Brightened My Gauges
09-18-2009 | 01:09 PM
#1
Brightened My Gauges
Ok, so I got this idea from metalmaxima. What he did was replace all of the tiny #74 bulbs in his gauges with bigger #194 bulbs. He used some hyperwhite ones and removed the blue filter inside. This is how we made the #194's fit:
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/758364/2
and here is what I did:
I just put in regular #194 bulbs and didn't remove the blue filter. (less risky, easier, less time consuming
) but still brighter (if not quite as white as what metalmaxima did) The gauges are still like 2wice as bright as they were before, which is really what I was going for, as the stock gauges are extremely dim. So here's a pic of my results: (in person, the light appears more uniformly distributed)
What do you guys think? and has anyone else brightened their gauges in any other ways? post pics!
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/758364/2
and here is what I did:
I just put in regular #194 bulbs and didn't remove the blue filter. (less risky, easier, less time consuming
) but still brighter (if not quite as white as what metalmaxima did) The gauges are still like 2wice as bright as they were before, which is really what I was going for, as the stock gauges are extremely dim. So here's a pic of my results: (in person, the light appears more uniformly distributed)What do you guys think? and has anyone else brightened their gauges in any other ways? post pics!
09-18-2009 | 04:09 PM
#3
This was actually super easy to do, and only requires unsnapping the back plastic cover. You don't actually have to take it apart unless you sand the blue filter. I didn't do that.
09-20-2009 | 02:49 PM
#8
I just used regular bulbs... not LED... buuut... as good as this looks, i think it gets too hot. So i'm ordering a large amount of white LEDs. I'm going to do a real conversion in the next couple weeks. I'll probably do a write-up with pics and start a thread... can't wait!
09-21-2009 | 08:04 PM
#10
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 487
From: Baton Rouge, LA
I'm curious about that too... I'm scared to do any kind of wiring mod (even the fog light mod) after I caught my sentra on fire three years ago by installing aftermarket fog lights....
09-21-2009 | 08:22 PM
#11
Yeah, well I could smell burning plastic! so i thought I'd better be safe than sorry. Plus, if I do a complete LED conversion it'll look better anyway My plan is white LED faces with blue needles. I'll do a full How-to as long as everything goes smoothly haha... I ordered like 200 LEDs so I'd have a ton to work with. Just waiting for them to arrive... then I'll attempt the awesomeness! 
My plan is white LED faces with blue needles. I'll do a full How-to as long as everything goes smoothly haha... I ordered like 200 LEDs so I'd have a ton to work with. Just waiting for them to arrive... then I'll attempt the awesomeness!
09-21-2009 | 08:24 PM
#12
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 487
From: Baton Rouge, LA
I would attempt to follow your how-to if it works out, but I'd rather have someone more experienced perform this kind of surgery. I'd hate to nick an artery...
If it works out, can your services be bought?
If it works out, can your services be bought?
09-21-2009 | 08:34 PM
#13
That depends how much they're bought for 
haha, umm, just PM me after you see the write-up/how-to that I do and I'll let you know. At this point I'm willing to do it, but I need to see how hard it is etc... k?
haha, umm, just PM me after you see the write-up/how-to that I do and I'll let you know. At this point I'm willing to do it, but I need to see how hard it is etc... k?
09-22-2009 | 08:00 AM
#18
What you will need:
soldering iron and solder, electrical tape or shrink wrap. A few feet of 18 or 20 gauge wire, preferably 3 colours to differentiate between +ve and -ve.
4 led's for the cluster lights, 2 more if you want to do the signals.
NOTE: The 02-03 gauge cluster has a blue film on it. Most people think the cluster looks green. That is because the oem filament bulbs give off a yellow hue. Yellow bulb and blue film will give you green. If you want blue, use white LED's. If you want red get the brightest red possible. I know red works, but don't forget that red + blue = purple.
I suggest you get these LED"S http://cgi.ebay.com/10PC-0-5W-StrawH...3286.m20.l1116
Note, before you solder anything you must use a process called tinning. Always dip the end of the wire in the flux, add heat then a bit of solder. Same with the pins, add a drop of flux, then heat then a drop of solder. It makes life much easier.
Ok, step one is to remove the cluster from the car. Bring it into the house and place it on a nice work area.
We need to do some calculations... We all know that to run an LED on a 14V system we will need to add the appropriate resistor. In order to do that we need some information about the LED. The link I posted has everything you need.
We need to know the DC forward Voltage and the DC forward Current.
In this case DC Forward voltage is 3.0V and the forward current is 100ma.
If we go online tothis web site you punch in the numbers.
