Interior help

[95_Mystique]

i want to get rid of the green lights on the inside of the car such as the A/C congrols, power window and door lock switches and door handle lights, but how do i get rid of the green? i want to go blue with everything....

[mystiquevltwin]

Do some searching. I know there have been many discussions about this.

IIRC, you have to gently sand a layer of paint off (the green) so the new LED's can show through.

[striker2]

you mean so they look like this?

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k17/Dslax/100_0195.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k17/Dslax/101_0134.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k17/Dslax/100_0198.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k17/Dslax/100_0199.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k17/Dslax/100_0201.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k17/Dslax/100_0202.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k17/Dslax/101_0135.jpg

BTW there was no sanding involved.

[andreslobo]

Looks good, how did you do it?

[95_Mystique]

thats exactly wat i want to do, but with bright orange needles

[striker2]

well im not sure how your going to get the orange needles cause the bulbs that light the gauge faces are the same ones that light the needles.

[dyaballikl]

why do they look all scratched up, and how'd you do it?

[striker2]

the scratches are on the plastic lens. its just some LEDs from www.autolumination.com. ill post the exact link and which ones they are later as i dont have the link saved on this computer.

[dyaballikl]

are they very wide angle? i haven't seen behind my tour cluster, but i do work with led's a lot, and from what i've seen of previous car clusters, even light like that would be very difficult to accomplish with anything but the widest angle and very bright led's. but, you're right, if you have bright enough lights, they will shine through mostly with their color, even through a tinted cover.

[striker2]

yes they are a VERY wide angle.

this is what they look like:
http://superlumination.com/images/auto_bulbs/24_ss_b_wm.jpg

they are about the 6th bulb down on this (http://autolumination.com/74.htm) page. you do have to take the "tails" and make it so that there is only one on each side of the base. otherwise you get contact on both "tails" on both sides.

[dyaballikl]

nice, internal resistors, me likey. definitely gonna grab a few red ones for myself. you remember how many you needed stryker? mine's also a 97. with zetec.

[edit] i could really use one of these behind my clock, too!!

[striker2]

it takes 5 for the gauges plus whatever indicator lights you want to change. i dont know what bulb to use for the clock though.

[dyaballikl]

it takes 5 for the gauges plus whatever indicator lights you want to change. i dont know what bulb to use for the clock though.nah, they don't have anything for the clock, i'd just get an extra of those and mount it in there, easy customization.

[Suba Blu]

found them on that site.... what exactly do you do to the tails? I'm confused... you have pictures of what you modified at all?

[striker2]

ill get you pics crispy if you really need them. the tails come out of the bulb on opposite sides of the base and then wrap under the base. this puts parts of both tails on both sides. what you need to do is bend the tails back around so that there is only one tail on each side of the base.

If your still confused i will get you some pics

[Suba Blu]

I'd appreciate any sort of pic so I know what to wrap and how...

The lame stock green lighting is super dim... if your driving at dark you can barely see crap... (unless there are several lights burned out in 2 out of the 3 SVT's I own?)

I wonder what the white ones would look like as I dont care about changing the color as much as just being able to see decently.

thanks in advance. :)

[striker2]

ok ill get you some pics tonight after work

[mrrockwood]

SICK!!!! I gotcha on the tails... makes sense.... so 5 for the dash guages... How many for the HVAC pannel?

Also.... will this work in a 98 mystique?

[striker2]

the HVAC panel i had to solder in custom LEDs with resistors so i dont know what bulbs they take but there are 2 of them in the display. you will have to pull your display out and measure the bulbs to get the right ones.

it should work just fine on a mystique as the clusters are the same.

[striker2]

Ok i have pictures but my internet connection at the house is really slow (not dial-up but still slow). i will upload the pictures at work tomorrow and should have them posted fairly quickly.

[striker2]

Ok i finally got the pictures uploaded this morning so here is a picture of just the bulb and how the tails need to be. you can compare it to the picture i posted earlier.

http://s84.photobucket.com/albums/k17/Dslax/Gauge%20lighting%20how-to/?action=view&current=8-31-2007012.jpg

Im going to be making a full how-to sometime today or tomorrow hopefully.



why does it keep removing the image tags :mad:

[Suba Blu]

nice..

that pic makes more sense now..

BTW -- that thing looks super beefy! after the tails are bent up it just plugs straight in like normal?

[striker2]

yup you just plug it into the socket lke normal and then put the socket back in the cluster. turn on the lights and see if it turns on. if it doesnt then rotate the socket 180 degrees.

[Aussie Ford]

Partsexpress.com has blue blub covers for the clock light. Stock it has a green one on it so just change it to red, blue, yellow which ever color you want. As I recall it was a size .2.

AF

[dpa43]

yes they are a VERY wide angle.

this is what they look like:
http://superlumination.com/images/auto_bulbs/24_ss_b_wm.jpg

they are about the 6th bulb down on this (http://autolumination.com/74.htm) page. you do have to take the "tails" and make it so that there is only one on each side of the base. otherwise you get contact on both "tails" on both sides.

ALso you guys might want to check E-Bay for these LED's. The guy who runs autolumination also sells them on e-bay. I did not know this till after I bought some from him on the website for the full price. Here is his E-Bay store. His Prices are a little cheaper on E-Bay.

http://stores.ebay.com/superlumination

[dyaballikl]

ALso you guys might want to check E-Bay for these LED's. The guy who runs autolumination also sells them on e-bay. I did not know this till after I bought some from him on the website for the full price. Here is his E-Bay store. His Prices are a little cheaper on E-Bay.

http://stores.ebay.com/superlumination

he doesn't appear to be selling any on ebay now :(

[rouar]

I'd appreciate any sort of pic so I know what to wrap and how...

