LED MODS Gauge Conversions

WhiteBlazer01 · Post by **WhiteBlazer01** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 4:39 pm

Hi Everyone, I would like to introduce myself. I run a car audio/video business in Orange County, CA, and I have been doing LED conversions on cars and motorcycles for over 1 year. I have been doing countless scion gauge conversions, and have come up with some very custom work.I'd like to offer my services to you guys for the Vibe. I would like to know if anyone would be interested in getting their gauge converted to different color LED's, and would like to stop by.I am VERY good with electronics, and circuits, so I am definitely up for the job. I have run a car audio/video business for over 7 years now, and I am a certified mobile electronics installer, so working on cars, and electronics is definitely nothing new to me.I don't have any pics on my website of gauge conversions for a Vibe at the moment, but here are some pics of my work on the Scion TC.I'm located in central Orange Country, CA (Tustin). I'm willing to do the first conversion on a local Vibe for free. Thanks!-Paul

Jahntassa · Post by **Jahntassa** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 7:16 pm

Augh! If only I were local..

Vibr8tr · Post by **Vibr8tr** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 9:01 pm

For us "non locals" what are your average prices for this Mod? I know if it works and looks as good as your Scion pics you will have alot of buisiness. But our other concern is do we have to send in our cluster?I know there was a guy a while back that was willing to do this, but we had to send in everything and drive without a cluster for a week or so. But I am sure if your work is good, and your prices are resonable, then you will have some buisiness with us. What would be a good e-mail for us to contact you at?

engineertwin2 · Post by **engineertwin2** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 1:15 am

Tick Tock Tick Tock....counting the seconds before Mrizzle hits up on this. Lucky....

Vibr8tr · Post by **Vibr8tr** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 1:36 am

As long as the soon to be wife lets him.... I am sure if it's free though... why not.I so badly want all my LED's blue. I already have blue neons under the front seats, but the red on the dash throws it off. If I can get Blue cluster, I will probably get a new HU to match.Judging by the prices I would assume it won't be to expensive. Most of the radios and stuff on the site are only $40 or so. And they look nice,.

Mrizzle05 · Post by **Mrizzle05** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 2:27 am

"must re....sist.... temptation!"I know i would jump on this, and yes WIFEY would be ify on it, just cuz shes cautious bout this stuff.If i can get ahold of him ill see what the details are and stuff.And orange county is bout an hour away, so im not like down the street... haha

northvibe · Post by **northvibe** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 3:09 am

Have you done any toyota matrix ones? I swear the website sounds familiar and some people on matrixowners did this...looked cool.

WhiteBlazer01 · Post by **WhiteBlazer01** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 3:24 am

Quote, originally posted by Vibr8tr Â»For us "non locals" what are your average prices for this Mod? I know if it works and looks as good as your Scion pics you will have alot of buisiness. But our other concern is do we have to send in our cluster?I know there was a guy a while back that was willing to do this, but we had to send in everything and drive without a cluster for a week or so. But I am sure if your work is good, and your prices are resonable, then you will have some buisiness with us. What would be a good e-mail for us to contact you at?I usually charge between $80 and $120 for gauges. ($60 for most motorcycles). For the Scions, the basic gauge conversion is $80. Here is a pic. Now, I do have a lot of custom options, such as 2 color gauge/needle conversions (as far as I know, I'm the only Scion LED modder that does a true 2 color conversion.). I also reverse the LCD screen, and do a mirrored gauge trim.I do currently mod (a lot of) gauges from all over the country. I have a 1 day turnaround time, so downtime is minimal. My customers usually overnight me their gauges, and I will overnight the gauges back to them the next day. This keeps my customers happy. It has been suggested that I keep an extra set of gauges as an exchange service, but I honestly do so many gauges for many different scions and motorcycles, that it would be far too expensive for me to keep enough loaner gauges for everyone. - This is why I offer a 1 day turnaround time. As far as e-mailing me, you can e-mail me at WhiteBlazer01@cox.net, or MSN message me at the same address. For my customers that are shipping their parts to me, I provide removal instructions that make it very easy. Here are a few examples.Scion TC gauges - http://ledmods.net/tcgaugeremoval/Scion TC steering wheel & door controls - http://ledmods.net/tccontrolsremoval/Scion TC 3rd brake light - http://ledmods.net/tc3rdbrakelighttutorial/Quote, originally posted by northvibe Â»Have you done any toyota matrix ones? I swear the website sounds familiar and some people on matrixowners did this...looked cool.I haven't done a Matrix yet, but I am looking to do one (the same offer applies to the Matrix if anyone knows of one).

Mrizzle05 · Post by **Mrizzle05** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 3:59 am

i emailed you,I wouldnt mind considering the turnaround time.I gave you contact info, so we could work something out.