Source voltage is 14V (14.4 is more accurate)(you will only put out about 13.something volts. But that is ok it will help protect the leds if you guess the voltage too high)
DC V is 3
DC current is 100
4 leds in the array...
and voila, we need a 20 Ohm resistor rated at 1/2 watt. This can be bought at a local electronic shop.
soldering iron and solder, electrical tape or shrink wrap. A few feet of 18 or 20 gauge wire, preferably 3 colours to differentiate between +ve and -ve.
4 led's for the cluster lights, 2 more if you want to do the signals.
NOTE: The 02-03 gauge cluster has a blue film on it. Most people think the cluster looks green. That is because the oem filament bulbs give off a yellow hue. Yellow bulb and blue film will give you green. If you want blue, use white LED's. If you want red get the brightest red possible. I know red works, but don't forget that red + blue = purple.
I suggest you get these LED"S http://cgi.ebay.com/10PC-0-5W-StrawH...3286.m20.l1116
Note, before you solder anything you must use a process called tinning. Always dip the end of the wire in the flux, add heat then a bit of solder. Same with the pins, add a drop of flux, then heat then a drop of solder. It makes life much easier.
Ok, step one is to remove the cluster from the car. Bring it into the house and place it on a nice work area.
We need to do some calculations... We all know that to run an LED on a 14V system we will need to add the appropriate resistor. In order to do that we need some information about the LED. The link I posted has everything you need.
We need to know the DC forward Voltage and the DC forward Current.
In this case DC Forward voltage is 3.0V and the forward current is 100ma.
If we go online tothis web site you punch in the numbers.
Source voltage is 14V (14.4 is more accurate)(you will only put out about 13.something volts. But that is ok it will help protect the leds if you guess the voltage too high)
DC V is 3
DC current is 100
4 leds in the array...
and voila, we need a 20 Ohm resistor rated at 1/2 watt. This can be bought at a local electronic shop.
Last edited by knight_yyz; 09-22-2009 at 08:09 AM.
09-22-2009 | 08:03 AM
#19
Ok so we have a complicated circuit now. To make the circuit a little easier i suggest making 2 circuits with 2 leds. This will change the resistor size, and we will need two instead. So with the new array being only 2 LED's we get the following information.
80 ohms at 1 watt. So buy two of those.
Now we can figure out where we need to solder. Some people prefer to tap right into the harness. I will tell you right now it is a PITA to do that. Trying to splice into a wire in a harness is not easy. fortunately the nissan gauge has small metal pins which we can solder to directly.
We are going to use the following pins.
#64 is the +ve for the cluster bulbs, and #20 is the -ve or ground.
Tin this pin. (#64) That is place a small drop of flux on the pin, then heat it with the soldering iron and add a small amount of solder. Then tin the end of a piece of red wire and solder it to the pin.
Do the same to this pin, but use a black wire
80 ohms at 1 watt. So buy two of those.
Now we can figure out where we need to solder. Some people prefer to tap right into the harness. I will tell you right now it is a PITA to do that. Trying to splice into a wire in a harness is not easy. fortunately the nissan gauge has small metal pins which we can solder to directly.
We are going to use the following pins.
#64 is the +ve for the cluster bulbs, and #20 is the -ve or ground.
Tin this pin. (#64) That is place a small drop of flux on the pin, then heat it with the soldering iron and add a small amount of solder. Then tin the end of a piece of red wire and solder it to the pin.
Do the same to this pin, but use a black wire
09-22-2009 | 08:03 AM
#20
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 487
From: Baton Rouge, LA
What you will need:
soldering iron and solder, electrical tape or shrink wrap. A few feet of 18 or 20 gauge wire, preferably 3 colours to differentiate between +ve and -ve.
4 led's for the cluster lights, 2 more if you want to do the signals.
NOTE: The 02-03 gauge cluster has a blue film on it. Most people think the cluster looks green. That is because the oem filament bulbs give off a yellow hue. Yellow bulb and blue film will give you green. If you want blue, use white LED's. If you want red get the brightest red possible. I know red works, but don't forget that red + blue = purple.
I suggest you get these LED"S http://cgi.ebay.com/10PC-0-5W-StrawH...3286.m20.l1116
Note, before you solder anything you must use a process called tinning. Always dip the end of the wire in the flux, add heat then a bit of solder. Same with the pins, add a drop of flux, then heat then a drop of solder. It makes life much easier.
Ok, step one is to remove the cluster from the car. Bring it into the house and place it on a nice work area.
We need to do some calculations... We all know that to run an LED on a 14V system we will need to add the appropriate resistor. In order to do that we need some information about the LED. The link I posted has everything you need.
We need to know the DC forward Voltage and the DC forward Current.
In this case DC Forward voltage is 3.0V and the forward current is 100ma.
