brian_skotch

iTrader: (6)

What's up fellas, I'm currently ***** deep in modifying the gauge cluster on my fc. Car is an 87 turboII but a while back I picked up a series5 NA 9k cluster because it looks better, has a voltmeter, and has the 9k redline. (I won't be revving her that high, I just like it) I'm documenting my experience for anyone who wants to try this or is curious about cluster modification. I've learned a lot in the process and I'm excited to have something that's unique and won't be too rice when completed. I just want a clean matching look.

Anyways, I followed Icemarks writeup on making the s5 cluster work in an s4 and it worked perfectly. I was so stoked on having a working voltmeter in my turbo car. (I'm running a haltech ecu so the stock boost gauge doesn't do anything) WOW the stock s5 cluster looks great. I wish I could've found gauges that matched!
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I quickly got tired of the amber/white needle setup because it didn't match my aftermarket gauges. As many of you know, finding gauges to match the stock fc instrument cluster is pretty hard. Knightsport and REamemiya make some oldschool gauges that match pretty close but you gotta have a big budget for those bad boys... One of my pet peeves is having gauges that don't match so I listened to my inner rice and bought these.
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They're ebay reverse glow gauges. White face with blue numbering. These are faces that overlay the stock gauge and then the amber light shines through a blue film. BUT THESE DIDN'T MATCH EITHER!! The numbers on the white faces are a much darker blue than my aftermarket gauges.
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Dammit.. So I ordered a different set called silver reverse glow gauges. They look like the ones below but without the circles/donuts in the middle. I like how they're a lighter blue than the ones I have now. I should get them in a few days then I'll snap some pics and report to you guys how close the match is. Sadly I could only find the s4 turbo model so I'll be running my s4 turbo cluster till I can find an NA s5 9k set. I know they exist, just really hard to find on the net right now.
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A big problem with white face gauges is that our needles are white and they're hard to see against the white face at night. I contemplated a couple different ways to tackle this problem and found the most cost effective would be to paint the needles with fluorescent red needle paint and install 3 uv LED bulbs behind the cluster that will shine light through the diffuser and onto the faces.

Painted needles
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Note: All of these modifications are happening with my spare cluster that came out of an automatic. I haven't touched my other two clusters. Below is a pic of a regular led shining through the diffuser onto the faces with the painted needles. I didn't paint them all because I'm saving the paint for when I do my actual cluster.
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^^That's with light shining through one bulb hole. There are 3 bulbs in the back of the cluster that send light through a diffuser and onto the gauge faces. Once I replace those bulbs with the 194 style ultraviolet LEDs the needles should look awesome and almost glow.

So let me know what you guys think. I'll be updating this thread as I go along with the project. Any feedback and or opinions are welcome! I'm totally open to hearing how I can make a sweet cluster.

brian_skotch

iTrader: (6)

I'm still waiting on the uv led bulbs in the mail but here's what the needles look like with a uv light shining on them. Not all the needles are painted

RotaryEvolution

iTrader: (30)

looks good and i feel your pain, i got tired of the amber color and went with a similar background but immediately noticed the needles just suck *** at being illuminated afterwards.

hopefully the gallery UV lights will work as well as your blacklight does, this is the route i had planned to do with mine but of course i never seem to have any time for my car anymore.. be sure to post up the results after you get the UV bulbs in, even though apparently i'm the only one interested in seeing the results. the style i have is the one you linked to, not the AutoZ brand(which i do have on the shelf as well but for S5 n/a, i still have my S4 TII cluster in the car).

none of which seems to still address the fact that the odometer is completely unreadable. maybe an ultrabright LED behind the speedo will cure that. mine has been that way for like 7 years now, it's probably time to do something about it!

it makes me appreciate the RX8s more(ironically they also have an amber/white themes built in that you can toggle. i find myself choosing white more than amber in the 8 as well), since you can add gauges without any of this. torque and a tablet gives you virtually free gauges from your car's OBDII port.

brian_skotch

iTrader: (6)

Rotary evolution, does your set have the circles in the middle like the ones I posted? I really like the ones without the circles because they look oem but the place I purchased them from refunded me. I guess they're discontinued. Oh well, I will deal with these until I find a set of the ones I'm after. I'm just kicking myself because they were all over eBay a few years ago. Now I can't find them at all. Called two places online that also didn't have them.