WhiteBlazer01 · Post by **WhiteBlazer01** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 5:13 pm

I hope we can work something out.In the meantime, I had a customer bring his '05 Matrix for a few hours. I did a few things for him, and set him up with some blue gauges. He is going to come back tomorrow, and get everything else modded (HVAC, clock, color changing needles, mirrored gauge trim).I believe the Matrix and the Vibe are very similar, so I'll show these gauges to everyone here. Of course, as is the case with all my pictures, it looks much better in person. The red line around the numbers doesn't come out so well with blue LED's (it looks great with red, white, pink, and yellow), but I have a solution for that. The first picture is a stock gauge from an 05 Matrix.(Click on the picture for a full size image).Feel free to comment, I want to know everyones feedback.-Paulhttp://www.ledmods.net

Vibr8tr · Post by **Vibr8tr** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 8:58 pm

Those are nice. It's a big change, almost a "blue overkill", lol, but still nice. I think it's worth looking into. At least we all know now that it can be done without to much of a problem. I am pretty sure the Vibe and Trix have the same gauges. Something tells me you are going to be making some money off us now, lol.

WhiteBlazer01 · Post by **WhiteBlazer01** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 9:48 pm

Quote, originally posted by Vibr8tr Â»Those are nice. It's a big change, almost a "blue overkill", lol, but still nice. I think it's worth looking into. At least we all know now that it can be done without to much of a problem. I am pretty sure the Vibe and Trix have the same gauges. Something tells me you are going to be making some money off us now, lol.Thanks! Yes, honestly, almost all of my Scion customers do mix and match the gauges & HVAC (mostly a combination of blue & white). I forgot to mention, in the picture of the blue gauges, the high beam light is white, not blue (you can't really tell from the picture)These are some possibilities for the gauges of the Matrix (hopefully the same for the vibe - I haven't confirmed that yet).Gauges - Any colorNeedles - Any colorIndicator Lights - Each light can be a different colorOdometer screen - Any colorI have the following colors available for any of the above mentioned areas:Blue, White, Green, Red, Yellow, Orange, Pink, UVIf anyone can post a picture (or e-mail it to me at whiteblazer01@cox.net) of the stock gauges lit up, I would appreciate it. This will help me see what it looks like.Thanks!-Paulhttp://www.ledmods.net

Mrizzle05 · Post by **Mrizzle05** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 11:27 pm

Argh! i hate to say it but the 05 and up matrix and vibe are the same cluster.03-04 are different cluster but still for vibe & matrix.*since you got you a matrix cluster would you still need mine?if not, what would you charge for a blue background witn white needles and maybe blue hvacs?

TJinPgh · Post by **TJinPgh** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 5:24 am

Looks awesome. And would certainly resolve the blue background on my aftermarket HU not matching the rest of the dash.However, I have one question. I notice in the before and after pics on the Matrix that anything that was red originally is no longer lit in the 2nd pic.I have an 03, where EVERYTHING is in red... the numbers, indicators, graphics... everything.Would this even work on an 03?

damronjr · Post by **damronjr** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 6:25 am

If I can ask who's Matrix was it? Looks great, wish I had the dough!

WhiteBlazer01 · Post by **WhiteBlazer01** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 9:39 am

Quote, originally posted by TJinPgh Â»Looks awesome. And would certainly resolve the blue background on my aftermarket HU not matching the rest of the dash.However, I have one question. I notice in the before and after pics on the Matrix that anything that was red originally is no longer lit in the 2nd pic.I have an 03, where EVERYTHING is in red... the numbers, indicators, graphics... everything.Would this even work on an 03?The 05+ gauges on the Matrix are red & white because there is a red film that is built into the gauge overlay. Blue & Green gauge conversions will make it difficult to see this red line, but I am working on getting a special gauge overlay made for me that will have a clear line. For the 03 & 04 gauges, I haven't worked on those yet, so I can't say what it will look like, because I don't know if it is all red because of the film, or because of LED's.If someone can e-mail me pictures of an 03 or 04 gauges (and 05+ gauges for the Vibe - to compare) so I can see what they look like, I would appreciate it. Please send night time illuminated pics, and day pics to show the gauge overlay. My e-mail is WhiteBlazer01@cox.net.Quote, originally posted by damronjr Â»If I can ask who's Matrix was it? Looks great, wish I had the dough!This Matrix belongs to Tony (ToneBlaze1 from MatrixOwners.com). -Paulhttp://www.ledmods.net

Grimoire · Post by **Grimoire** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 10:50 am

Did anyone email you a pic of the 03? Can it be done? If so, what do you charge?

ColonelPanic · Post by **ColonelPanic** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 11:14 am

Quote, originally posted by WhiteBlazer01 Â»For the 03 & 04 gauges, I haven't worked on those yet, so I can't say what it will look like, because I don't know if it is all red because of the film, or because of LED's.Although I never had my cluster apart on the '03, you could still see the markings/characters/etc and they were red when the ignition is off. I'd say it's like what is on the '04+ has in the area for red markings, only the material that makes that stuff show up as red is present in the entire face. But I could be wrong.

