Just a quick questions for you. I'm in the process of making my gauges light up blue and when I take apart my cluster the inside is painted the brightest neon orange I have ever seen. Is your's the same? I've seen a few pictures floating around here of clusters apart but haven't seen one painted the same as mine. No wander it's so orange. Mine's backlite by the way...
:EDIT: for poor grammar
[This message has been edited by 84se-Stock (edited 01-26-2004).]
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08:39 PM
buddycraigg Member
Posts: 13606 From: kansas city, mo Registered: Jul 2002
Buddy, you might want to try some of this cleaner while you have it out. BORG-WARNER brand CL85 Contact Enhancer. this stuff is supposed to be the best cleaner for contacts, relays and computer boards. I went to Oriellys but they did not have it, but I think the boy did not know what I was talking about. Don
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11:05 PM
buddycraigg Member
Posts: 13606 From: kansas city, mo Registered: Jul 2002
I did mention computer boards and I think this is what you will find in your gauge cluster. those little copper connections do get dirty. like on the light bulbs. Don
i'll put some up when i get home tonight, i do like the way it looks but i have to use a brighter paint. i tried to find some floresent (sp?) green at oreilly's on the way home, but couldn't and thought i would be able to get away with what i used. the speedo and tach are ok, but the temp and gas is too dark for my liking.
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12:23 PM
buddycraigg Member
Posts: 13606 From: kansas city, mo Registered: Jul 2002
it's late and i want to spend some time with the ol lady,
i'll edit pics and add text tomorrow from work. ;;; I like to start at the top cowling of the gauge pod. There are (5) #15 torx screws, once they are up out of the recessed hole you can get them with a 7mm socket. I do this so I don’t keep bumping the windshield with the torx driver.
and (2) 7mm screws that you have to get to from the bottom, one on each side.
lift the upper section of the pod up and away. *** the sides that had the two bottom screws will want to hang up on wires, so be careful.
Now remove (4) 7mm screws from the bottom cowling. These two,
and one on each side *** support it with your hand, as it will want to fall with only one screw left in it and you don’t want to crack anything.
[This message has been edited by buddycraigg (edited 01-28-2004).]
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10:45 PM
buddycraigg Member
Posts: 13606 From: kansas city, mo Registered: Jul 2002
take out (2) 10mm screws on the bracket outlined in red
take out (2) 10mm screws on the bottom of the pod
the pod will now pull towards you so you have the room to remove the gauge cluster.
now take these 2 screws out and throw them away. you'll still put the bracket back in place, but the gauges will be a lot easier to remove and install the next time.
[This message has been edited by buddycraigg (edited 01-28-2004).]
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10:47 PM
PFF
System Bot
buddycraigg Member
Posts: 13606 From: kansas city, mo Registered: Jul 2002
remove these screws, i think that they are actually 5.5mm but a 7/32 worked for me. *** they are different lenghts, pay attention where each goes. also if you are only wanting to remove the clear lens for whatever, you do not have to take out the screw on the far left.
remove the black cover. the speedo lifts out easily and will some times stick to the black cover. they are seperate and the speedo always falls at the worst possible moment as if it wanted to break something the speedo just lifts straight out.
remove (2) 7/32 screws pull the center gauge cluster with a steady hand straight up.
now you can remove the two idiot light shrouds
this is as far as you need to go, but if you some reason you need to remove the tach, it pulls up just like the center gauges after you remove (2) 7/32 screws
ERROR, do not touch the screw on the bottom, it screws through the circuit board and then pushes in to a contact. you DO NOT want to mess with this one. (this must be why i reread my own posts)
[This message has been edited by buddycraigg (edited 02-02-2004).]
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10:50 PM
buddycraigg Member
Posts: 13606 From: kansas city, mo Registered: Jul 2002
8 i tried the brightest green i could find and a florescent green. with the normal paint the gauges looked white and the center gauges were almost impossible to see.
with the florescent paint, the speedo and tach look green and are almost as bright as what i want. the tach looks great, but the speedo is a little too dim at 55 and up.
the center gauges are at least readable now but it takes a second or two after looking at the road for my eyes to adjust and be able to see them. i push my luck with my gas gauge all the time, i've driven with the needle BELOW the E line before. i couldn't perfectly see the line tonight.
ultimately i like the color scheme, but it's not bright enough, there is colored "chrome" paint at the parts store, i guess i'll try that next. other wise i'll repaint it white and use green LEDs.
[This message has been edited by buddycraigg (edited 01-28-2004).]
You have no idea how much time this is gonna save me. Thanks a bunch buddy.
Edit... I was able to take off the clear cover without totally removing the gauge cluster. This saved my some time because I was just taking mine out to fix my speedo.
[This message has been edited by ManiMack (edited 01-28-2004).]
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01:51 PM
84se-Stock Member
Posts: 430 From: Bridgewater, Nova Scotia Registered: May 2003
Excellent writeup...I'ld give you a + if I hadn't already. This is a great alternative to going out and buying gauge kits. What type of paint did you finally end up going with and what was the total cost of this modification. Also would be interested in a before and after pic of the gauges lit up. Once again, great thread. I'll also post pics of my blue conversion hopefully this weekend.
Whats it look like with the green now? Did it change it from red?
with the first paint i tried, it looked more white than green. AND the center gauges were too dark.
and i'm about to drive home from work (it's dark here) so i'll tell you how the new paint worked.
------------------ Buddy - there are two "G"s in my name Ling = 84SE-350-N2O-Poly-Mr.Mike seats-Sequential turn signals-short shifter Julia C = 85GT stock (mostly) KCFOG got a broken stud? car doesn't crank over?
