They will give you some resistance if they have never been off before but aren't as fragile as people have made them out to be.
06-14-09, 02:44 AM
#24
Great DIY schwarz! This is going to come in handy for my ES300 cluster thats for sure! 
. Do you remember what the voltage for each hole was with the car on? 13.4v right? If it is, I'm going to have about 100 extra red High Intensity LEDs left over from my custom LED brake project I'm working on so I might as well put them to good use....
And to Ryeno, please stop filling up schwarz's thread by arguing with him. If you want to make a DIY and to this, go for it and post it up. None of us are stopping you from doing it yourself. But you should be aware that many people might not feel comfortable dremeling or grinding away at the plastic pieces.
. Do you remember what the voltage for each hole was with the car on? 13.4v right? If it is, I'm going to have about 100 extra red High Intensity LEDs left over from my custom LED brake project I'm working on so I might as well put them to good use....And to Ryeno, please stop filling up schwarz's thread by arguing with him. If you want to make a DIY and to this, go for it and post it up. None of us are stopping you from doing it yourself. But you should be aware that many people might not feel comfortable dremeling or grinding away at the plastic pieces.
06-14-09, 04:45 AM
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Great DIY schwarz! This is going to come in handy for my ES300 cluster thats for sure! . Do you remember what the voltage for each hole was with the car on? 13.4v right? If it is, I'm going to have about 100 extra red High Intensity LEDs left over from my custom LED brake project I'm working on so I might as well put them to good use...
. Do you remember what the voltage for each hole was with the car on? 13.4v right? If it is, I'm going to have about 100 extra red High Intensity LEDs left over from my custom LED brake project I'm working on so I might as well put them to good use...
06-14-09, 07:46 PM
#28
Do you realize its FAR more dangerous to dismantle the gauge cluster then to dremel out some plastic. You take a dremel and press it down, bam plastic is gone. On the other hand when you remove your guage cluster (especially repeatably) you will end up stripping out the screws. If you can no longer get a contact between the screws and the metal your guage cluster will end up not working. Also once you put back the guage needles back in they will all be wrong. In order to calibrate the needles, you need to push them to the end and then push them some more. Push them just a little bit to much and you will end up destroying the spring, ruining your cluster.
So ya if you think dremeling is dangerous then dont even try to take apart the cluster.
BTW, awesome write-up and pics. I'll be reaching out to your for some help. Would this basically be the same steps for climate control unit?
06-15-09, 05:26 AM
#30
I seriously doubt those little peanut bulbs are halogens !
He did use flat topped LEDs, so technically they should be more of a flood light than a spot light.
He did use flat topped LEDs, so technically they should be more of a flood light than a spot light.