LED needles how-to w/o tach (done on pre-98) - 06/27/06 01:36 AM
Well, this is my first ever written how-to I�ve done and sorry for the people that wait for this, I got caught up with some random activities this weekend. Anyway here we go:
Items needed:
-4x #74 led (w/o base) from superbrightleds.com of color your choice
-Needle nose pliers
-Phillips head screw driver
-Bag(s) to hold screws and/or cluster bulb holders (pink things)
1)First, you�re going to take the frame in front of your gauges out. Disconnect your clock and defroster and whatever else is connected to this frame. There are a total of five screws to remove (for pre-98 and post-98). DON�T LOSE THESE.
2)Next, you have to take the cluster gauge out by removing the five screws holding it in. DON�T LOSE THESE EITHER. You might want to take off the clear gauge cover (to see the leds lighting up later) out. To do this, there are tabs on top and the bottom of the cluster. Push the two tabs on the bottom in and the cover should come off. Try not to mess with needles or the odometer.
3)Now your going to remove the connectors that powers/runs your cluster. This is pretty tricky if you have larger hands. Push little tabs that connect to your cluster in and these connectors should pop out.
4)Now take out these holders by twisting them counter clock-wise.
5)After the holders are out, you need to get the stock bulbs out. There are a few ways of doing this. You can search for the other ways if you don�t like my way. In the process of taking the bulbs outs, my way is to slightly break one of the two metal tabs in the holder. Place your needle nose pliers here:
And pull up on it until it comes out of the holder (may need some force, don�t be shy):
Now take the stock bulb out and repeat the process for the other holders.
6)Once all of the stock bulbs are out, you need to prep the #74 leds you have to look like this:
This is very important step so that the leds are put in the holder like this or you will keep shorting out fuse #23.
6a) Put the led in the holder like so and repeat for others.
7)Now we get into the tedious task of putting the leds in. They only go in one way, unlike the stock bulbs. So if they don�t light up the first time you put it in the cluster, turn them around 180 degrees, and put it back in the cluster and they should work. I recommend that you put one led in at a time so you don�t lose track of which ones don�t work.
Once the led is in, plug your connectors up and see if the led lights up. Repeat the process for the remaining three leds.
8) Once all the leds light up, put the gauge cover back on, connect both of the gauge connectors on, screw the cluster back in, screw the frame back on, plug the clock and defroster in, and enjoy your new cooler, brighter, and nicer LED needles.
Now I painted my needles red, but I don�t think this is necessary to get the same results. If you want to paint your needles, make sure you mark the location of your needles when your car is in ACC mode (turn key twice, you should here bell tones and things should light up.) Pry needles off and paint them to the color of choice (I used Testors model paint, for reference). After the needles dry put it back on the cluster with your car in ACC mode. You�re going to have to recalibrate you speedo, so search on how to do that. For more details you can search through the anesthetics forum for more info.
Wow, almost two how-to�s in one. I hope this was explained good enough for everyone. If there is something else I need to cover or go into more detail, let me know.
Items needed:
-4x #74 led (w/o base) from superbrightleds.com of color your choice
-Needle nose pliers
-Phillips head screw driver
-Bag(s) to hold screws and/or cluster bulb holders (pink things)
1)First, you�re going to take the frame in front of your gauges out. Disconnect your clock and defroster and whatever else is connected to this frame. There are a total of five screws to remove (for pre-98 and post-98). DON�T LOSE THESE.
2)Next, you have to take the cluster gauge out by removing the five screws holding it in. DON�T LOSE THESE EITHER. You might want to take off the clear gauge cover (to see the leds lighting up later) out. To do this, there are tabs on top and the bottom of the cluster. Push the two tabs on the bottom in and the cover should come off. Try not to mess with needles or the odometer.
3)Now your going to remove the connectors that powers/runs your cluster. This is pretty tricky if you have larger hands. Push little tabs that connect to your cluster in and these connectors should pop out.
4)Now take out these holders by twisting them counter clock-wise.
5)After the holders are out, you need to get the stock bulbs out. There are a few ways of doing this. You can search for the other ways if you don�t like my way. In the process of taking the bulbs outs, my way is to slightly break one of the two metal tabs in the holder. Place your needle nose pliers here:
And pull up on it until it comes out of the holder (may need some force, don�t be shy):
Now take the stock bulb out and repeat the process for the other holders.
6)Once all of the stock bulbs are out, you need to prep the #74 leds you have to look like this:
This is very important step so that the leds are put in the holder like this or you will keep shorting out fuse #23.
6a) Put the led in the holder like so and repeat for others.
7)Now we get into the tedious task of putting the leds in. They only go in one way, unlike the stock bulbs. So if they don�t light up the first time you put it in the cluster, turn them around 180 degrees, and put it back in the cluster and they should work. I recommend that you put one led in at a time so you don�t lose track of which ones don�t work.
Once the led is in, plug your connectors up and see if the led lights up. Repeat the process for the remaining three leds.
8) Once all the leds light up, put the gauge cover back on, connect both of the gauge connectors on, screw the cluster back in, screw the frame back on, plug the clock and defroster in, and enjoy your new cooler, brighter, and nicer LED needles.
Now I painted my needles red, but I don�t think this is necessary to get the same results. If you want to paint your needles, make sure you mark the location of your needles when your car is in ACC mode (turn key twice, you should here bell tones and things should light up.) Pry needles off and paint them to the color of choice (I used Testors model paint, for reference). After the needles dry put it back on the cluster with your car in ACC mode. You�re going to have to recalibrate you speedo, so search on how to do that. For more details you can search through the anesthetics forum for more info.
Wow, almost two how-to�s in one. I hope this was explained good enough for everyone. If there is something else I need to cover or go into more detail, let me know.
