don't you wish your gauges were THIS bright? :D
 

can anybody guess my secret? :grinno:

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...ture030123.jpg

Let me guess... Lightbulbs? :chuckle:

ummm...nope try again :D

Extra bright lightbulbs? :hide:

just tell us or we are going to bug you until you do and how about a write-up while your at it.

http://www.forums.maxima.org/showpos...70&postcount=3

Do I get my cookie now?

not yet, keep on guessing


HINT #1: it's NOT what you are thinking! :grinno:

Wow, that was my suggestion! Too bad you already answered it. Damn, that looks good! Are those stock bulbs?

come on man, just tell us how u did it. we already gave u ur props, now spill it

He had to sand the "film" off behind the guages (if these are stock SE guages).

it's just too fun! :chuckle:

i thought someone would get it right off, and i wouldn't get to have any fun, but ya'll proved me wrong! haha

anyways, it's just the camera setting! didn't i tell you it's NOT what you were thinking??? i just wish that we could somehow get them to look just like that...i've seen some ways of making them brighter such as using the 194 bulbs, but that picture just looks perfect

oh and btw, iirc that only works on the 5th gen SE gauges, not 5.5?

ok, so you didn't change anything. awesome. great job.

this is what i was talking about: http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....4+gauge+bright

but i just don't understand why we cant use LEDs like the 4th gens can....anybody know?

i know! aren't i a genius?? i wish i were so that i could figure out some way to make our gauges look good!

^^lol, well not exactly...you see, my intention was to get people's attention, and i succeeded, didn't i?

my real question is what i stated above...

Been there, done that. I tried putting 194 bulbs behind the tach and speedometer guages and the light output was the same as the stock #74. I even flashed a bright flashlight behind the guages, and believe it or not, the light output was the same, also. That white film behind the guages block all kinds of light. I guess this is Nissan's secret of "reverse" guages (like reverse indiglos). But, yeah, thanks for playing games with us.:spin:

so would i be correct in stating that the 5.5 gens don't have the blue film behind their gauges like the 5th gens?

The picture of the maxima in the Maxima Driver banner in your sig looks very familiar...Mine!!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...imaPics044.jpg

i was gonna say HID cluster :bonk:

I'm not sure, since I never seen the 2K2-2K3's cluster out of the car to look at. But, I'm sure they're same, except maybe, the temp. and gas guage, since both of these just look plain....whereas the tach and speedo are white/silver. Have you ever taken out your cluster and looked at it?

well didn't you shine a flashlight through it? how did you do that without the cluster off your car? or did you just shine the light through the little holes?

I would think that if we had brighter bulbs or even better, LEDs that no matter what kind of film there is on the back of our gauges, they would be brighter :gotme:

oh der....avatar owns me....i just looked and you dont have a 5.5!

Yeah, I have a 2000 and when I took the cluster out, I also took it apart. I shined the light thru the guage (behind it). The light output was the same. Even a flashight didn't make a difference. Like I said before, the film prevents the light from going thru. I think the only way around it is to distribute the light evenly around the letters and numbers ONLY, like maybe put LED's in a ciclular form to where only the letters and numbers are. Right now, it's just the way the light behind the guages is dispersed and set up, is where we get the stock look. I'm pretty sure, the 2K2-2K3's are the same also (the speedo and tach).

alright, i see...i'll have to disect mine later on and see if i it has the film....maybe that's a good project for tomorrow since i don't have to be at work until 1:00?? :king:

removing the film can also be done with paint stripper. Unfortunately, I managed to ruin the needles while putting it back together. New gauge cluster.....not messing with it.

k, hold on a sec...i found this:
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....76#post3852876 but i don't understand what he did, exactly....does he now have the plain, black GLE gauge face?

Yes, (silvermax) just swapped the GLE guages in place of the SE guages. The GLE's have the plain, black guage faces which only has a small, thin layer of film which just distributes the light evenly around the WHOLE face, whereas the SE just concentrates the light on the NUMBERS, hence the difference of layer. The plain, back faces are much easier to sand off, but there's no need to. Just put in higher wattage bulbs (like #194) and they will shine hella bright! For me, though, I rather have the SE guages because of the better look.

ugh, that's what i didn't want to hear...why did they have to make it that way? no matter what, there will always be a drawback with our gauges....the SE gauges look good during the day but they look like azz at night, while the GLE gauges with some modification are just the opposite :rolleyes:

After driving my friend's 06 Accord, I'm ashamed of the lights on my dash.

Yay for no sanding and just some 194 bulbs doing the trick =)

but :noes: at taking the cluster apart

They do make #74 Leds though. Why not just use those ?

alright people, here's an update....i now completely understand the problem with our gauges (i'm slow, but i get there) I took them apart today, and found exactly how they work...the light is just reflected thoroughout the cluster and the only areas it can shine through are the numbers, which ARE a clear, blue plastic...it's just the bulbs that makes the light appear white...there's no way to get rid of the blue, because it's like that all the way through...
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...ture002364.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...cture00345.jpg

there are ways of making it brighter:

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...cture00445.jpg

but only if the right amount of light is used: :chuckle:

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...ture005456.jpg

What about replacing the stock bulbs with #74 Leds though ?

those 'LEDs' are probably dimmer than our stock bulbs...you would need something like a 20000 mcd LED to make our gauges brighter, but if you used LEDs, the light would come out blue, because that is a true white light....i'm going to try using the 194s just to see if there's any difference when i get the chance...it can't hurt