WhiteBlazer01 · Post by **WhiteBlazer01** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 2:27 pm

No pics yet, but I'm pretty sure I will be able to do it. The only concern I have is the red lines not showing up (blue light won't pass through the red filter)

NascarXprt · Post by **NascarXprt** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 2:50 pm

well there is also a difference between the 03 and 04 guages. the 03 guages are all red while the 04 changed to the red and white. i can get you a pic of the 04 guage by tomarrow if you would like one.but that looks very cool! i love it especially the all blue one.do you have the pics from the HVAC controls done?

WhiteBlazer01 · Post by **WhiteBlazer01** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 3:06 pm

Thanks, but I already have a pic of the 04+ (I posted it above).For the HVAC, I will have some pics up later this week.

Grimoire · Post by **Grimoire** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 11:55 pm

I can have a pic of the 03 today if you would like. Im getting ready to build a tank circuit, so Ill be out there all day. I would also be willing to mail off my cluster!

WhiteBlazer01 · Post by **WhiteBlazer01** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 12:19 am

Sounds good! Send a few pics of the gauges in the daytime with the lights off, and some night pics (so I can see how it illuminates) to WhiteBlazer01@cox.net.-Paul

VforVIBE · Post by **VforVIBE** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 3:09 am

Those gauges look awesome, too bad your one the other side of the world I'd be all over that, LEDs are just so crisp looking

KNINE · Post by **KNINE** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 3:57 am

Road trip to California. If you really loved your Vibe, you'd do it!

VforVIBE · Post by **VforVIBE** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 4:05 am

Quote, originally posted by K-NINE Â»Road trip to California. If you really loved your Vibe, you'd do it! Sure rub it in

NascarXprt · Post by **NascarXprt** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 4:55 am

i think there is a slight difference between the guages warnning light placements from 04-05. like the cruise control light, seat belt light, and DRL light have been moved... i think im not sure.

WhiteBlazer01 · Post by **WhiteBlazer01** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 5:06 am

Thanks!

I love LED's too!! I have just about every kind of LED, even an LED that costs $20!

It's bright!

WhiteBlazer01 · Post by **WhiteBlazer01** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 5:09 am

Quote, originally posted by VforVIBE Â»Those gauges look awesome, too bad your one the other side of the worldI'd be all over that, LEDs are just so crisp lookingThanks!

I love LED's too!! I have just about every kind of LED, even an LED that costs $20!

It's bright!Quote, originally posted by NascarXprt Â»i think there is a slight difference between the guages warnning light placements from 04-05. like the cruise control light, seat belt light, and DRL light have been moved... i think im not sure.Yea, as soon as I can get some pics, I'll compare the two, and show everyone.

VforVIBE · Post by **VforVIBE** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 11:53 am

moving to Florida anytime soon

fmwright · Post by **fmwright** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 12:18 pm

These look so good, I think I'm sport'n wood!Shaaa-wing!

joatmon · Post by **joatmon** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 12:32 am

this pic was in http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=21196

KNINE · Post by **KNINE** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 3:09 am

I bet you'd win VOTM if you were the first person to get the LED mod!!!!!!

VforVIBE · Post by **VforVIBE** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 3:11 am

I would love to, you know I'd be the first one there, but ther's no way in hell (can I say that?) I'm driving to CA.

drunkenmaxx · Post by **drunkenmaxx** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 5:00 am

Quote, originally posted by VforVIBE Â» but ther's no way in hell (can I say that?)nope, sure as hell can't, now you're going to hell.

VforVIBE · Post by **VforVIBE** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 5:11 am

Quote, originally posted by drunkenmaxx Â»nope, sure as hell can't, now you're going to hell.I didn't want another Nastygram form the MODS.

Vibr8tr · Post by **Vibr8tr** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 5:19 am

*off topic*I once got a nasty gram for stating a "Write while drinking" thread, but they said I was promoting underage drinking.... I am 24, I think I am old enough (even though I look 12)*back on topic*Did we ever get a price on it? I am up for it if I get a price and a confirm on if you can do the Vibe 2004 base.

VforVIBE · Post by **VforVIBE** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 5:24 am

*off topic*but they never said anything when a minor was talking about underage smoking, I was the one who got corrected for pointing out that he was too young to be smoking.*back on topic*

millster · Post by **millster** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 5:42 am

First of all, we're off topic on this thread.Second, the facts as they are portrayed here are inaccurate.Third, none of this is stuff we need to be discussing here.Finally, oops! Looks like you got that nasty gram after all.

