Change the color of your gauge cluster!

[Big Tone]

A month or so ago I asked if anyone knew how to change the colors in the gauge cluster. I was on Car Domain today and saw a J with red gauges. Here's a link to the page: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/683644

And here's a pic of his gauge cluster:

Here's a quote he left another member on what he did: "the bulbs for the gauges are just 194 bulbs. i liked red but u could use any color. http://www.2kracing.com/produc.../2788the b1 hybrids seem to look the nicest and dont fade (like mine have started to). mine are not b1 hybrids because i couldnt find any in red where i live but that site has pretty decent selection of colors. they sell in packs of 2, i think u need 5 so 3 packs would be good. when u get the gauge cluster out u just need to figure out which bulbs u screw out backlight the gauge and which light the gas/check engine/oil (etc.) lights. good luck man"

He gave the web site of where he bought his from and I went there and found the bulbs: http://www.2kracing.com/index....477f7 The bulbs that fit are the 194s according to the guy on Car Domain. I really want to get blue, but this site appears to only have red and white. White would be a great second choice for me. The buttons on my HU are blue, though.

I found a seller on eBay with the 194 bulbs, but his feedback is somewhat shaky (98.6%). His name is mrtaillight.com and he charges $13 shipped for a pack of 10. The guy on Car Domain said 5 is all you need.

Does anyone know how to remove the gauge cluster? If someone knows how to do it, and if it's not too difficult I might give it a try to see how it looks.
Modified by Big Tone at 2:04 PM 4/20/2006

[elwesso]

Thats really cool big tone, we were actually just tlaking about this in the Q45 forum. Here is a diagram of the bottom of the instrument cluster, should come in handy later...

You can probably get hte bulbs at radio shack too, if you all about geographic convenience like I am!!

The instrument cluster is about like doing it on the Q... I'll post instructions in my next post.

[93j30t]

that's cool and all, but i'll stick with my glow gauges

[Big Tone]

Thanks Wes! Now that I know I can get the bulbs at RS I might do this tomorrow, provided the job isn't too difficult. With the instructions you're going to post I'm pretty sure I can get it done. I'm going to redo the wiring for the headrest LCDs anyway so I might as well knock this out at the same time.

[Big Tone]

Do you have those instructions, Wes? I think I'll be able to do this today if I have them!

[DominickJ30]

I dont think there is much to it, I know there are two screws on the top on the cluster, and quite possibly clips on the bottom.

[Big Tone]

Ok. I'm going to give it a try. Is there anything I need to be careful with when removing the cluster? Are there any wires that are in danger of being torn if I pull it out too far?

[elwesso]

Sorry boss..... I got sidetracked then took a little trip this weekend and got easily sidetracked...

So hope this isnt too late... BTW, if you do this PLEASE make an article

[Big Tone]

No problem. I will try and tackle this today. I would have done it yesterday but I had a few other things to take care of yesterday. I see you posted the diagram again. Are there any instructions that accompany this?

[elwesso]

I edited my post... Im really sorry dude, ADD was kicking my arse yesterday!!

[Big Tone]

You have to remove all that just to get to the gauge cluster?! I think I'll pass on this project! There's too much for me to screw up. DAMN IT!

[elwesso]

No you dont have to remove all that, just remove the stuff that applies to the gauge cluster. thats instructions to tear down the entire DASH..

It looks to me you only have to do steps 2-6...

[Big Tone]

Good deal. I'm going to head over to RS to see what colors they have. I was at Auto Zone yesterday and checked what they have and they only had white and orange.

[Big Tone]

Well, I have good news and bad news. The good news is it was very easy to disassemble the cluster and change the bulbs. The bad news is the speedometer itself appears to have some green coloring in it so when I added the blue bulbs it made little to no difference at all. In fact, I think it looks MORE green now than before! See the pics for yourself. I also added pics of what I took apart and which bulbs I changed. There were only 5 that needed to be changed and they all had little dots of paint on the back of the plugs.

