I'm referring to the bulbs that light up the A/C controls. I'd like to swap them out for a different color. Any help is appriciated!

Thanks,
m@

yeah, they are little white bulbs with yellow covers on them. however, i tried taking them off and the panel still lights up kind of orange. so if you put blue bulbs instead of the white ones, it would just look purple or something. i was going to put color changing LEDs in there instead of the bulbs but i got ripped off by the guy on ebay so i just said screw it. anyway, you should do some experimenting to see what colors look best. the easiest thing to do is to get those rubber bulb covers.

I'd like to make the gauge pod orange to match the rest of the dash, any ideas?

yeah, making the gauge pod orange is easy. i've taken it all apart already. all there is lighting up the round gauge are some little surface mount LEDs that are super bright. you could put an orange film over the LEDs which would change the color, however it needs to be as translucent as possible so it doesn't make the backlighting too dim. i wouldn't recommend changing the LEDs because of the way they are mounted. but you could do it if you want to get crazy.

yeah, they are little white bulbs with yellow covers on them. however, i tried taking them off and the panel still lights up kind of orange. so if you put blue bulbs instead of the white ones, it would just look purple or something. i was going to put color changing LEDs in there instead of the bulbs but i got ripped off by the guy on ebay so i just said screw it. anyway, you should do some experimenting to see what colors look best. the easiest thing to do is to get those rubber bulb covers.

Interesting... Yeah. Last night, I pulled the yellow caps off of the bulbs and used a blue sharpie to tint them. It looks ok, but then I tried putting in two blue LEDs. Now THAT looked cool! The only problems are wiring, and finding a decent spot to mount them. Another alternative would be to actually put them exactly where the bulbs were but wouldn't you need a resistor? Sorry.. I should have taken electronics 101. :P

Peace,
m@

yeah, making the gauge pod orange is easy. i've taken it all apart already. all there is lighting up the round gauge are some little surface mount LEDs that are super bright. you could put an orange film over the LEDs which would change the color, however it needs to be as translucent as possible so it doesn't make the backlighting too dim. i wouldn't recommend changing the LEDs because of the way they are mounted. but you could do it if you want to get crazy.


hmmm......I have some orange gels in my studio........thanks.

yeah, anytime you use raw LEDs you need to put a resistor inline with the power supply or it will burn out sooner than usual. the best thing to do is to get those cheap windshield washer leds and take out the leds and mount them, since they're already set up for 12v applications. what i would do is take out the stock bulbs, hot glue the leds in their place, and wire the leds to the wire that goes to 12v whenever the headlights are turned on. it is on one of the 3 plugs that goes to the bezel. that would work really well i think.

hmmm......I have some orange gels in my studio........thanks.

mmmm.....orange jell-o.

http://www.goingfaster.com/shadow/jello.jpg

yeah, anytime you use raw LEDs you need to put a resistor inline with the power supply or it will burn out sooner than usual. the best thing to do is to get those cheap windshield washer leds and take out the leds and mount them, since they're already set up for 12v applications. what i would do is take out the stock bulbs, hot glue the leds in their place, and wire the leds to the wire that goes to 12v whenever the headlights are turned on. it is on one of the 3 plugs that goes to the bezel. that would work really well i think.

hmmm......I have some orange gels in my studio........thanks.

mmmm.....orange jell-o.

http://www.goingfaster.com/shadow/jello.jpg

Wow... now thats a killer idea. Eric, if you can shed any more light on this (no pun inteneded) ie: Where exactly the 12v wire is that I need to wire the LEDs to, I'd be willing to give it a shot this weekend! Thanks for the great ideas dude.

Peace,
m@

Wow... now thats a killer idea. Eric, if you can shed any more light on this (no pun inteneded) ie: Where exactly the 12v wire is that I need to wire the LEDs to, I'd be willing to give it a shot this weekend! Thanks for the great ideas dude.
Peace,
m@

no problem. i just went out and took off my bezel to check it out for you. the 12v wire is the solid green one on the big white connector. the white wire with the black stripe is ground, just for reference. the green wire's voltage goes down when you turn the dimmer knob on the left side of the dash. good luck!

Wow... now thats a killer idea. Eric, if you can shed any more light on this (no pun inteneded) ie: Where exactly the 12v wire is that I need to wire the LEDs to, I'd be willing to give it a shot this weekend! Thanks for the great ideas dude.
Peace,
m@

no problem. i just went out and took off my bezel to check it out for you. the 12v wire is the solid green one on the big white connector. the white wire with the black stripe is ground, just for reference. the green wire's voltage goes down when you turn the dimmer knob on the left side of the dash. good luck!

Dude! Thanks! I'll mount some LEDs in there this weekend and take some pics. Thanks again Eric. :)

Peace,
m@