I will definitely post the pics once I get the bulbs installed. I was impressed with how much light the fluorescent paint actually pics up! They really look like they're glowing.

RotaryEvolution

iTrader: (30)

nah, they look just the ones you posted a link to:

i would prefer them to be a little scaled back like you mentioned, the inner ring does make them a little too drastic.

edit: screw flickr, i can't manage to link the right picture.

brian_skotch

iTrader: (6)

Here's pics of the set I've been trying to find. S5 na 9k redline preferably.

RotaryEvolution

iTrader: (30)

i don't have an S5 cluster so equally limited in the other direction. i'll see if i can dig up the one you linked to though if they're still around, i like that one much better than the current ones in the dash.

with this i ordered a ton of UV LEDs to test with, if they work well i should have a few spares if you wind up needing some. i should have a few spares left out of the 50 that are coming in the shipment... lol

i just hope that they work half as well as a blacklight does, i have my doubts though but they were like $8 shipped so eh. ill try the new background and LEDs since i have a few s4 turbo and non turbo clusters sitting around(not that i care for the turbo cluster anymore, the boost gauge hasn't seen life in almost 10 years). can't find anything for a non turbo s4 cluster though, so i ordered one for a turbo cluster..

brian_skotch

iTrader: (6)

I will post a pic from my phone of how the faces looked with my scorpion uv led flashlight shining only through the light transfer holes in the back of the cluster. One at a time of course. Still waiting for my leds in the mail as well! :/

brian_skotch

iTrader: (6)

Here they are. So I imagine this is somewhat how they'll look if the uv LEDs have similar output to the flashlight I used. I'm happy with how it's turning out

brian_skotch

iTrader: (6)

This is the paint I used. It's a little more orange rather than red but the match is almost perfect so I'm very pleased.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fluorescent-Red-Speedo-Gauge-Needle-Restoration-Paint-/200234894775?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2e9eee05b7&vxp=mtr
Also RotaryEvolution, just making sure I didn't order the wrong LEDs, style 194 right? I ordered 3
And we totally think alike! I much prefer the voltmeter of the na clusters. I like all of my gauges to work and do what they're supposed to. Pet peeve lol

RotaryEvolution

iTrader: (30)

looks good, i may try to find a way to blank out the Autoz logo, it's another ricer touch i would like to try and eliminate with some paint. or tactical cutting of the board from the rear if it can be detached.

i looked at the rear of one of the spares i have and i believe just cutting the trace on the back should do the trick for the lighting portion.

RotaryEvolution

iTrader: (30)

i ordered some 500MCD 3mm UV LEDs rated for 12v with about 6" wiring leads, i will wire them to the board but they're not direct replacement bulbs. that way i can also shift them around for better lighting if need be.

if they're too bright i will just make some diffuser material or tint the gallery glass, or move them further behind the gallery to dissipate the light, or re-angle them, etc, you catch my drift. i want the needles lit but not to the point of being overbearing.

brian_skotch

iTrader: (6)

Here's a pic with the uv LEDs installed in the back of the cluster. It's nice that the UVs are dimmable via the factory switch so you can turn em down a bit and the needles will still pick up a lot of light. I'm pleased. Tomorrow I will start my real cluster and not the prototype. Please ignore the really bright gauges in the right. Gonna wire a dimmer switch to those tomorrow

Mourty

I went through Black Cat Custom and had them make me a set of gauge faces to match the Autometer Cobalt gauges that I've been installing. I'll put together a write-up of the install with some pics once I'm back in the states here in a few weeks.

brian_skotch

iTrader: (6)

Awesome mourty! I'm considering giving them a call as well. How much did it end up costing you?

brian_skotch

iTrader: (6)

Also, do the faces have their own power source?

