Write-up for the Hyperite gauge mod (white backlighting)
 

Ok, I finally decided to take the time and write up my procedure for modifying the stock gauge cluster so that the gauges light up white at night. I've always wanted to get rid of the amber color of the stock backlighting - I even installed some dreadful indiglow gauge faces :P
Like Hyperite, I was waiting for someone that posted they could make any color gauge cluster for the FD, but we never heard from the guy again. Then Hyperite took the big step and did it himself. I applaud his courage and ingenuity. Thus, I would like to say, for the record, THIS IS NOT MY INNOVATION; HYPERITE SHOULD GET ALL THE CREDIT FOR THIS. I am only writing this up to show what I did after being inspired by his idea - to help those that want to try this themselves.
I also want to say, I TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY IF YOU SCREW UP TRYING THIS MODIFICATION. It is fairly difficult and takes a lot of patients. It is very easy to ruin a perfectly good gauge cluster - so only attempt this if you have some electrical skills and are willing to irreversibly modify your stock gauge cluster.

First take out the gauge cluster assembly from the car...
(notice the white faced indiglow gauge covers:) )

On the back of the assembly there are 4 screws to remove so that the gauges will be separated from the hood...

Now carefully pry the tabs holding the covers on the gauges...
(the wires are from the indiglow faces)

see pics -

Here is the black cover and lens off the gauges...

Before you take the needles off, turn them to their max CLOCK-WISE position...
(Mark this location with a good mark but off to the side enough that it won't be seen when you put everything back together. I used pencil and accidentally rubbed it off the water temp face)

Once marked, start to pull off the needles. These are very hard if they have not been removed before. Put a flat screwdriver under back side and pull on needle itself, not the black base or it will break...

Now that you have removed the needles, you can remove the gauge faces. These are easy to figure out: 1 screw in each of the smaller gauges, 4 little black pins in tach, and glue holding on speedo (just peel it off)...

Here is all the faces off...

Notice how the film makes the amber backlighting...

Before you start this whole project, try to find this product, Easy Lift Off (ELO)...

This is the stuff that makes this project a lot easier, quicker, and less dangerous (for the faces). Go to your local hobby store and ask for it by name. They should be able to order it if they don't carry it.
If you cannot get this stuff you will have to do it the way Hyperite did - with lots of fine sandpaper and 'elbow-grease'.

Just take some on a q-tip rub it on the spots that you want to take the film off. Let it sit for .5 - 1 hour then use something flat to scrape off the melted film (I used a dull screwdriver). It won't hurt the face so rub it on good and use as much as it takes to get it clean.
Be careful with the speedo because there are a lot of tight spots, but the good thing about the ELO is that is does not spread to the areas you don't want to remove. Here is what the ELO does...

Here is all the faces done...
(no sanding required)

Great write up man and thanks for providing an alternative to sanding the gauges. Get some after shots of them on in the car. I'd like to see how your way of removing the red backing looks afterwards. Great job to you and great job to hyperite for finally doin something like this.

Now get the LEDs that Hyperite specified in his thread - autolumination.com. They are expensive ($6.99 each) but I compared their specs to other LEDs and they are much brighter and have better viewing angles. PM me for links to the exact ones if you cannot find them.

Here is a blurry pic of the LED bulb used to replace the stock bulbs...
(You will need 4 - #194 superwhite LED matirx bulbs, and 3 - #74 superwhite LED bulbs to replace the stock backlight bulbs)

The stock bulbs/sockets will come out by twisting counter-clockwise. Then firmly pull the bulb to remove it from the socket. Replace it with the LED bulb. If it does not light up when you turn on the lights, then try putting the LED bulb in the socket the other way. Also, if the LED bulb is loose, pry the brass prongs in the socket to ensure a good electrical connection.

Stop here if you cannot solder and do electrical work. Replace the faces and needles on the cluster and enjoy...

You are now at the point that Hyperite got to. I was not happy with the unevenness that the LED bulbs produced. This is where I add 4 more #74 bulbs to eliminate some of the dark spots.

I did not take very many good pics of this portion of the project so it will be kind of vague. If you are confident enough to go this far then you should be able to figure it out.

I bought 4 extra #74 white LED bulbs and took the plastic covering off very carefully...
(pic is blurry but it is an attempt to show the process in 4 steps)

I then clipped the resistor and diode off 3 of the 4. You will need to leave them on 1 of the LEDs for electrical purposes (I don't want to get into it now but trust me). I then soldered the LEDs in series (ie. Xmas lights). You can add as many as you feel like. I would probably add 5-6 if I did it again just for overkill ;)
If you don't want to clip all the diodes and resistors, you could wire the LEDs in parallel and just run pos. & neg. to each LED separately but it would add a lot more wiring.

I wired the pos. and neg. into the back of the gauge cluster...
(I found these screws went to a 12V source and a ground - red=pos. and black=neg.)

