Gary95

I actually like the white face gauges of my '95 (although the Indiglo with 6 colors do look cool). But I find the white lighting a little dim for my tastes.

I would love to have the brightness I see in the I30 instrumentation. Would it simply be a matter of replacing the gauge bulbs? Has anyone tried this or pretty certain it would work? I imagine I would need to put in a higher amp fuse. That is, if the bulbs would fit... I wonder.

Then of course there's the issue of uniform brightness. If they are too bright and I have to turn down the rheostat, I may find myself with very dim clock and stereo lighting. Anyway, thought I might bring this up in case anyone had some info...

Daniel B. Martin

I don't think the clock is affected by the dimmer control.

Gary95

Hi Daniel,
Yes, you're right. I think the only thing which affects it is the "night time mode", when the headlights are on. Even the dimmer override doesn't work on it (that "clicked" position all the way to the right).
But it should affect everything else...

supertool

I want to make it brighter, and possibly orange.
Does anyone have instructions for that. I have the haynes manual, and I don't think it's in there.

clee130

If you want to make it brighter, first you have to get brighter bulbs (like hyperwhites) or if you want to make it orange, just get orange bulbs.

The bulb size is #194.

And you have to take out your gauge cluster.

Find out here:
http://www.maximadriver.com

Check in the How2 section and the directions on how to take out your cluster will be under the Install Colored Dash Gauges.

Gary95

Yeah, I checked them out and the instructions seem to compliment my manual pretty well. Is there a bulb #194 available that is a bluish white, like the I30? Or do I have to get a translucent film to cover it?

Canuck

My q is how can I change the bulbs in the climate control.

Gary95

Either the front plastic piece is tinted blue, or the diodes themselves are blue. I'll be taking apart my dashboard later this week when I get my new dash kit, and I'll post a message to describe what I find (to include this).

I30CeFiRo

The I30 gauge lights are brighter? I didn't know that. how many bulbs does the Max have? I'm pretty sure that when I put in the indiglos in my I30 I removed only 6 bulbs. I also noticed that there were blue covers on my gauge light bulbs, maybe thats it.

Gary95

Yes, the I30 gauge lights on the '00-01 models are definitely brighter than the '95-99 Maximas. Haven't yet seen the '00-01 Maxima dashboard lit up.

Ramius83 said he installed Blue APC #194 bulbs in his gauges, and they faded after a few weeks. I've heard good things about Eurolites, but they look very blue in the photos - I want the I30 arctic bluish white, not a heavy blue.

I30CeFiRo - do these gauge bulb covers fit tightly over the bulbs and take up little room? I'm wondering if they'd fit in the Maxima gauge cluster. I'm going to check with Infiniti to see if I can get these. I'd rather use the covers with white bulbs (probably Polarg) to ensure the right color.

~Gary

seanqlee

Any good news with this? I really like the I30 instrument panel as well. Hope we dont have to use high wattage bulbs so we dont fry the wires... Or, will some other #194 white/bluish bulbs outta do?..

I30CeFiRo

Yeah, the light covers are pretty low profile. They are kinda rubberish so they will not melt or fade. Kinda surprised me that they were stock on my car

seanqlee

So this means the I30 gauge bulb fits on maxima?

seanqlee

for the bulb#194, do you know the recommened wattage by any chance?

Hercules

I think it's 5V and 12 Watts. Can anyone confirm that?

Gary95

I'm pretty sure it is. By the way, I took a look in my Haynes manual, and there are *14* #194 bulbs in the gauge cluster. So, replacing them isn't exactly a cheap deal! Something like $60. I'm thinking that you can get by with replacing less than that. Some bulbs are focused on the numbers, others on the needles. The trick is figuring out what pattern will look right. I'd hate to get 8 bulbs and realize I need 10 or 12.

seanqlee

I was checking some #194 bulbs (Polarg M-4) and the wattage was the other way around 12v, 5w. I dont want to burn any wires, but could that be the one?

Gary95

Good catch. It is 12v 5w. I glanced too quickly.

The only thing that might come close to 5v is an old British sports car. Yuck! Maintenance nightmares!

clee130

14?!?!? WTF?!?!?!

No way there are 14 #194 back there. There are a bunch of tiny little bulbs for the Check Engine Light, Seatbelt Light, etc, the little lights on the bottom and top.

But there are only 5 #194 for the main gauges: gas, speedo, tach, temp.

How can I be so sure? I just took my gauge apart yesterday and put in two Polorg's ... they are bright white and when you put the blue sleeve over them, it shines through as a light blue. Not really what I wanted. I have to fiddle around with them some more this weekend.

Gary95

Calvin, nothing beats empirical evidence, so I trust you. I was going by the diagram on my Haynes manual. It did not indicate which bulbs were #194. The plugs were all the same size, so I just assumed they were 194's. Thanks for the clarification.

I'm a little confused about the blue sleeves. I thought these were only on the I30. I have the white face gauges and the light that comes through is WHITE. Pure white. No blue. Now, you have a 95 GXE Maxima. Are these sleeves you mention ones that were already in place, or ones you obtained? I'm thinking that maybe on the SE there are none.

clee130

Quite honestly, I have no clue what the blue sleeves do. And the sleeves were already on there, I didn't buy them. Yeah, when I have the stock white bulbs in there, even with the blue sleeves on, it shines through as white. I think they might be in there so they protect either the bulb or the gauges, but I don't really see how that would work considering they're pretty thin.

I think the reason why my gauges are a little bit shaded as blue now is because I put two Polorgs in there and the Polorgs are "brighter" and "whiter" than the stock look. And when it's brighter, it "picks up" the color on the sleeve.

I've pretty much given up on trying to make my gauges look like the VW's blue. Hmmm ... I wonder what it would look like if I put orange bulbs back there.

seanqlee

Whats Polorgs? Are they super bright white bulbs? I recently emailed orexmotorsports.com about super white /w blue tint Polarg M-4 bulbs(which i think is #194 bulbs) and they said this will not fit the maxima gauge. Are they wrong?? I'm looking for bright white bulbs that give out little blue tint(not too much) for the gauges. Can you tell me what you used to get this effect? Where can i order them?

1Phat Max

Yea they are wrong. Polarg size M-4(same as 194) would fit in your gauges in maxima. I changed them last month and they shine real nice and bright. you need 5 bulbs for them. they are the same bulb as corner lights on the bumper one next to the signal light and also same bulb as little light on the door when you open it. i would recommend polarg also known as bl hybrid to anybody who wants their dash to shine brighter and look clean....