DIY- How to get rid of the blue LEDs in the instrument cluster
#1
DIY- How to get rid of the blue LEDs in the instrument cluster
I did not like the blue lights in the instrucment cluster.. they made the gauges look purple when mixed with the red. I like it much much better now that they are plain red for night mode.
1- disconnect (-) Battery terminal
2- Slide driver seat back and tilt steering wheel up
3- remove 3 screws under steering column (in the plastic housing)
4- undo the steering tilt Latch, and pry apart the top and bottom steering column housings.. the bottom one has the ignition light on it, be careful around the key ring
5- remove the panel at your knees that is just below the housing you removed.... there is a notch cut out in it for the tilt lever.
6- look directly UP around where your right knee should be... around where the bottom of the instrument cluster should be... you will see a hex nut screw with a philips head pattern on the screw as well... either use a philips screwdriver or a hex nut bit to remove this.
6- there is another one on the oppsite side, you will have to look for the ignition harness and finesse your way above that to the screw. the screw is above and a hair behind the harness i think. you can remove the ignition harness if you want, i didnt because its a real bitch to disconnect.
7- with the 2 screws out... tug towards you at the top of the instrument cluster, it will creak and squeak a lot. keep tugging! 3 clips will come undone. the instrument panel will finally come free and will be connected at the back with 2 harnesses. it will feel like a tight cable but tug on it and u'll see there is enough play in it to rotate the instrument cluster around.
NEVER LET THE FACE OF THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER FACE THE GROUND!!!
that was the warning the the service manual.. apparently it will let some grease out of the dials.
8- you can either unplug the harnesses behing the cluster (very easy to do... but you will get a check engine light the first couple times u drive after that.. then it goes away)... or leave the harnesses in and just turn the cluster so u can see the back
9- Undo the LED Harness in the pic and reassemble. done.
1- disconnect (-) Battery terminal
2- Slide driver seat back and tilt steering wheel up
3- remove 3 screws under steering column (in the plastic housing)
4- undo the steering tilt Latch, and pry apart the top and bottom steering column housings.. the bottom one has the ignition light on it, be careful around the key ring
5- remove the panel at your knees that is just below the housing you removed.... there is a notch cut out in it for the tilt lever.
6- look directly UP around where your right knee should be... around where the bottom of the instrument cluster should be... you will see a hex nut screw with a philips head pattern on the screw as well... either use a philips screwdriver or a hex nut bit to remove this.
6- there is another one on the oppsite side, you will have to look for the ignition harness and finesse your way above that to the screw. the screw is above and a hair behind the harness i think. you can remove the ignition harness if you want, i didnt because its a real bitch to disconnect.
7- with the 2 screws out... tug towards you at the top of the instrument cluster, it will creak and squeak a lot. keep tugging! 3 clips will come undone. the instrument panel will finally come free and will be connected at the back with 2 harnesses. it will feel like a tight cable but tug on it and u'll see there is enough play in it to rotate the instrument cluster around.
NEVER LET THE FACE OF THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER FACE THE GROUND!!!
that was the warning the the service manual.. apparently it will let some grease out of the dials.
8- you can either unplug the harnesses behing the cluster (very easy to do... but you will get a check engine light the first couple times u drive after that.. then it goes away)... or leave the harnesses in and just turn the cluster so u can see the back
9- Undo the LED Harness in the pic and reassemble. done.
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sil80drifter (09-02-2018)
#5
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LOVE the blue led's but good job on your part.
#8
Hmm im not sure if you can easily change the colors since i didnt actually pull out the LEDs, i just unplugged the harness that sent power to all 4 of them.
I THINK you can pull them out and replace them, i dont think they are intergrated into the circuit board but im certainly not 100% sure on that. Sorry i didnt think to check that before I threw it all back together.
I know lots of people like the blue tint... i like it for entry into the car and stuff, but i just couldnt stand the blue glowing onto the red gauges... like i said, too purple for me now the center dash color scheme looks like it actually belongs with the instrument cluster color.
Thanks for the compliments on the DIY tho! maybe a mod can move it to the DIY section.
Im going to take better night pics when i find my digicam, the RAZR doesnt cut it for pics.
I THINK you can pull them out and replace them, i dont think they are intergrated into the circuit board but im certainly not 100% sure on that. Sorry i didnt think to check that before I threw it all back together.
I know lots of people like the blue tint... i like it for entry into the car and stuff, but i just couldnt stand the blue glowing onto the red gauges... like i said, too purple for me now the center dash color scheme looks like it actually belongs with the instrument cluster color.
Thanks for the compliments on the DIY tho! maybe a mod can move it to the DIY section.
Im going to take better night pics when i find my digicam, the RAZR doesnt cut it for pics.
#11
I just like the leds when you first get in the car... would be cool to have a way to disable them from coming on when the dimmer is set with the headlights on only. I suspect that would be a lot harder though.
#12
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i just got around to modifying this a little in my car. instead of just disconnecting the led, i hooked it up to my alarm, so that when the alarm is armed, the blue leds blink.
#14
Originally Posted by lurch519
i just got around to modifying this a little in my car. instead of just disconnecting the led, i hooked it up to my alarm, so that when the alarm is armed, the blue leds blink.
#18
This is an odd thread—your instructions are refreshingly clear and thorough, and it was nice of you to take the time to figure out how to do this and then post the instructions.
It's just that I can't imagine anyone not loving the blue LEDs.
It's like that old movie where Walter Matthau is this old guy who enters a room with a tray of Twinkies and a straw and proudly announces "I figured out how to remove the cream from the middle".
It's just that I can't imagine anyone not loving the blue LEDs.
It's like that old movie where Walter Matthau is this old guy who enters a room with a tray of Twinkies and a straw and proudly announces "I figured out how to remove the cream from the middle".
Last edited by New Yorker; 02-21-2008 at 11:11 AM.
#20
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kinda like this
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...202004/002.jpg
and this?
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...004/led005.jpg
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...202004/002.jpg
and this?
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...004/led005.jpg
#22
kinda like this
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...202004/002.jpg
and this?
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...004/led005.jpg
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...202004/002.jpg
and this?
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...004/led005.jpg
lurch how did you get the gauges to turn blue? i ordered the leds that change it i just don't know how to get them on
#23
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cool, looks good, i love the blue tho... it would be nice if i could just toggle between the 3... without taking out the cluster everytime i wanted or didnt want the blue