Mourty

I ordered them six months ago, before I deployed. IIRC it was just over $150. As for the power source, I don't know since I haven't seen them in person yet. I won't be home for another 2-3 weeks but once I am, I'll start a thread with some good, specific info.

I really like that UV paint/blacklight idea for the needles, that's definitely happening to my cluster when it goes back together.

brian_skotch

iTrader: (6)

Well first off, thank you for your service.

Please, let me know how the faces work out. I saw that they had a white face option with light blue lettering. That could be the perfect match for me if they have the s5 na 9k template. It'll come at a cost that's for sure. Still, I like that you can add custom lettering. "FC3S TURBO" would be sweet!

RotaryEvolution

iTrader: (30)

looks good, i got the ordered S4 turbo background set with the same layout but still waiting on the UV LEDs to come in, in the meantime i will paint the needles and see if i can do a blackout of the brand lettering. this is my only real pet peeve about these backgrounds, as they kill the visibility of the needles.

i also ordered about a yard of 3m carbon fiber di-noc that i will wrap on the stereo surround to see how that looks. i repaired and reinforced it but of course it was a jigsaw puzzle and all the cracks are still visible even after applying the latex paint so hopefully this will reinforce it further and give it a fresh look. if that works then i may put it on the cluster hood as a finishing touch.

guess i'm just tired of the 80's interior and feel it needs some updating, not so much trying to get everything perfectly blended.

hopefully in a few years tablets will have apps to work with most major standalone ECUs, then tuning and many many more things could be done via touch screen right where the DIN stereo was.

beyond that i plan to make new interior vents all out of aluminum, so that they may never break again.

RotaryEvolution

iTrader: (30)

cutting the trace on the backside to the brand name worked to cut it out of the lit portion. i'm still deciding if i want to paint over it with white paint, leave it be or find a sticker to cover it.

the needles are drying still and my LEDs came in so i will play around with their locations for lighting.

brian_skotch

iTrader: (6)

Rotary evolution, post some pics! It'd be nice to see what you got going on

RotaryEvolution

iTrader: (30)

i will put some up later today, the cluster face(lens and background cutout assembly with the gallery lighting prism) i have on the cluster i'm working with is broken and it's my last cluster besides the one in the car so doing the final LED positioning will have to wait until it's time to actually swap the face from my original to the replacement. i did get an idea of where i should place the LEDs, which is glued in the area just underneath the prism since then UV lighting wouldn't pass all the way through the clear lens from the rear to the needles. i will put about 10 LEDs in the pocket and that should do it, since 1 LED can barely cover the full needle travel on a single gauge section.

i also used an orange flourescent paint, so they will stand out a little more.

RotaryEvolution

iTrader: (30)

here is a picture while working on painting the needles and installing the backgrounds.

this paint is very thick but dries very thin, having to do about 4 coats by slopping it on and letting it dry, then paint the black areas after the needles are done.



to kill the lighting to the logo just run a razor across the trace from the 4k pointer to the name logo on the backside a few times until it stops functioning.

RotaryEvolution

iTrader: (30)

i also just ordered a CF bezel for another accent. hopefully the UV lights don't do anything crazy with the fiber strands that show through..
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mazda-RX-7-86-91-Carbon-Fiber-Instrument-Cluster-Dash-Gauge-Bezel-Trim-Kit-/160941540868?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Model%3ARX-7&hash=item2578dd0604&vxp=mtr
i think i'll pitch the di-noc over the hood idea out the window and just try it on the stereo surround.

i think i'll just leave the logo on the insert alone for now, but i definitely don't like it when lit up.

RotaryEvolution

iTrader: (30)

and the final product mounted back onto the circuit board. well, before i fixed the wire through the odometer anyways..



it already looks better than the one i have in the car with visibility during the day, at night i hope it's as good with proper light positioning. i want these needles to really glow, similar to the needles in the RX8 though they have the benefit of being clear and have a light shining right through the needle bore. i will tie the LEDs to the dimmer though so that it can be altered if it's too much.