I just ran the LEDs around to spots in the cluster that looked like they did not get enough light from the stock bulb locations. I pointed the LEDs at the back of the faces and put a big dab of clear silicone between the LED and the cluster casing to keep them in place. Sorry, no pics of this part but you can see the wires running around inside the cluster...
(I actually did this before I put the faces back on)

Now just put everything back to together and make sure it all works. It is hard to remember every thing so feel free to PM me with any questions.

And here is the final result...

In this pic you can also see that I changed all my buttons and switches to red LEDs...
(this is a separate project/writeup but I would not recommend it as it was not worth the time and frustration)

Another easy change I did not get a pic of is to pull the bulb that lights up the digital odometer and replace it with a red #74 LED bulb. It will be a much nicer red color that will match the red needles.

Again I would like to thank Hyperite for the initial R&D. You would be smart to read his thread also
https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/hello-lovers-my-new-gauges-%2Apics-gaaalore-%2A-420936/

I also want to add that my tach needle does not read correctly after I replaced it. I don't know if I put it back in the wrong place or bent the spring inside but it is off by about 500rpm. I'm not sure how acurate the other gauges are but they are all very close as far as I can tell. If some one has a better way of taking off the needles, please let us know. I again want to stress that you are doing this mod at your own risk.

Excellent write-up!!! I'm glad I could help with a little updated look for anybody willing to take the time to do a little DIY.

I haven't added additional LEDs yet (I haven't removed my cluster again since then), but I did notice some instant dimming when I pressed the brake pedal. To avoid this, I added a ~0.01 Farad capacitor behind the dimming switch, which fixed it right up.

Another thing (my mistake) is that I seem to have pushed and pulled too hard on the tach needle. It lags a little bit behind the engine, but it's not TOO bad. I'll reseat the needle and make sure the alignment of the coils is right next time I open it back up.

Other than that I still love it! Enjoy guys!

nice write up.

Very nice!!! This will be my next mod! Im wondering if adding some sort of film would evenly place the the light??

do you think you can use adhesive(i think thats how you spell it) remover instead of that ELO stuff. or is it the same thing.

Here's a web site with inverted LED cones (for light dispertion) for $3 each. Fits most Autometer and VDO guages too (yellow=amber).

http://www.egauges.com/vdo_acce.asp?...ED_Bulbs&Cart=

AWESOME stuff! I'll be doing this in the not too distant future to my 6 o'clock tach so I don't have a Christmas tree dash any more :).

Thanks for the good stuff!

Dale

I'm not sure what the active ingredient is in the ELO but it is made for safely removing paint from model trains. I first heard about it on here. I think it was in a thread about removing the plastic film on the stock interior panels that always peel. It worked awesome for taking the peeling film off without melting the plastic panel so I figured I'd try it for this application.
If you cannot find ELO then do a test of the adhesive remover on a spot that will not be visible.
BTW, I think I paid $11 for the 1qt. can of ELO.

Very nice write up!



Good Find :) Those look like they would help

You'll have to take the cluster apart to see how it works. I'm not sure what could be used to even out the light. The actual problem is that LEDs have a more focused light than incadecent lights so the light is more intense and less of a glow. If you know of something that can disperse light then try it and let us know.
I'm glad you all like the write-up:)

Just doing mine, be VERY carefull because it´s easy to mess those
gauge faces. I already have little scratches that show the light through, but
it can be fixed by putting a piece of black tape behind the scratch.

I also noticed that my 300km/h Knightsport-speedometer material is
different and it´s more yellowish than the stock meters. Fucking annoying
for a perfectionist like me. I´ll propably order some custom gauge faces from
Black cat customs

Nice write-up!

5 stars.

Would putting a transparent film, forget the name, on the backside of the gauges help diffuse the color. Also might allow you to be able to not have to replace the bulbs.

anybody try these yet?

:crackup: I love it Dale. That cracked me up. Dale does need to do this, I can't wait to see it I love that tach you got. So there is definately no way to put a different color LED in there instead? Maybe Green, or Blue. I am just wondering?

You could use any color LED you want but the needles are reddish-orange and will be affected by the color of LED you use.

Nice write up.


Did you ever get around to putting in a few more bulbs to help with the dispersement? If you did, where did you put the extra bulbs and how did you wire them in?

Thanks.

I did this mod way back when you first posted about it. It looks amazing and i love it, but i also have the dimming problem and it has been pissing me off. where can i get one of these Farad capacitors? do they sell them at radio shack?

what did yall do about the needles that try to reset themselves back to zero when you remove the needle?

set the needles on lightly at first and turn them to see where the stop is
once you see where the needle stops, leave it on lightly and get it set to where it is supposed to be and push it down all the way

Just found this and great work to BOTTLEFED and hyperite. So has anyone tried this with the inverted cone LEDs and/or a white/transparent film on the back of the gauge face for even distribution of light? And has anyone experienced the brake pedal dimming? Anyone have a link to a capacitor or write up on that?