The lame stock green lighting is super dim... if your driving at dark you can barely see crap... (unless there are several lights burned out in 2 out of the 3 SVT's I own?)

I wonder what the white ones would look like as I dont care about changing the color as much as just being able to see decently.

thanks in advance. :)
Did you check the dimmer switch? It affects the dashboard lighting at night.

(I assume you know this, but just in case..)

[qbcsvt]

Im looking to order a couple of these for the Gauge Cluster... Just dont know if they will fit into my 99 CSVT cluster?

Does anyone have experience with the installation into an SVT or if the gauge cluster bulbs are the same?

- amyn

[Aussie Ford]

Gage clusters are all basically the same from 96 on, as far as design, with some variations like SVT white faces, tach / no tach, and some minor changes to the circuits on some years. Bulbs across the production run are the same all years.

AF

[sleepr]

The lame stock green lighting is super dim... if your driving at dark you can barely see crap... (unless there are several lights burned out in 2 out of the 3 SVT's I own?)

I wonder what the white ones would look like as I dont care about changing the color as much as just being able to see decently.

thanks in advance. :)

Standard incandescant bulbs will off-gas from the filament over time. This gets deposited on the inside of the glass turning it dark. Replace with new bulbs and you'll be amazed at the difference.

Safety suggestion: While you're at it, replace your tail light bulbs too!

[ahowie]

okay.. i got the bulbs, got the gauges out, how did you get the stock bulbs out of the little twist and lock holders. i cant pull them out i tried prying with a screwdriver and pulling on them with pliers nothing seems to work.. ??:shrug:

[zorrex]

okay.. i got the bulbs, got the gauges out, how did you get the stock bulbs out of the little twist and lock holders. i cant pull them out i tried prying with a screwdriver and pulling on them with pliers nothing seems to work.. ??:shrug:

There should be two metal tabs on the bottom along the outside. Push those and pull the entire connector assembly out leaving just the plastic, then solder as needed and replace. Or, you can smash the bulb, and take a sharp metal object and pry out the bulb. But then again, if you ever want those bulbs back, you can't find the exact size at an auto parts store...at least I wasn't able to.

[Aussie Ford]

you can always get them at a JY. In fact I'd get some of them, do the upgrade then install those....

Just my 2 cents,
AF

[striker2]

you can always get them at a JY. In fact I'd get some of them, do the upgrade then install those....

Just my 2 cents,
AF
yeah they can be a real PITA. i did exactly what AF suggested, only i had an extra cluster laying around from when i upgraded to one with a tach. i found that some of them come right out and others wont. :shrug: so i went through and pulled the easy ones and then just used those.

[Savior]

So for an SVT or a regular Contique with a tach in the cluster, you would want to buy five of the #74 equivalents for the gauge cluster, and four of the #194 equivalents (two for the HVAC panel and two for the floorboard/kickplate lights, correct? This is what I gather.

[zorrex]

Nooo #74 isn't quite big enough. It will work, but it juuuust isn't what you need. A #24 will work better :).

[Savior]

Nooo #74 isn't quite big enough. It will work, but it juuuust isn't what you need. A #24 will work better :).

Kickass. I just ordered six #24 bulbs (one extra, just in case) and and four #194 bulbs from autolumination.com and paid extra for priority shipping. It was like $72 or so. I can't WAIT to go all-LED!

[zorrex]

Also, 24 is a bit of an awkward fit in the bulb housing. I highly recommend soldering.

[mackgeezy]

i bought them bulbs from autolumination 10 of them the other day , with the regular shipping and got them in 3 days did this mod last night , and turned out pretty well

[striker2]

i bought them bulbs from autolumination 10 of them the other day , with the regular shipping and got them in 3 days did this mod last night , and turned out pretty well
do you have any pics of how it turned out? specifically im looking for the HVAC panel since i did mine by soldering in LEDs and resistors.

[mackgeezy]

ill take some pictures tonight , didnt think to take any last night

[Savior]

ill take some pictures tonight , didnt think to take any last night

And, did you have any trouble with the #24 bulbs fitting into the sockets behind the gauge cluster? How did that work out for you? Any advice to give here?

[mackgeezy]

the bulbs fit in just fine , just make sure you put the wires on each side like striker did , and also if you take a pliers ( i used needle nose) and grab the bulb and wiggle it you should be able to save the bulbs and not break them if you ever decide to go back ... also for some reason on my cluster i kept on blowing the fuse ... but i went and put one bulb at a time to see which one was crossed but none of them blew the fuse after that , so i dont know if that happened to anyone else or why this happened besides the + and - touching at one point ....


also i forgot to take pictures but i will later ( tomorrow )

[Savior]

the bulbs fit in just fine , just make sure you put the wires on each side like striker did , and also if you take a pliers ( i used needle nose) and grab the bulb and wiggle it you should be able to save the bulbs and not break them if you ever decide to go back ... also for some reason on my cluster i kept on blowing the fuse ... but i went and put one bulb at a time to see which one was crossed but none of them blew the fuse after that , so i dont know if that happened to anyone else or why this happened besides the + and - touching at one point ....


also i forgot to take pictures but i will later ( tomorrow )

Oh jeez, this could turn out to be troublesome... Which fuse did you blow, and what did you do to make it stop blowing?

[mackgeezy]

dash board illum ... its a 7.5 under the dash its 3rd from the left bottom roll.
i dont know why it was blowing , after putting each bulb it independently they didnt blow , so i probally just didnt twist the sockets all the way back into place. again ill take some photos tonight for yall