Vibr8tr · Post by **Vibr8tr** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 5:54 am

Well, as long as we are off topic.... I want my drinking page, I will check ID's at the door.... me and Drunken will sit there all day and type incoheriness (yes it's a word... I say so) back and forth all day.... I promise we will be good.... please please please?OK, fine.... no drinking in vibe lounge....

VforVIBE · Post by **VforVIBE** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 6:05 am

Quote, originally posted by millster Â»oops! Looks like you got that nasty gram after all. IBTL, That hurts man... sorry, I had to vent, now I'm done

NascarXprt · Post by **NascarXprt** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 6:17 am

yea did we ever get a price on it? and id love to see how every thing else looks ie the ac controls.

VforVIBE · Post by **VforVIBE** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 6:22 am

Quote, originally posted by NascarXprt Â»yea did we ever get a price on it? and id love to see how every thing else looks ie the ac controls.Quote, originally posted by WhiteBlazer01 Â»I usually charge between $80 and $120 for gauges. ($60 for most motorcycles). For the Scions, the basic gauge conversion is $80.

NascarXprt · Post by **NascarXprt** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 7:02 am

i found the post over at MO with the progress of the center consol and the buttons all that is left is the heat/cool, fan speed, and vent settings to be changed.http://matrixowners.com/forums...&st=0Quote, originally posted by ToneBlaze1,Jan 17 2007, 04:04 PM Â»so as you can see all we need to do is the heater/a.c/vents to blue and we are pretty much donehe even changed the light from the airbag and when the passanger isnt wearing his seat belt

ColonelPanic · Post by **ColonelPanic** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 9:53 am

How's that going to work for the HVAC controls? What kind of LED's will be put in there? The lighting is provided by two itty bitty incandescents. If an LED conversion is to be done here, it's probably going to take a whole bunch of LED's. Which if that is accomplished, it will likely be more reliable than those goofy bulbs that either burn out or intermittently work where you've gotta do like the fonz and smack the dash, then they come back on. I tried sticking some blue 6-LED modules in there when I had mine, but the only thing that lit up was the blue dot at the cold position. The red filter on the back of the control face made sure of it that none of the blue came through. I'm looking forward to seeing the results!

ALi3N · Post by **ALi3N** » Mon Jan 22, 2007 2:26 am

You know, all this talk about changing the leds to work with your radio.....I went and bought a Clarion DXZ765MP that features colorshifting led backlight. I simply set it to 'Passion Red' and it is an instant match to my beautiful red interior. As a matter of fact, if i had had an '04+ model year it would have matched better, seeing how the OLED screen remains white.

WhiteBlazer01 · Post by **WhiteBlazer01** » Mon Jan 22, 2007 4:07 am

Wow, this topic started to stray away while I was out!

I'll try to steer it back.Quote, originally posted by ColonelPanic Â»How's that going to work for the HVAC controls? What kind of LED's will be put in there? The lighting is provided by two itty bitty incandescents. If an LED conversion is to be done here, it's probably going to take a whole bunch of LED's. Which if that is accomplished, it will likely be more reliable than those goofy bulbs that either burn out or intermittently work where you've gotta do like the fonz and smack the dash, then they come back on. I tried sticking some blue 6-LED modules in there when I had mine, but the only thing that lit up was the blue dot at the cold position. The red filter on the back of the control face made sure of it that none of the blue came through. I'm looking forward to seeing the results! I'll post pics as soon as I can. For the HVAC, this is the same problem as the Scion XB and XA. if you just swap it out with LED's, it won't full illuminate the panel - some areas will be dark. What I do on the scions is instead of LED's, I use cold cathode tubes. I custom install these so they are nice and bright. Here is a pic (of the xb). Quote, originally posted by ALi3N Â»You know, all this talk about changing the leds to work with your radio.....I went and bought a Clarion DXZ765MP that features colorshifting led backlight. I simply set it to 'Passion Red' and it is an instant match to my beautiful red interior. As a matter of fact, if i had had an '04+ model year it would have matched better, seeing how the OLED screen remains white.The alpine radios also change colors.

NascarXprt · Post by **NascarXprt** » Mon Jan 22, 2007 2:29 pm

its good to see that your back. feeling better? saw that you were out sick over on Matrixowners a couple days ago. i took pics of the 04 base cluster if you would like to see em. let us know how it turns out on the A/C control unit.

FlynHwian · Post by **FlynHwian** » Tue Jan 23, 2007 5:32 pm

Dang this looks like great quality work!Well... whiteblazer would you still happen to need a "local vibe" to perform this on?

WhiteBlazer01 · Post by **WhiteBlazer01** » Wed Jan 24, 2007 1:36 am

Quote, originally posted by FlynHwian Â»Dang this looks like great quality work!Well... whiteblazer would you still happen to need a "local vibe" to perform this on?Thanks! Since the gauges are pretty much the same as the matrix, I won't need a local vibe. I'll be posting pics and prices on my website. -Paul