Just finished up mine.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...1108071859.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...1108071900.jpg

It is a little uneven as others have said. I'll also be wiring in extra LEDs as soon as they get in the mail. Now I just have to figure out how to dim my water temp gauge to match the others' brightness.

These are bad camera phone pix, but you can compare the gauges to the AC panel lights for the color difference.

ive got aquestion im trying to attempt this but problem is the oil pressure and temperature gaues seem to be spring loaded and keep going back to zero...any fix for this?

They aren't spring loaded, the needles are connected to an electric motor. Do it with a cold engine, and set the needles to zero, then they should be accurate.

wlel i can move the oil pressure and coolant temp to their max and they automatically go back down to zero and rest on the peg...and i know if the peg wasnt there they would go past it..so when you remove them and replace them they will actually be reading lower then what they really should....

I see what you're saying. Your gauge cluster is out of the car and lying face up? maybe it's just the weight of the needle bringing itself down.

I would suggest to take off the peg and see where it actually stops and mark it, then replace where you marked it, but i think you might have to pull off the needle to take the pegs out. That's my only idea.

I'm not too concerned since I use an aftermarket water temp gauge and the stock one is useless. And I never pay attention to the oil press gauge.

very nice, but the red gauge cluster is one of the things that defines the fd. i love the color

:icon_tup: I'm glad to see it lit up. I spentmany hours removing the amber backing on my gauges a few months back. I wish I knew about that easy off crud thing that you used. That woulnd've been handy...

Very good write up. I can't believe I missed it the first time

The larger gauges do this as well, the fuel gauge is the only one that locks in place

The best way I have found is to mark the max clock-wise turn and pull the needle off - don't worry about where the pin goes for now
When you are ready to put the needle back on, push it on only a little bit (just enough to feel that you are turning the pin when you turn the needle) and turn it to see where it lines up with your max mark
If it is a little past the mark, reposition the needle
If it is a little before the mark just push the needle softly until it lines up with the mark - this shouldn't hurt the motor as long as you didn't push the needle onto the pin too hard
Once you have it lined up with the mark, go ahead and push the needle down to the proper height

hope that made sense:)

Very cool.

is there a way to brighten the dim spots?...I them in both projects

The amber backing works as somewhat of a light diffuser, so it spreads around the light instead of making it more bright where your light bulbs are. Maybe you can get some sort of clear or white diffuser that would help.

If you find something like that, please post it up because that's going to bother me too.

Or just add more bulbs to even it out

that's what I did

rather than sand paper, if u cant find or get elo u can use your girls nail polish remover.

I used a pair of scissors for mine.

It's also that the stock incandescent bulbs have a different light pattern than the LEDs. I put in the LEDs with the stock gauge faces just to see how it would look, and there was still some unevenness.

I think the only real solution is to add more LEDs in the cluster. So I'm going to suck it up and add as many as it takes to make it even.

BOTTLEFED, is there a way to wire the extra LEDs so that they'll dim and brighten with the original bulb locations? With my meter, I was testing the voltage at the screws on the back while turning the dimmer switch, and there wasn't any change in voltage.

Those of you that have removed the speedo needle, is it normal for the spindle to come out with the needle? I would guess it is not.

Wow... all of you should have your honda knocking privileges revoked.

not sure why you would need to dim it since its not even
but the added LEDs do not dim with the lights, IIRC

also remember, 1 diode and 1 resistor per strand of LEDs
and the less LEDs, the brighter each one will be individually in the strand
I usually only put 2-3 LEDs in each strand

not good
when I have had the pin come out with the needle it was goodnight for the gauge
sorry :(

I did this mod about a year ago, maybe more, but I didn't use ELO, I sanded mine like Hyperite did. My biggest problem was finding LEDs that were bright enough, or rather dispersed the light evenly on the back of the gauges. I didn't add any yet but it was something I was planning to do if all else failed. I thought about spraying some kind of gloss on the back to try to spread the light out evenly, and I bought some aerosol that would do it but I haven't tried it yet. I also didn't take note of where my gauges were when I took the needles off (DUH) so when I put them back on they were WAY off and it took a while to get them to read right again. My fuel gauge still doesn't read right and has left me stranded a couple times, haha. And some MORON on this forum, claiming that he did this kind of stuff for his job, suggested spinning the needle counterclockwise a full turn to reset my speedo, so now it's screwed. I'll have to bookmark this thread and try again with a new gauge cluster when I get home from deployment. Thanks for the write-up BOTTLEFED.

One other thing I wondered about was if there was some kind of film that would light up, kind of like an indiglo gauge but in white, so you could just lay it down behind the stock gauge and it would light up evenly behind it. Anyone ever heard of anything like that?