VoLLy

iTrader: (8)

I'm not soldiering anything, I am just getting those replacement LEDs for the clock and ac controls (page 1).

Cozmo

That looks pretty sweet. I wish I had the patience for it since I've considered this before but I'd go insane until every single green light was changed to blue.. so I think it is better if I don't start.

subtledreamer

Yeah I know what you mean, I was actually a bit worried about the weird color combos; but it's a start - there's a chance I might just solder the rest of the stock bulbs in the future and complete teh package

and wow this thread has turned into a great gathering for a lot of great information/experience from everyone... nice!

Topher707

OK. Maybe it is that I am posting at 5am and haven’t slept yet, but I cant find all the info I need.

I want my speedo to look just like the 3rd gen speedo... I saw some great pics! love your guys work. So, I have a 02 TL-s w/navi. I need LEDS for all the air controls under the navi screen, the fog switch, the sun roof switch, ect., and LEDs for all the stuff in the speedo. I need to know what kind of LEDs I need for each of these areas, how many, what each one goes to... and what site has what.
I am sorry if all the info is in the thread... but i coundnt find most of it.

Please feel free to post direct to my question or PM me... Thanks in advance for any help!!

-Chris

gaping46and2

iTrader: (2)

The 3rd gen's don't use leds in the dash controls for the climate control or navi buttons, etc. The only leds are around the knobs for the radio and the gauge cluster. I used leds I bought off ebay and soldered them all myself, and bought the gauge bulbs from superbrightleds.com.

02acuraTLS

a bro what size of bulb did u use for ur gauge? did u get the bulb at LEDautomotive ?

mezzerTL-S

all of the bulbs came from LEDautomotive, you buy them as a kit...

there are 5 of these behind the gauges

VoLLy

iTrader: (8)

Do I have to remove the gauge faces when I am replace the bulbs with LEDs? I'm afriad that I will mess up the needles.

mezzerTL-S

this is what the inside of the gauge cluster looks like, 1st the clear cover comes off, 2nd the black housing comes off to expose the gauge faces, 3rd turn it all around and you can't see in the pics but there are small metal clips that bend over and clamp onto the green PC board, straighten those out and the guages can be removed without removing the actual face. Here is the install guide directly from LEDautomotive http://www.ledautomotive.com/HowToGu...usterHowTo.asp
Jeff

VoLLy

iTrader: (8)

Nice, thanks for the info!!

RyanCHICL

iTrader: (1)

Do you have to buy the reverse guage faces? Could you get the blue affect with out them?

02acuraTLS

can i use size #194 and shaved it down to make it fit #74 slot cause LEDautomotive cluster led out of stock

mezzerTL-S

I doubt it since the #194 bulb is glass and about 2x too big to fit into the socket good luck if you decide to try

mezzerTL-S

no the reverse gauges are not required, the stock gauges have a blue filter that makes the white light turn blue

twighunter00

Personally I like the reverse glow...
For the blinkers I know that htey used a "74" bulb...I got mine in blue, along with odometer...
The 74's were actually a little big for the odometer so i had to wedge it in there...and shave some of the plastic housing off in order to get it to fit snug...
Finishing my complete car led transformation tomorrow...Anything that would light up is goin blue (except for dome/map lights/glove....) those are goin white...
Will be posting pics in the next couple days....
Has anyone thought about like a neon/led bar/cathode where your feet are? I dont' know the technical name for it but I call it under-dash lighting?

GranSkyline

sweet job man, just some questions:

where did you get the silver reverse glow gauges?
if, when putting on the gauges, you move the needles, couldn't you just move them back to the bottom?

thanks

VoLLy

iTrader: (8)

Hey mezzerTL-S, did you remove the filter off of the climate control display? What color do you think i'll end up with if i do remove the filter from the climate control display?

Trackruner228

iTrader: (1)

*jealous* dude that is badass. I mean that is really sweet. Once my dash bulbs burn out I think I know what color my replacement blubs will be.

mezzerTL-S

no I didn't take the filter out and to be honest with you I don't know what colour you'd get

VoLLy

iTrader: (8)

Ok thanks! Right now I'm planning to get the LEDautomotive gauge cluster and odometer wedge bulbs along with subtledreamer's DIY climate control leaving the climate control display yellow (I cant solder either).

illTL

anyone have a link for the gauge cluster for a 00 3.2tl

mezzerTL-S

if you send all the stock bulbs to LEDautomotive, Nate will solder all the LEDs into the stock sockets (all except the red defrost button), from there its just plug and play check here http://www.ledautomotive.com/InstallProgram/ thats what I did, I also sent him my whole climate control unit so he could do the red defrost button

thizz_i_izz

ive seen this accord on cardomain with the brightest darkest blue gauge lights, like the volswagen passats, he said he used 2 LEDs per number looks sweet as hell...heres a pic

mastaprk

Okay, I had the Reverse Glow Gauges installed on mine when I got my stereo/alarm done & for some reason they stopped working about 8 months ago (& been too busy/lazy to fix it). I went ahead & ordered another set of these gauges & I'll be putting them in myself along w/ the blue LEDs.