If we go online tothis web site you punch in the numbers.
Source voltage is 14V (14.4 is more accurate)
DC V is 3
DC current is 100
4 leds in the array...
and voila, we need a 20 Ohm resistor rated at 1/2 watt. This can be bought at a local electronic shop.
soldering iron and solder, electrical tape or shrink wrap. A few feet of 18 or 20 gauge wire, preferably 3 colours to differentiate between +ve and -ve.
4 led's for the cluster lights, 2 more if you want to do the signals.
NOTE: The 02-03 gauge cluster has a blue film on it. Most people think the cluster looks green. That is because the oem filament bulbs give off a yellow hue. Yellow bulb and blue film will give you green. If you want blue, use white LED's. If you want red get the brightest red possible. I know red works, but don't forget that red + blue = purple.
I suggest you get these LED"S http://cgi.ebay.com/10PC-0-5W-StrawH...3286.m20.l1116
Note, before you solder anything you must use a process called tinning. Always dip the end of the wire in the flux, add heat then a bit of solder. Same with the pins, add a drop of flux, then heat then a drop of solder. It makes life much easier.
Ok, step one is to remove the cluster from the car. Bring it into the house and place it on a nice work area.
We need to do some calculations... We all know that to run an LED on a 14V system we will need to add the appropriate resistor. In order to do that we need some information about the LED. The link I posted has everything you need.
We need to know the DC forward Voltage and the DC forward Current.
In this case DC Forward voltage is 3.0V and the forward current is 100ma.
If we go online tothis web site you punch in the numbers.
Source voltage is 14V (14.4 is more accurate)
DC V is 3
DC current is 100
4 leds in the array...
and voila, we need a 20 Ohm resistor rated at 1/2 watt. This can be bought at a local electronic shop.
Wonder what it would look like if I did my gauges red with a red needle... I dont know if that would look good
09-22-2009 | 08:06 AM
#21
On an LED there is a short leg and a long leg. The shorter leg is negative and the long leg is positive. I usually solder the resistor directly to the LED. Use shrink wrap to protect the legs after you solder your wires. You will be making two circuits. Choose how you want to do it. Make the two left bulbs one circuit, or the the two top. Whatever floats your boat. The resistor can go on the negative or the postive lead. Doesn't matter as long as it is in the circuit.
Now you just have to make the circuit. Power source is pin 64. so to the end of that red wire we solder the resistor. Tin both ends, you can cut the legs a little shorter if you like. Then solder to the longer end of the 1st led. Make sure it can reach the socket it will be sitting in. You may need to add a piece of wire to do this. On the short end of that led you solder a piece of blue/yellow/green wire. This must be long enough to be soldered to the positive side of the second led in the array. then solder a black wire to the short end of led #2 and solder the other end to the black wire at number 20.
Red line is red wire, blue line is 'common wire' purple is the led, and green squiggle is the resistor
Double up and you are good to go.
Now you just have to make the circuit. Power source is pin 64. so to the end of that red wire we solder the resistor. Tin both ends, you can cut the legs a little shorter if you like. Then solder to the longer end of the 1st led. Make sure it can reach the socket it will be sitting in. You may need to add a piece of wire to do this. On the short end of that led you solder a piece of blue/yellow/green wire. This must be long enough to be soldered to the positive side of the second led in the array. then solder a black wire to the short end of led #2 and solder the other end to the black wire at number 20.
Red line is red wire, blue line is 'common wire' purple is the led, and green squiggle is the resistor
Double up and you are good to go.
09-22-2009 | 08:07 AM
#22
To do the signals repeat the procedure but use these pins.
#25 is positive for LH signal, #29 is positive for RH signal. Ground is #30 on M32 plug
But, for the signals, 2 circuits, only one LED on each with a common ground. So recalculate the resistors needed as they are separate power supply. IE, the left and right signals get power from different pins so you need 2 circuits
make sure you don;t get them backwards, or the right will flash when you go left and vice versa.
If you want to get really fancy you can find the led holders and use them as well. But they will block the dispersion of the leds as they will sit too low. Notice the leds i picked have 140* of dispersion to reduce hot spots. Holders are usually only good for about 100*
#25 is positive for LH signal, #29 is positive for RH signal. Ground is #30 on M32 plug
But, for the signals, 2 circuits, only one LED on each with a common ground. So recalculate the resistors needed as they are separate power supply. IE, the left and right signals get power from different pins so you need 2 circuits
make sure you don;t get them backwards, or the right will flash when you go left and vice versa.
