Blue LED gauges (DIY)
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 422
Likes: 1
From: portland or
Blue LED gauges (DIY)
ok here goes:
i bought these LED strips (they sell em at wallmart but i bought off ebay, wallmart sells 15" long strips, ebay sells 12", i needed 12") :
glue gun'd em to the back of the faceplates (for now till i can come up with a fancier way of securing them):
tested to make sure everything works before putting it all back on:
heres how it looks from the back when on:
took out the older light from the center gauges and hooked all the new LEDs to the switch (its a lighted switch so it provides light straight down as well when turned on)
and woila! the finished product.
it was a really tight fit for the center gauges because the led strip is kinda wide but i managed to fit it in without any major problems
oh, and a side note: i took out all the old bulbs out of the gauge cluster so that they wouldnt be on as well as the leds, :smack
and the cool thing about these leds, is they act almost as a blacklight, any of the orange colors on the gauges light up as if a blacklight is on them
edit:
sorry for the blurry pictures by my camera is crappy at taking pics in the dark and its gonna die soon, gotta totally kill it before i get myself another one
i bought these LED strips (they sell em at wallmart but i bought off ebay, wallmart sells 15" long strips, ebay sells 12", i needed 12") :
glue gun'd em to the back of the faceplates (for now till i can come up with a fancier way of securing them):
tested to make sure everything works before putting it all back on:
heres how it looks from the back when on:
took out the older light from the center gauges and hooked all the new LEDs to the switch (its a lighted switch so it provides light straight down as well when turned on)
and woila! the finished product.
it was a really tight fit for the center gauges because the led strip is kinda wide but i managed to fit it in without any major problems
oh, and a side note: i took out all the old bulbs out of the gauge cluster so that they wouldnt be on as well as the leds, :smack
and the cool thing about these leds, is they act almost as a blacklight, any of the orange colors on the gauges light up as if a blacklight is on them
edit:
sorry for the blurry pictures by my camera is crappy at taking pics in the dark and its gonna die soon, gotta totally kill it before i get myself another one
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 422
Likes: 1
From: portland or
just because i like to have it on a switch, the car that i drive right now, the gauges are ALWAYS on, easier to see them. this way i can turn them on easily with a switch + the switch is LED lit so it shines a light straight down (im thinking of putting cup holders down there)
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Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 876
Likes: 0
From: Canastota Ny
Saw those LEDS at walmart last night actually. Thats a real tight idea you came up with. and you could run them off the factory switch because of less current draw. should already have everything you need included (resistor)
question -- do the bulbs reflect as individual lights or like a "glow"? if the individual lights show you could glue the strip backwards that way you will get a glowing effect.
keep working at it you will come up with easier and better ideas for it all.
that really is a great idea. you had the ( )( )'s to go ahead and jump right in there and go for it! good job!
question -- do the bulbs reflect as individual lights or like a "glow"? if the individual lights show you could glue the strip backwards that way you will get a glowing effect.
keep working at it you will come up with easier and better ideas for it all.
that really is a great idea. you had the ( )( )'s to go ahead and jump right in there and go for it! good job!
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 24,125
Likes: 15
From: Columbia Missouri
Great install, the hot glue is a good way to get them mounted quick and easy. Nothing wrong with that as far as I'm concerned. Question, how does it look from a side angle, as it would be viewed from the driver's seat or passenger seat. Obviously we don't get to look at them straight on and I wonder if the LEDs themselves are visible from the side.
That kind of depends on the LEDs themselves. Some can be dimmed with the factory switch and others would require a specially designed dimmer...available on most sites that sell LEDs.
If anyone is planning this make sure you leave the standard bulb in the GEN light location because the alternator relies on that bulb for resistance so the alternator will charge properly.
