Changing dash lights to blue

[IceCold]

Is this possible? I have everything red right now but blue just looks so much better

[joatmon]

All things are possible, but the lens over the gauges is red plastic, so blue light will have a harder time getting through. Also, I think that it may a real hassle to change the instrument lights. Saw a thread somewhere someone had taken apart the cluster and found that the bulbs were not necessarily bulbs or easily replaceable.

[IceCold]

yeah it would figure GM would do that...I swear to god this company doesnt want you to have any fun with YOUR vehiclehere is a pic of a celica

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[ragingfish]

quote:yeah it would figure GM would do that...I swear to god this company doesnt want you to have any fun with YOUR vehicleI don't agree with that. I suspect if they were to design a car to be completely customizable -- down to dash color and light bulbs -- the cost to build would be so exhoribatant, it wouldn't be affordable to the end consumer.quote:here is a pic of a celica That's pretty sweet -- what is that "display" on the right hand side?

[ArcsVibe]

The blue would look nice then the red IMO.

[Reynoma]

quote:what is that "display" on the right hand side?It almost looks like another Tachometer.

[meathead333]

id like blue also!

[fuel4soul]

I have the white gauges and blue lights on my Sunfire, It's really nice and it gets lots of compliments!

[AKLGT]

i admit the blue would be very cool, but then i'd have to change the entire interior color scheme i have! so I'd have to pass it up.... but i do want some white face guages. much easier to read!

[Stang2Vibe]

quote:i admit the blue would be very cool, but then i'd have to change the entire interior color scheme i have! so I'd have to pass it up.... but i do want some white face guages. much easier to read!and look awesome.

[joatmon]

In a thread at http://www.matrixowners.com/ftopic4671.html, seems like they have agreed that the red lights are actually red LEDs soldered into the gauge assembly. If so, it would be awful to try to change the color. I still like the '04 gauges better, but called a dealer once to see about replacing mine, and they swore it was impossible to do. I didn't believe them, but do believe that the benefit is not worth what it would probably cost to have it done, so now I think that the red '03 gauges are the best! (at least that way I'll be happy with what I have )

[Sub-Vibe-R]

Blue dash lightning would look awesome with my HU.If it is only led, it can be changed.I'm a little bit affraid about remove the gauge to see what there is under, but it could worth the effort.

[joatmon]

The gauge lens is an odd shape, and would be hard to replace with clear or blue to allow the blue light to get through. I'd also be worried about trashing the gauge by soldering new LEDs on it. Anybody know what a replacement gauge cluster costs?

[Hot Vibe]

I remember that day when Gladwrap came in plenty of colors. In college a bunch of buddies and I even covered headlights with the stuff. We would put several layers on with a heat gun. We would have blue/red/green/purple/yellow. I would think that if something is difficult to personalize don't complain!! roll with it and do something else. I would like my intake manifold to match the color of the car but it is not very easy. I have chosen other personal touches.

[Kari]

Or how about just some nice blue under-dash neons? Cheap and relatively easy. I think it looks cool, too. Not quite the same as changing your gauge cluster, but it would still look neat.

[Sub-Vibe-R]

I put red light under my dash. It look cool and you can see if you lost something to you feet while driving.I would get a gauge cluster from a salva yard to make some test, before make any change to my cluster.

[Sputnik]

I really like the blue gauge lights. Its what first attracted me to the Jetta.

[Kari]

Do you have a picture of your red under-dash neons?

[Geo]

(removed)! I would like to see what you did as well.Any writeups?I'm doing this real soon (next week or two) so if you can bring up any pics, that would be great!Also: what kind of lights did you use? Where did you wire it from? Details man, details!

[discojunkie76]

Blue would be sweet, however everyone who has seen my dash has said it looks awesome. I personally love the guage display. Im sure someone will come up with something eventually.

[GMJAP]

I've been wanting to change the climate controls to blue, and I've been trying various things, but I'm come to the conclusion it's darn near impossible. Only way would be a custom bezel, and I don't have a clue where to get one done and expect it would be $$$.I did change the AC and ReCirc buttons to blue, by removing the red "condom" on the bulb and painting it with tansparent blue glass paint. However, it's a little dim; the bulb's not quite bright enough when filtered by blue. So, I've got some blue LED's on order to try...

[Zeromus-X]

Quote, originally posted by ragingfish »That's pretty sweet -- what is that "display" on the right hand side?Fuel gauge and temperature.

[Merzbow]

My friend changed his gauge color in his Suzuki Esteem from white to green. It looks fuggin sweet...it's not a Vibe, but I thought I'd tell you anyways

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[soldierguy]

I think you're sorta stuck with the red lights unless you were able to do a swap to the 04+ dash. It's the electroluminescent gauges that are the problem...I don't think they are easy to customize.However it can be done, and done right from the factory...check out the dash on a 05 mustang...fully customizable by the owner to 125 different color combinations, and you can change it anytime. I don't know exactly how Ford did that, but it's a neat idea.

[Merzbow]

That's one of the best ideas I've heard in a while. GM needs some fresh customizable ideas...take some advice from the Scion group.

[GetawayMatrix]

I want to change my lights from red to orange, match my sattelite radio

[Stang2Vibe]

Quote, originally posted by soldierguy »I think you're sorta stuck with the red lights unless you were able to do a swap to the 04+ dash. It's the electroluminescent gauges that are the problem...I don't think they are easy to customize.Actually, it probably wouldn't be too bad for someone who has a little experience with a soldering iron. I've had the gauges all apart and I think that it's quite possible. Once you remove the gauge cluster from the car, you can pull off the gauge needles. Then the plastic sheet that is the gauge faces lifts right off and all the LED's are revealed. You have to take the gauge cluster apart (have to turn it over and unscrew all the screws holding it together), and then the PC board is accessible where all the LED's are soldered onto the board. If you swapped them out one at a time by heating up the solder then replacing it while the solder was still liquid, you could change them all out. But the plastic gauge faces are orange/red colored where it is transparent for the light to show through where the numbers and markings are. There are already orange, red, green, blue, and yellow LED's on the gauge cluster for the different functions that each light comes on for, but the transparent areas for the colors other than orange are clear so that the true LED color behind it will show through. With some patience and a strong will, you could cut out all the orange colored trasparent spots with an exacto knife or something like that and put whatever color LED's in the PC board that you wanted. It's just more time consuming than it is difficult.One important note---if you take the gauge needles off their pins to get behind the gauge face, you have to carefully note the position of each needle when the gauges have power going to them from the car. The needles should be reattached to the pins only after the gauges have power to them again. You have to reconnect the wire harness, turn on the key, but not start the car, and wait a few seconds for the gauges to automatically zero out and then read where they are supposed to read. I suggest doing all this with the engine completely cold and the gas tank completely full. This way, when you put the needles back on, you point the tach at zero, the speedometer at zero, the fuel gauge at a little past the full mark, and the temp gauge at the cold line--all after the gauges have been powered up and allowed to zero out. Otherwise, the gauge readouts will always be all screwed up.

[ragingfish]

Stang --How many LEDs are there in total to replace?