My question is about the gauges that I got as they differ slightly. The one that I have now doesn't have the controller & it has the cheesy on/off switch. I'm pretty sure the one I ordered is the exact same & will have the on/off switch. I don't really care about the dimmer, but I would like the gauges to come on when the headlights are turned on. Is there a way to wire it so I don't need that stupid on/off switch & just have the gauges come on when the headlights are turned on? Any suggestions or advice would be helpful.

Frazman

This stuff is pretty awesome. Too bad im too afraid to crack open the dash/speedometer....

fsttyms1

there is probably nothing wrong with teh gauges themselves. The inverters are known to wear out. Just replace the inverter (little black box)

fsttyms1

Why? Its not hard, and you will never grow the confidence if you dot start/try some time. Give er a shot

mastaprk

That makes sense, I'll just try to do that first. For future reference, is there a place to just get the inverters or do I have to buy the gauge set again? Also, how often do these things wear out (as mine was working for only about 4 months or so)?

twighunter00

When you wire yoru gauges just look for switchable power in your fuse box. I wired mine to switchable power that was controlled by my lights...than I kept them always on, and to the desired brightness...tucked the cheesy switch behind the dash and they come on just like my old gauges...but cooler

You won't believe what just tryingt his stuff will do. You start with a few led's, your confidence will grow and so will your knowledge...by learning this stuff I've learned so much about wiring and lighting in cars...I'm only 17 so I still got time to learn...but this led dash stuff has taught me tons...

mastaprk

Okay, are you talking about the dimmer/controller or a cheap on/off button? Mine didn't come w/ the dimmer/controller, unfortunately I have the latter. The on/off button has to be pushed manually once your headlights are on, then the gauges will light up. I was wondering if there's a way to wire w/o that cheesy switch though.

twighunter00

You don't have the same getup as me....but if you wire it to a fuse that goes on with your lights...than you can just leave the switch on "on" and tuck it behind...that way when ur lights turn on so do ur gauges...
Hope this makes sense...I'm still new at all this so explaining it is difficult

TLSC

Jeff (mezzerTL-S), of all the LED conversions I have seen on this forum, your pictures look the best. Do you have any hot spots? It seems there is a small one on the speedo around 60. Do you have any other hot spots? Did you do anything specific to reduce the hot spots?

Thanks

-al

subtledreamer

I found a way for the clock to be brighter with the LED replacement... since LED's light output is naturally forward-facing, and our light diffuser for the clock relies on light coming in horizontally (see pic below), that diffuser doesn't get the full output from the LED.

So what I did was use a small piece of aluminum foil and shape it into a half-bowl shape and secure it with tape into where the LED is housed... therefore reflecting a lot more light into the diffuser. I suck at explaining how it works... so just check out the 2nd & 3rd picture and you guys will see what I mean

Before it was kinda hard to read the clock at night (with the blue LED), but with the foil trick it is almos twice as bright and I now have no trouble reading it, sweet!

blazntigz

hey subtledreamer or anybody else that has done this mod. i just did my turn signals yesterday. and my left turn signal was working fine until today it went out. not sure if its loose or the led shorted. but has this happened to any of you guys? i got my leds from v-leds

subtledreamer

No problems with my LEDs so far. Could be a lose connection, you could try reinserting the bulb into the socket and see if it works again. Unlike traditional incandescent bulbs, you cant see if the LED is burned. So if that's the case, it's likely a dead bulb - time for replacement! Good thing it's only 3 bucks

twighunter00

I have a lose connection on one of my odometer bulbs...
For some reason the right bulb only decides to come on everyonce in a while. I just haven't taken my gauge cluster out to fix it...its ticks me off, but I just have been to busy to go through the ordeal to take everything apart for just one little bulb...

blazntigz

yeah only 3 bucks but i think they sent me 2 that were dead already and i cant really argue that can i? its on and off probably a lil loose cuz when i hit a big bump it works again, until i cut the engine for a few hours and start driving its off again

VoLLy

iTrader: (8)

Hey, I sent you a PM subtledreamer. Did you ever find out a bulb that fits into the ones you were missing? Climate control display and the upper 2 bulbs of the climate controls?

subtledreamer

Hey sorry, just saw it. No I haven't but may have an idea. I will have to try it out in the coming weeks and report back on the thread. As for the red defroster button, what you could do is use a white LED instead and you'll retain the red, and a light sky blue for the other defroster button.

VoLLy

iTrader: (8)

I know about the defroster button (i read your posts thuroughly), I was asking about the temperature knob. Can I keep the red on the right side of the knob?