DIY LED Dash Swap: Gauge Cluster, AC, and Compass - Page 11

TRD BLACK · 12-11-2008, 09:11 PM

Hmm don't know if I can go to the summit either. Wanted to go to it this year but life got in the way. This was definately one of my pet peeves too. I never understood why they didnt just pick one color. "Amber" great! "White" great! but pick one!

I may just have to drive to Colorado. I was only a little annoyed before I saw that it could be changed but now it seems to be getting on my nerves all over again. Hey, easy solution...

I could start wearing "Blue Blocker" sunglasses at night! then everything will be amber colored!!!

layonnn · 12-11-2008, 10:27 PM

hmm i wonder how white led's would look. That could be sweet!

TRD BLACK · 12-11-2008, 11:11 PM

We seem to be jumping the same threads

I'm not a huge fan of the amber, but I'd settle for that to keep the look of the dash consistant. If it were all amber I wouldn't have such a contrast between the guage cluster and the other instruments or the dark outside. Has anyone done the LED swap on the dash top guages alone? seems like that's not as hard as the speedo...

TRD BLACK · 12-11-2008, 11:12 PM

Actually, given that the dash LEDs seem to be white, a swap to white in the center ofg the dash would tie it all together... That could be cool...

**BSea** · 12-19-2008, 06:07 PM

I'm in the middle of this mod, but I'm stopping since it's dark outside. I've finished the A/C Control. I was really nervous for the 1st couple of LEDs, but then it got easier, and it took me less than an hour, even with my limited soldering skill.

If you are nervous about doing this mod, you can go to Radio Shack & buy a small diy circuit board, and practice. I bought a battery pack & used that to test. That way you can practice soldering & desoldering the LED's. If you have a good connection (and your battery pack has a good connection) you'll get a bright light. I ruined 1 led getting it off, but then I got the hang of it. All my supplies including a soldering iron were just over $20 at Radio Shack.

One thing I did notice is that all the switches below are in amber. I haven't looked at them yet, but I wonder if they can be changed. Has anyone swapped out the led's in the switches?

TRD BLACK · 12-20-2008, 11:58 PM

Hey good idea! I'd love to see how the finished product looks. I'm curious about the switches also...

TinCan · 12-21-2008, 12:09 PM

The switch is a different led, but it is not that hard to swap.

TRD BLACK · 12-21-2008, 07:19 PM

Any "how-to" advice for the switches?

TRD BLACK · 12-21-2008, 07:26 PM

So, I'm curious, what color LEDs are you putting in?

Quote:

Tanos62 previously said:

I'm in the middle of this mod, but I'm stopping since it's dark outside. I've finished the A/C Control. I was really nervous for the 1st couple of LEDs, but then it got easier, and it took me less than an hour, even with my limited soldering skill.

If you are nervous about doing this mod, you can go to Radio Shack & buy a small diy circuit board, and practice. I bought a battery pack & used that to test. That way you can practice soldering & desoldering the LED's. If you have a good connection (and your battery pack has a good connection) you'll get a bright light. I ruined 1 led getting it off, but then I got the hang of it. All my supplies including a soldering iron were just over $20 at Radio Shack.

One thing I did notice is that all the switches below are in amber. I haven't looked at them yet, but I wonder if they can be changed. Has anyone swapped out the led's in the switches?

**BSea** · 12-21-2008, 07:46 PM

Ok, I finished this morning (I thought). One thing to be careful of is when you put the needles back on, don't put them on too tight. It doesn't take much. And it may not seem too tight, but then your speedo doesn't register. But It was a 15 minute fix.

Here are a few pics. My camera doesn't do it justice. And my stereo screen gets washed out. I think I can adjust the intensity on the stereo screen so it's not so bright. But the red dash is really easy on the eyes when you drive. I thought about all white, and that should look good too, but it wouldn't help your night vision. That's the of the 2 reasons I went with red. The other reason is I have a black TRD, and red just seems to fit better with the TRD badges.

Also, after getting everything in red, the amber switches don't bother me as much anymore. I still think I may try changing them down the road. The clock does bother me somewhat, and with the clock on my stereo being so much bigger, I could even do without the stock clock.

Also, the inclometer (that can't be spelled right) doesn't show in the picture, but it does in person, but it could be brighter.

All in all, a fun mod. Thanks to TinCan. I never would have even considered doing this without his writeup.