Halo Gauges & Indiglo Needles, Finally Installed! Options

[Neipas09]

Well i finally got my lights for my needles and got everything installed, and i must say...DAMN! They look so f-ing sweet! I'll get pics posted tomorrow night since a friend has the digicam. Well, until tomorrow......

[Coomer]

Where did you run the +12 volts power wire for the guages to? I plan to install my regular indiglo guages tomorrow if I've got some time and it's not really really cold. I can't wait to see the pics!

[Neipas09]

Well i installed the wires right up to the original wires that power the 194 bulbs on the gauges. This is how it was on mine...
I unpluged all 3 connectors from the back of the gauge and installed the positive and negative to the blue connector. On the left side there is a green wire (+) and a white wire w/ green dots (-). I believe it was a white w/green dots, maybe different colored dots...but anyways, they are the first 2 wires so that should make it easier.
Well if you got any other questions about the installation just ask.

Here's the pics...

[Coomer]

Wow, those gauges are sweet! I love the way they look, and it makes me wish I'd have gotten some of those rather than my regular indiglos. What's up with your gas gauge though? Did the needle break or something? Thanks for the information and pics.

[Cragspider]

I like them both. But I like my regular white face guages. I duno but if I had seen the halo ones out there when I got my white face ones only i would of got them enstede, but they weren't out and Im happy. But they lok good, also whats with the gas gauge?
Bryan

[Neipas09]

Ah yes the gas gauge. Well i'm waitin till i fill the car up all the way again so i can set the needle in the right spot cause i forgot where it was when i took it off. Probly gonna have to do the same to the speedo.

[all4sho94st]

damn those are nice as hell.

[Coomer]

QUOTE (Neipas09 @ Dec 29 2002, 03:39 PM)

Ah yes the gas gauge. Well i'm waitin till i fill the car up all the way again so i can set the needle in the right spot cause i forgot where it was when i took it off. Probly gonna have to do the same to the speedo.

So you must've taken the needles all the way off? It took me a long time but I managed to get the little caps off that are on the needles, but I accidentally moved the gas gauge a bit. Does anyone know if it will reset itself back to the actual gas level when I start the car, since I didn't take the needle off?

[NEVERSTOP]

those look really REALLY good... where did you get them from?

[Blur]

I must say those look hella freakin sweet!

[Neipas09]

I bought them off ebay, along with basically everything else aftermarket that i have put on my car.

[Blur]

What brand and how much u pay for them?

[Neipas09]

I don't remember what brand they are, but i got the gauges and the aluminum overlay from the same people for $100.

[CDNSLEEKA]

Those look frickin sweet ! I hope you don`t mind but I think you will have alot of followers ,you can count me as one of the first.What`s up with the needles they come with indiglo replacements?If so...sweet.

[Neipas09]

Well from the image below you can tell that the gas gauge is missing. Good thing i guess, makes this alot easier. The brightest spot of the pic on the gas gauge is the actual light that i got. I had to pull my needles off so i could put those on the actual gauge itself. It sits right under the needle and creates a bright glow for the needle. I got the lights from http://www.importcarpartsplus.com , but the ones i got were off ebay so they only cost me like $75 instead of $118 like they are goin for off the webpage. One thing you really gotta be careful on if you get these is that you don't cut any of the wires and you might wanna do what i did and wrap the positive and negative side together in electrical tape so they don't break apart. You'll know why i did this when you get the lights cause the wires for the lights are insanely tiny, and i had to send a set back because 1 of the wires broke in half. Well if you would like to know anything else just let me know.

[Tenchi]

So you can remove the needles. Someone told me that you can't remove the needles. They also told me that they will break easily. Is there a trick to remove them? Your gauges look sweet by the way!

[Blur]

I think u can remove them but if u do then u have to recalibrate all that ****...this true?

[Tenchi]

How do you recalibrate the needles? Man, I wish I would have known before. I had a shop do the installation because I didn't want to take a risk and brake the needles.

[Neipas09]

It was pretty easy to take off the needles, i just used some needle-nose pliers and pulled them straight off.
As for recalabrating them that's a tricky part.

Gas Gauge - Fill up the car and let it idle for like 2-3min and then just pop the needle back on showing that it's full.

Temp Gauge - Wait overnight and the go out when it's still cool out and pop the needle on showin it's on C, should be pretty accurate from then on. Before i took my needles off my temp gauge never went over 1/2 way even on a hot summer day and with the A/C running. Just FYI.

Speed Gauge - This is a little more difficult. You could just start up your car and put the needle on at 0 and drive around and see how it is. Or you could drive neck and neck with someone and have your cruise set (if you got it) and place the needle on the speed that your goin. Have a cop follow you with a cell phone or walkie-talkie and have him clock you and then place the needle. The last option is probly gonna give you the best results, but i don't know yet cause i can't drive yet.

Tach Gauge - This one is can start a huge argument. Some people say that their car idles at 1k, some say .8k, others say 1.2k. It really helps if you remember what your car idled at before you took off the needles. Once you decide on a number, just start your car and let it idle for like a minute and then just pop the needle on and hit the gas to make sure you didn't put the needle on too tight and that it moves freely like it should and doesn't stick anywhere.

I guess you could always go to a toyota dealership and have them do it.
Hope this all helps out. Let me know if you can think of any other ways to reset the needles.

[Tenchi]

Thanks for the info. Now, when you put the needles back on, do you just put them in and press down gently, or stick them in and leave them alone before you break them? Sorry for all the questions. Just want to make sure.

Also, I want to take the gauges apart because the ones that Speedhut sent me, do not have holes to show the brake light, seatbelt light, and the light in the middle on the Tach. I have to cut holes. Would an Exacto knife be ok to cut holes in the gauges? Any suggestions?

One last question, to anyone that knows, I'm going to buy the new 2-color inverter thats coming out later this month to make my gauges more blue. Will the installation be straight forward?

This post has been edited by Tenchi: Jan 10, 2003 - 8:02 AM