If you want to get really fancy you can find the led holders and use them as well. But they will block the dispersion of the leds as they will sit too low. Notice the leds i picked have 140* of dispersion to reduce hot spots. Holders are usually only good for about 100*
Last edited by knight_yyz; 09-22-2009 at 08:16 AM.
09-22-2009 | 08:14 AM
#24
One last thing. In the photo in post 22 you will see the stock bulb holders. You can't use those with the LED's. I used the back of the cluster for demonstration purposes. I used 3M splicing tape to tape the led's in the OEM holes. I also had to bend the legs of the led's to 90*
Here's my first attempt. I have improved upon this but I don't have any pictures. But who cares really? No one but you will know the back looks like ****e.! LOL
Here's my first attempt. I have improved upon this but I don't have any pictures. But who cares really? No one but you will know the back looks like ****e.! LOL
09-22-2009 | 08:24 AM
#25
Yeah, with those giant LEDs, it looks pretty good. And that's a good write-up
But I plan on taking the cluster apart, sanding the blue filter, and putting in a whole bunch of smaller LEDs everywhere so I can get a really even, bright white look. I have white displays and blue LEDs everywhere in my car. And I HATE aquamarine ... That color of blue doesn't match. So I want bright white LED faces, evenly lit, with blue needles... As soon as my LEDs get here I'll start!
But I plan on taking the cluster apart, sanding the blue filter, and putting in a whole bunch of smaller LEDs everywhere so I can get a really even, bright white look. I have white displays and blue LEDs everywhere in my car. And I HATE aquamarine
... That color of blue doesn't match. So I want bright white LED faces, evenly lit, with blue needles... As soon as my LEDs get here I'll start!
Last edited by jowo9; 09-22-2009 at 08:33 AM.
09-22-2009 | 07:10 PM
#31
(i) Place your key in the ignition and hold in the odometer button.
(ii) Turn the key on while holding the button in.
(iii) Release the button and wait one second.
(iv) Press the button three times. The readout should be all 888's. You can now press, hold, and release the button at your leisure and the needles will go to their default calibration setting. You have to record this so you can put the needles back on on the same place. The system will exit calibration mode when you turn the car off.
-Then you can just pry the needles off
other than this, I plan on figuring the rest out when I do it. I promise I'll do a detailed write-up if everything goes smoothly haha.
Last edited by jowo9; 09-22-2009 at 07:14 PM.
10-08-2009 | 07:00 PM
#32
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 487
From: Baton Rouge, LA
So I bought a practice cluster to brighten the gauges with the 60+ SMT LED's. I took the cluster apart, and much to my surprise, its different than the one in the pictures in this thread. the picture below shows the back of the board which does not have the magnetic motor things for the needles, its on the front. And the display sheet is one full sheet, instead of seperate panels.
Does anyone know if this will change anything? Maybe you were working on a 5gen, when this is a 5.5 gen... More info needed please!
Does anyone know if this will change anything? Maybe you were working on a 5gen, when this is a 5.5 gen... More info needed please!
10-10-2009 | 11:26 PM
#33
So I bought a practice cluster to brighten the gauges with the 60+ SMT LED's. I took the cluster apart, and much to my surprise, its different than the one in the pictures in this thread. the picture below shows the back of the board which does not have the magnetic motor things for the needles, its on the front. And the display sheet is one full sheet, instead of seperate panels.
Does anyone know if this will change anything? Maybe you were working on a 5gen, when this is a 5.5 gen... More info needed please!
Does anyone know if this will change anything? Maybe you were working on a 5gen, when this is a 5.5 gen... More info needed please!
http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...uster-yet.html
-You see the 'motors' or whatever are on the front. Same as the 5.5 gen. the only difference is the faces (maybe, are they 1 piece on the 5th gen or just the 5.5?) and the fact that the 5.5 gen has 2 digital displays while the 5th just has one... but no, it won't make any difference. Should work just fine
I'll find out I guess.
10-11-2009 | 02:47 AM
#34
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 487
From: Baton Rouge, LA
Mines a 5.5. and I dont know if it will be the same, look at the clear pieces that distribute the light from the single bulb for each cluster. Is that the same on the 5gens? and from what I can see so far, the 5.5's are one printed sheet for the front, and seperate panels for each gauge on the 5gen.
Let me know how yours goes... I'm going to wait to see how your outcome is lol
Let me know how yours goes... I'm going to wait to see how your outcome is lol
10-11-2009 | 12:55 PM
#36
huh... that's really weird that knight_yyz's and avciugroar's are both 5.5 gen gauges, yet slightly different... why are the motors/magnets on different sides? (front and back) Maybe it varies from 02-03?? I believe mine is like avciugroar's... and yeah, I'll get back to you about how mine goes. I'll be doing it this week. I'm gonna do a how-to if it all goes well.