First, here are the areas that need to be unscrewed:There are two screws (one on each side) that are easily seen at the top of the gauge cluster bezel

Next there are two screws (one on each side) at the bottom of the tan arm that is directly under the black bezel:

Once you remove the bezel and arm, there are four screws that need to be removed that hold the cluster in place:

Once you get the cluster out you will see the plugs that need to be removed. They have orangish dots of paint on them:

I installed the blue bulbs and here is the finished product:

Call me crazy, but they look more green now than before! Sorry for the shaky pic, but for some reason my camera takes longer to snap a pic when the flash is off. Like I said, looking at the plastics piece that has the gauges on it, it appears that there is a greenish tint on the numbers. Outside of buying a custom cluster or coloring the numbers from behind with your PERMANENT color of choice, I don't know what we can do to change the color. There is a good chance that the bulbs I bought weren't bright enough, or that the color is too close to the one I changed from that I can't tell the difference. I might pick up some red bulbs to see how that looks since that's the color the guy on Car Domain used.

[elwesso]

What color were the original bulbs...?

Im sure there is a filter or osmething that you could change.....

[Big Tone]

Oh, yeah. The original bulbs are white with green plastic covers over them. If there's a filter let me know. I'm all on it!

[elwesso]

OK... I wonder what would happen if you put the green covers on the blue bulbs?? Who knows?

Theres no diagram for any lenses or anything related to this..... You might have to take it further apart ot see what the deal is.

[Big Tone]

If you know how to separate the gauge cover from the cluster, let me know. I'll take mine apart to see what it looks like. I tried to do it earlier, but didn't know what was connected to what and was afraid I'd break something. I also discovered that my low fuel gauge doesn't work. I changed the bulb, but got nothing!

My guess is putting the green covers over the blue bulb will just make whatever color that combination makes, but would it show up?

[elwesso]

I think itd be worthwhile to experiment with it. My reasoning is that light that comes off the instruments is a whiteish color, but the green filters and stuff must be needed to make it white. maybe you shoudl put the green filter to get it to produce the color you want? Can you follow my reasoning? It may be a shot in the dark or make a ton of sense, but it may just work.

Heres an exploded view of the gauge cluster.

[Big Tone]

It's definitely worth a shot. I'll see if I can work on it tomorrow or Tuesday. I'll be going out of town on Wednesday and won't be back until the weekend so hopefully I'll get to try this out before I go. My headrests should come in Tuesday and I plan on doing that ASAP. Depending on what time I get started I might be able to tinker with this awhile, too.

Looking at the sketch, I'm still not able to figure out what connects the gauge grid (or whatever it's called) to the cluster. Are there screws holding it in place that I can't see?

[Big Tone]

To be specific, the parts in particular I need to know how to disconnect are 24880, 24850, and 24855. Good night!

[driverdriver]

This is lind of a ghetto method for changing bulb colours, but I've seen others do it and it works.

Simply take magic markers and colour the white bulbs the colour you want and then re-install.

[NismoChi]

Hope these pics help, did some homework and was going to do the color change, but have not have time to finish it.

[Big Tone]

Nismo, this helps a lot. It appears that the gauge grid is held onto the cluster by the four screws in the white braket. Is that correct?

Do you know if the bulbs being sold on eBay are brighter than the ones at Walmart and Radio Shack?

Driver,The magic marker thought crossed my mind during a fit of frustration! I doubt it'll be bright enough to show, though. And, if I change my mind about my color choice I'm SOL.

[Big Tone]

I just had a thought. Looking at that gauge cluster, I bet we could cut see through colored plastic to fit on the back to give whatever color we wanted. Kind of like the plastic that is used as lenses on 3D glasses. Any thoughts? Where would I be able to find something like that, anyway? A craft store, perhaps?

[NismoChi]

It appears that the gauge grid is held onto the cluster by the four screws in the white braket. Is that correct?

You know what? I don't remember. I was at the junk yard and saw that gauge and decided to take that apart for photo purpose.

[Big Tone]

I'm tempted to buy one from eBay and mess with it. That way if it breaks I won't have any worries.

[elwesso]

I'm tempted to buy one from eBay and mess with it. That way if it breaks I won't have any worries.

I think thats a good idea. If you sucessfully get it apart (either one) you can always swap in the odometer assy form the other one...

[Big Tone]

I'll see if I can find a cheap price for one. I'll report back with my results.

[Big Tone]

I just learned something! I didn't know that the gauge clusters from the 93-94s are different from the 95-97s. The ones I found on eBay for my car started at $50. I don't want to spend that much on an experiment. I'll check with some people parting out their cars and will call a junk yard or two in my area.