New bulbs for my needles in the gauge cluster Options

[AnaXyd]

Hey!

I have ordered one of the plasma disc gauges to my T20:

(With white color)


And, in order to make my gauges perfect, I think I need to replace the ugly green color on the needles. Which bulb are these? 74, 168 or something else?


What color on the needles will be best with the white gauges?



Any answer will be greatly appreciated! You will get pictures when the discs are in place!

[GriffGirl]

194

[AnaXyd]

Okay! Thank you! Are they easy to replace?

If i plan to buy a LED 194, do I have to think about something special?

[Taskbot]

Okay! Thank you! Are they easy to replace?

If i plan to buy a LED 194, do I have to think about something special?

I don't think so, a package size is a package size so you should be alright just remember it should be ~27mm from the tip of the bulb to the base of it. You might have a problem with heat dissipation depending on the design of the LED array. (since I assume you are planning on getting an array of 3-5 surface mounts in a 194 package) There will probably be a resistor that brings the voltage down to a LED usable voltage ~3-5V and resistors produce a fair amount of heat... HOWEVER this will probably not be too much of a problem but if you're buying a cheap manufactured part on ebay or a sketchy internet site, it means that your "bulb" life will be reduced.

I am also going down this road and getting a few super-white 3LED 194 arrays.

[GriffGirl]

In plain english:

yes, led's don't spread light well, so get some that do. Here's some other members have had luck with:

http://www.v-leds.com/Shop/Control/Product...sid/0/SFV/32481

[S2CELLY]

I love the look of these dials. Cant wait to see them installed
Red should complement the red ring around the dails

This post has been edited by S2CELLY: Sep 3, 2008 - 12:28 PM

[AnaXyd]

Okay, so i should buy some leds of good quality. Is autolumnation.com a site with products of reduced quality?


The V-leds are just plug-and-play, or do I need to do some modifications?


Is these the same as GriffGirl linked to, just in red?
http://www.v-leds.com/Shop/Control/Product...sid/0/SFV/32481


Thanks for the answers! I will provide you with pictures! The guages have arrived my country now, so I will have them on Saturday or monday..


BTW: Are you guys agree to choose the color red to my needles? Or does something else fit better?

This post has been edited by AnaXyd: Sep 4, 2008 - 1:13 PM

[GriffGirl]

I think the bulbs from Autolumination are just fine. Remember that whatever color you choose will also turn your odometer that color too. If you want very good red needles but not to change the light for the odometer, you can do what I did, which is use white bulbs and paint your needles red.

Here's a good thread that covers what you're trying to do
http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showto...22&hl=paint

[AnaXyd]

Ah, the odometer should not be red, which I think would be a bit strange looking. Are your needles clear, and good lit up with the paint?

[GriffGirl]

Look at that thread I posted a link to, in the post I made in it is a picture of my cluster and details as to how I got the needles that way.

[AnaXyd]

Hey! The plasma discs have arrived!

I got my guages at my workbench, but is afraid to damage it when removing the needles. Somebody have any idea here? To safely remove the needles, and get them reassemblied correct. I dont want them to show the wrong numbers..

[k-weaver]

Hey! The plasma discs have arrived!

I got my guages at my workbench, but is afraid to damage it when removing the needles. Somebody have any idea here? To safely remove the needles, and get them reassemblied correct. I dont want them to show the wrong numbers..

I'm not sure on exactly how to do this, but I can tell you from experience the needles pop right off. It may take a liitle pressure and you have to be easy with them so that they don't break but they will come off.

The problem is getting them back on, for example -

1.) If you take off the gas gadge needle, you have to put it back on at the same angle you took it off at, otherwise it won't tell you accurately how much gas you have. I know this first hand because I took mine off and guessed at where it was at. Now when I fill up the needle only goes a bit passed 3/4 tank. This is the same for the temp needle.

2.) The speedo needle will be the tricky one. If you look at your gadges there is that little black thing that keeps the needle from going below 0, when you take the needle off, the thing that spins the needle will go down below zero. This means when you put the needle back on at zero and start the car, the needle will jump up to a speed (mine was 40MPh).

3.) I'm not sure what to tell you on the RPM needle, I guess I got lucky on that one. I did take it off but when I put it back on it seemed fine.

Here is what I did to correct my speedo issue -

I remembered from the past that at about 3k RPM in 5th gear I would be at about 60MPh or so. So I put the gauges back in the car without the plastic cover, I got up to 3k RPM, turned the cruise control on and drove by one of those signs that says "your speed is xx". Lucky for me it said I was doing exactly 60MPh. So while driving I carefully put the needle back on and pointed it at 60MPh. Haven't had a problem since....

One last thing. When I got my gauges, the instuctions said that they are meant to slip right over the stock ones, no need to take these off. This wasn't true. I tried it like this and when the speedo started to move it got stuck on the new gauge. Reason for this was because it was too thick with the old one behind it. I had to take out the old ones completely and put the new ones in their place.

[AnaXyd]

Thank you!


I have changed to the plasma discs now, and the needle thing was a heavy part. I went off in my car with the speedo halfway fastened, and measured my speed with a GPS unit. When it f.ex hit 40km/t, i placed the needle exact at that position. I had to drive, place needles, check the speed with the GPS and look at the road at the same time!

But it went fine, at last!


The RPM was a easy part, since I remembered the idle RPM were at around 1000. So I placed it at 1000 when my car were on idle. Perfect!



Here is the result:

[k-weaver]

Thank you!


I have changed to the plasma discs now, and the needle thing was a heavy part. I went off in my car with the speedo halfway fastened, and measured my speed with a GPS unit. When it f.ex hit 40km/t, i placed the needle exact at that position. I had to drive, place needles, check the speed with the GPS and look at the road at the same time!

But it went fine, at last!


The RPM was a easy part, since I remembered the idle RPM were at around 1000. So I placed it at 1000 when my car were on idle. Perfect!



Here is the result:

That looks incredible....I wish I had gotten the plasma ones now