ejreams
Well-Known Member
Or.. you can just get the bulbs I got for my Accord and not even open up the cluster at all. Lol
DIY LEDs gauge cluster
- Thread starter racerzedge
- Start date
Or.. you can just get the bulbs I got for my Accord and not even open up the cluster at all. Lol
accord786
Well-Known Member
what bulbs? also is their a way to remove the glass part I wanna paint the inside trim?
ejreams
Well-Known Member
I'll have to grab one and compare them visually to remember.. it was a helllaa long time ago, but I will definitely find out and post it up in here cause they kick ***.
And yea you can, theres just some hex screws holding it to the rest of the unit I believe.. its been a while.
You'd need to mask a few things probably, you might be able to get it more separated but I can't remember.
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accord786
Well-Known Member
Thank you bro looking forward to the bulb size no hurry take your time Thanks again for the quick response
Have a Blessed Day
Have a Blessed Day
ejreams
Well-Known Member
Thank you bro looking forward to the bulb size no hurry take your time Thanks again for the quick response
Have a Blessed Day
Lol anytime, the size is 198/168 for sure, but as for the specific ones I used, I will find that soon.
ejreams
Well-Known Member
So..
These are what I used guys, they lasted over 30,000 miles, not sure how long they're supposed to last but hey at least I can vouch for that.
http://www.v-leds.com/5K-WHITE-X5-HIGH-POWER-p8757621-1-3.html
Unfortunately they're out of stock.. what a great price.. they cost me a shat ton when I got them.
What you want to look for though, if you feel like finding something similar is a 360 (5x)Surface mounted LED with an output of at least 2.5watts
Basically that means there are some radial firing SMLEDS and one or two SMLEDS that shoot straight foward there should be 5 of them and they will be 1/2 watts each = 2.5watts.
You want more radial firing SMD's than front firing and you want it to be short like the stock bulb size.
Keeping it away from the front of the cluster and having more radial firing than front firing SMDs is what keeps the light spread well thus eliminating hot spots.
These are what I used guys, they lasted over 30,000 miles, not sure how long they're supposed to last but hey at least I can vouch for that.
http://www.v-leds.com/5K-WHITE-X5-HIGH-POWER-p8757621-1-3.html
Unfortunately they're out of stock.. what a great price.. they cost me a shat ton when I got them.
What you want to look for though, if you feel like finding something similar is a 360 (5x)Surface mounted LED with an output of at least 2.5watts
Basically that means there are some radial firing SMLEDS and one or two SMLEDS that shoot straight foward there should be 5 of them and they will be 1/2 watts each = 2.5watts.
You want more radial firing SMD's than front firing and you want it to be short like the stock bulb size.
Keeping it away from the front of the cluster and having more radial firing than front firing SMDs is what keeps the light spread well thus eliminating hot spots.
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shenaniganz08
Well-Known Member
Taking pictures helps. Do this before taking your gauges apart
1) Tach= Drive your car around and let it warm up a bit. Make sure to remember at what RPM your car idles at.
2) Speedometer = This one is a *****.. I'll get back to it
3) Fuel= Empty your tank and remember where the lowest point is. Then fill your tank and also remember where the highest point is
4) Temp= let your car warm up and remember where it is
Put your gauges back together but not the front plastic
1) Tach= let your car warm up and gently put your needle in the right spot (never turn the needle, just put it on/take it off gently until you get it right)
2) Speedometer = PITA. What I did was late at night I got on the freeway and used the GPS/speedometer from my iphone. I drove for a few miles with cruise control and aimed for 70mph on the GPS. Once you are sure that you have been on the road for a long time Carefully place the needle on the dash (yes this is dangerous tricky to do when driving, make sure it's a straight part of the freeway and be careful). After this, change your speed (65mph, 75mph, 80mph) and see if the speed on your speedometer is equal to the speed on your GPS. This will take you some time to get right ( did it on two separate nights just to make sure).
3)Fuel= I found that the top of my fuel gauge was more accurate than the empty portion. I filled my gas tank and place the needle in the right spot
4) Temp = Warm your car up and then just place the needle in the right spot
This guy knows what he is talking about
In fact you only want a tiny amount of light going directly towards the front as possible to avoid hot spots. The clear plastic behind our gauges does a good job spreading the light out ( with the exception of a few cold spots that need additional LEDs) but the plastic sucks at spreading light that shoots directly towards the front (hotspot).
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shenaniganz08
Well-Known Member
Or.. you can just get the bulbs I got for my Accord and not even open up the cluster at all. Lol
Yes but you can't get pure white this way. That said, I like the work you've done
One other advice (what i did) was to get rid of the two "spotlights". This will increase the contrast of your gauges and make them look better.
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ejreams
Well-Known Member
Eh a lot of people think that but honestly my center console was pure white and if you look they're pretty dam close to the same degrees.
Also, I wanted the overhanging lights to be red, I felt it all matched my
CDA-9884 very well.
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ejreams
Well-Known Member
… you must educate me on how to rotate the LCD film to invert its appearance… I want to do it to match my clock and radio to the odeter in my Acura… 