When you take apart the gauge cluster you will see alot of pieces painted a bright orange. Those will all have to be painted your desired color. Another way of doing it would be to paint those pieces with a nice reflective paint and then buy bright bulbs which are the color you want to achieve. What buddycraigg did was just paint the orange pieces green and I believe he used the stock bulbs. Either way should create about the same effect. I believe when I tackle mine this weekend I'm going to try painted the orange pieces bright blue and then replace the stock bulbs with the brightest blue bulbs I can find. Hopefully by doing this it will give a might brighter, more visible color. Still waiting for before and after pics if you have them.
[This message has been edited by 84se-Stock (edited 01-28-2004).]
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07:34 PM
buddycraigg Member
Posts: 13606 From: kansas city, mo Registered: Jul 2002
I just wanted to thank you in this thread for the write-up, because it looked like I gave credit to somebody else in a different thread of mine. I was just thanking ManiMack for finding this one for me. I knew you wrote it up, don't worry
------------------ 1986 Fiero SE
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02:57 PM
buddycraigg Member
Posts: 13606 From: kansas city, mo Registered: Jul 2002
I just wanted to thank you in this thread for the write-up, because it looked like I gave credit to somebody else in a different thread of mine. I was just thanking ManiMack for finding this one for me. I knew you wrote it up, don't worry
i wasn't upset.
i was teasing more than anything
[This message has been edited by buddycraigg (edited 01-29-2004).]
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03:55 PM
Bradbitz11 Member
Posts: 1826 From: Kawkawlin, MI Registered: Dec 2002
Well I finally finished my gauge conversion yesterday afternoon and wouldn't you know it my camera quit on me in the process. I do however have it working again and will take a picture of the finished project tonight on the way home. I took a slightly different approach than buddycraigg when doing to color conversion. Instead of painting the orange pieces the desired color and still using the clear bulbs I bought 6 bright blue bulbs (intended for off-road use only) and put them where the stock gauge bulbs were. Now I had to do something about the orange piece. As luck would have it while I was on my usual payday walkaround through Canadian Tire (CTC for you Ontario folk) I stumbled across a chrome interior paint. I painted the orange pieces with the "chrome" paint to make them more reflective and put everything back together. I couldn't wait until night to see the results so we covered the windows with blankets and shop towels and hoped in. At first it wasn't anything special but that night when I got in it to drive around town it was a nice bright blue.
Also while I had the cluster apart I ripped out that damn "shift" light. Stand by for pictures within the next few days.
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09:21 AM
Feb 1st, 2004
buddycraigg Member
Posts: 13606 From: kansas city, mo Registered: Jul 2002
i'm going to have to redo mine differntly as it's too dark, and will try the chrome paint if you think it is bright enough.
------------------ Buddy - there are two "G"s in my name Ling = 84SE-350-N2O-Poly-Mr.Mike seats-Sequential turn signals-short shifter Julia C = 85GT stock (mostly) KCFOG got a broken stud? car doesn't crank over?
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07:47 AM
84se-Stock Member
Posts: 430 From: Bridgewater, Nova Scotia Registered: May 2003
It wasn't as bright as the stock gauges and isn't a overly vibrant blue as I had hoped. I need to take it apart and do some fine also and maybe try some brighter bulbs and a little blue paint on the back of the housing. It looks awesome though. Unfortunetly when I went to take a picture of them last night my camera died out again. Once I find out what's wrong with it I'll post some pics to show what it looks like. All in all I do like it alot better than the stock color though...I also find it a lot easier on the eyes at night. For those of you who may be wondering the price my conversion cost me a total of $20 canadian and took about an hour and a half to do.
p.s. I noticed the same problem you had with my temp/gas gauges...still trying to think of a good solution to brighten them up a little.
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04:45 PM
PFF
System Bot
84se-Stock Member
Posts: 430 From: Bridgewater, Nova Scotia Registered: May 2003
thanks a whole lot for this thread, i wasnt completly sure how to get my speedometer out to put in my 195 mph speedo in. Only one problem now that i put in my speedometer my dome lights stay on. any clue whats up with that?
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09:22 PM
buddycraigg Member
Posts: 13606 From: kansas city, mo Registered: Jul 2002
you didn't happen to bump your dash light dimmer / roller? my girlfriend did that in Julia once and had to call me to ask why the dome light didn't go out when she pushed the button on the roof.
and 84se-Stock, i picked up some green chrome paint tonight, lets see what happens. but i have a few small write ups in the works, adding more to my headlight thread, and one about saving the trunk relase switch. ------------------ Buddy - there are two "G"s in my name Ling = 84SE-350-N2O-Poly-Mr.Mike seats-Sequential turn signals-short shifter Julia C = 85GT stock (mostly) KCFOG
[This message has been edited by buddycraigg (edited 02-02-2004).]
You need some circular cold cathode lamps. Some of the computer modders use them to light up fans, I'm not sure that you could get them in the right size but they'd be far brighter than hoping you can reflect enough light off the back of a painted surface.... Of course now that I've said that I can't find them anywhere on the net, except for some that you'd have to hack off a computer fan... Common sizes tend to be 80mm 92mm and 120mm.
buddycraig- how about some pics of it at night now? Do you think if the back was painted chrome it would make the green lights nice and bright?
FIRST, there are two "G"s in my last name say it with me... buddy craigg
SECOND, i'll be getting pics and / or my final results of the chrome green paint up soon, i have jury duty tomorrow. so i am sure i will be itchin' to get out to the garage as soon as i get home.
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03:04 AM
Feb 4th, 2004
buddycraigg Member
Posts: 13606 From: kansas city, mo Registered: Jul 2002
well after painting this with the green chrome paint and it got darker, i read the directions and you are suppose to use a base coat for the chrome first. so far i'm about 20 bucks in to it and still can't read my center gauges.
