Gauge Lighting, This Little Light of Mine Options

[timothy_nd28]

This is a tribute thread for the late Al Garcia, RIP

Many of us have issues with the inadequate lighting on our gauge cluster. This is a tutorial on how to increase the lighting for the DIY'er and for under 20 bucks.
Euro911 was nice enough to be the guinea pig, in which he donated his gauges for this build. I rate the skill level at around a 3. 1 being easy (adding blinker fluid) and 10 (setting up valve geometry).

1st step, remove the combo/speedometer/tach from your car. Alrighty, easy enough.

2nd step, drink a beer or two. This is somewhat unnerving and for the few it may turn you off. However, this isn't all that bad. We need to remove the bezel trim rings. I'm sure there is a machine out there that cost 15k, that will do this in about 10 seconds but we will use a small screwdriver. The first time I did this (my gauges) it took around 40 mins each, and I had a good size blister on my index finger. You will get a feeling that you are absolutely ruining these rings, but your not. Wedge the screw driver in between the bezel and the gauge can. Once your in, lightly twist back and forth the screw drive in situ pushing in a forward direction. By the time you get to the third gauge, you'll be a pro! I also found that it is unnecessary to uncrimp the entire circumference of the bezel ring. Once you get 3/4 around, the last 1/4 will pop off.




Now that these ring are off, go ahead and remove the insides. The tach will have 4 brass screws and the odometer will have 2. The combo gauge will have either 4 or 8 screws depending on the year.



Now that the inner guts have been removed, you should have 3 empty cans like this

We will need to clean the inside of these cans, for the best adhesion of the LED lights in a future step. I didn't use anything special, good old windex spray should suffice.

[PThompson509]

Oh, and are there LED instructions for the blinker indicators? Light/Bright light indicators? Oil/Generator? and Low Fuel?

Or do we have to stick with the old timey wimey light bulbs?

www.superbrightleds.com has replacement bulbs for the blinkers and such - they work ok, but you really have to get the polarity right, otherwise they just don't work. Lots of colors to choose from - I went with blue and it's quite nice.

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I measured the glass and it seems to be a nominal 1/8" thick. I went to a glass place but they wanted $28 for each piece. I suppose I should check other places but I also wonder if one can cut th glass themselves.

Also, has anyone seen the LED's in a 'warm white' color? I think that may look more original while providing the added brightness. I just don't know who carries the warm white color (I didn't see it in the 'store' on the eBay link).

Glass cutting isn't the problem - it is cutting the glass then tempering it - try going to a stained glass shop and see what they can do (bound to be a LOT cheaper).

As for the colors, check out the above website - I really like the stuff that superbright has, and have used them extensively for lots of projects - like a 3rd brakelight that sticks to the chrome just below the roof.

Cheers, Peter

P.S. Excellent job on the LED strips in the can!