LED conversion complete
09-26-2006, 12:33 PM
#1
LED conversion complete
Hey guys, just got done with converting all the incadesant bulbs on the center console to leds. It's pretty hard to take any decent pictures at night, so I've only got one for now. I'll try and figure a way to setup my tripod in the car to get some clear shots.
More and better pics to come, I promise...
More and better pics to come, I promise...
09-26-2006, 02:24 PM
#4
Originally Posted by 123456SPEED
No picture, where are you in TX? I'd love an LED dash.
Originally Posted by KahRupt-CL-S03
Nice nice nice, I like that!
Any plans on doing the speedo?
Any plans on doing the speedo?
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can't wait to see the rest.
09-26-2006, 08:32 PM
#15
No, they are the same color, just the radio's leds are semi-exposed because of the clear plastic around the knobs, so it they photograph differently than the a/c knobs. Here are more pics, as promised:
Gauge Cluster: Some hotspots around the speedo and tac...these are fairly close to the acutal colors.
Whole Dash from the back seat...colors aren't quite corect from the light outside in the parking garage. There is a blue led that shines down from the homelink onto the shift gate which isn't really as bright as it looks in the pic. Kinda like Lord Helet had in his car.
Here's the center console, kind of a weird angle:
Here's center console again, it looks exactly like this in person:
One of the radio by itself, and again, the blue around the shift gate isn't as bright as it's seen in the pic:
Gauge Cluster: Some hotspots around the speedo and tac...these are fairly close to the acutal colors.
Whole Dash from the back seat...colors aren't quite corect from the light outside in the parking garage. There is a blue led that shines down from the homelink onto the shift gate which isn't really as bright as it looks in the pic. Kinda like Lord Helet had in his car.
Here's the center console, kind of a weird angle:
Here's center console again, it looks exactly like this in person:
One of the radio by itself, and again, the blue around the shift gate isn't as bright as it's seen in the pic:
09-26-2006, 08:43 PM
#16
2003 CL-S 6SPD
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Hot damn that looks f00kn sexy... You did it yourself or got somone to do it? May i ask how much you spent on this? That looks extremely killn.... im loving it!
09-26-2006, 09:19 PM
#19
If anyone is interested in doing this themselves let me know. I can post up some pointers for anyone trying to do this. I have to be honest though, it takes quite a bit of time and some decent soldering skills (especially for the radio). A dremel would also be a very good tool to have handy, as well as a good, steady pair of small hands. I basically started with the instructions from ledautomotive.com and went from there, making my own instructions along the way since I wasn't using their products. The whole dash contains roughly 26 3mm White 10k mcd Leds, 5 3mm Blue 10k mcd Leds, 6 5mm White 10k mcd Leds, and 5 #195 White 5 Led bulbs from superbrightleds.com (the radial mount one).
09-26-2006, 10:14 PM
#22
Dude
Originally Posted by gaping46and2
They're there. I didn't have the a/c on when I was taking the pics, sorry guys. The radio display, clock, and a/c are all white leds.
09-26-2006, 10:41 PM
#24
Originally Posted by MISTAZOOM
Hot damn that looks f00kn sexy... You did it yourself or got somone to do it? May i ask how much you spent on this? That looks extremely killn.... im loving it!
It cost me more than it should have in total, but because I bought a new gauge cluster and bezel off ebay before I started taking my car apart, just so I knew what I was getting into before hand. In all, the leds cost me about $60, but because I order alot more than I actually needed so I could mess around with stuff. Took me a couple of weekends soldering everything (where most of my time was spent) and putting it all together.
09-27-2006, 01:35 AM
#25
Originally Posted by GreenMachine
Where did you get these bulbs...this project is iminent on my car! 
I got all the leds from a person on ebay in Alaska of all places, extremely good quality though and very professional. Pm me if your interested I can get you their ebay ID.
09-27-2006, 09:07 AM
#28
CLS 6MT Navi
I always love the LED dash mod. looks so much better than stock. It's a top mod I would love to have on my CL!!
But it seems like there are always drawbacks to this mod, not easy to do, burned out lights, hot spots. I worry the disassembly of the dash will at least cause rattles, if not worse.
But I could be wrong just wondering.
Did you remove the sea-green coating behind the speedo and gauges like others have?
But it seems like there are always drawbacks to this mod, not easy to do, burned out lights, hot spots. I worry the disassembly of the dash will at least cause rattles, if not worse.
But I could be wrong just wondering.
Did you remove the sea-green coating behind the speedo and gauges like others have?
09-27-2006, 09:34 AM
#29
Originally Posted by 123456SPEED
I always love the LED dash mod. looks so much better than stock. It's a top mod I would love to have on my CL!!
But it seems like there are always drawbacks to this mod, not easy to do, burned out lights, hot spots. I worry the disassembly of the dash will at least cause rattles, if not worse.
But I could be wrong just wondering.
Did you remove the sea-green coating behind the speedo and gauges like others have?
But it seems like there are always drawbacks to this mod, not easy to do, burned out lights, hot spots. I worry the disassembly of the dash will at least cause rattles, if not worse.
But I could be wrong just wondering.
Did you remove the sea-green coating behind the speedo and gauges like others have?
There haven't been any (extra) rattles caused by takeing stuff apart and putting it back together. Only rattle that gets to me is the 3rd brake light when I don't have the radio on. The gauge bezel doesn't have anything to rattle against. It's touching the dash which is padded already. Yes, I used the nail polish remover technique to take off the blue film off the back of the gauges (about 2 bottles to be exact). I'd suggest anyone who decides to do this, be in a well ventilated area, and maybe wear a painter's mask, I got a pretty big headache afterwards.
09-27-2006, 08:28 PM
#33
Originally Posted by optionet
how far from Bryan, Tx to Houston ? I am in Houston too, let me know if ya do meet up
About a 1.5hr drive. Houston is probably the closest major city, and Austin is about the same distance.
Anyone that wants to try and set something up, maybe we can set up a group thing one weekend, send me a email at gaping46and2@gmail.com. Not sure when I'll have time since school is starting to get pretty intense w/ exams and all, but we'll see what happens.
09-27-2006, 08:53 PM
#34
here's a pretty detailed DIY. just put http:// in the front and paste the rest. It's pretty involved but looks great afterwards.
/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=548
/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=548
09-29-2006, 01:13 AM
#35
Instructor
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damn, love the new look...makes me wonder if i can do the same to my car. I'm currently working on building Illuminated door sills for the 3.2 CL. I'll have my own post up when i finish making them. 
09-30-2006, 04:14 PM
#39
03 CL-S
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Originally Posted by gaping46and2
It cost me more than it should have in total, but because I bought a new gauge cluster and bezel off ebay before I started taking my car apart, just so I knew what I was getting into before hand. In all, the leds cost me about $60, but because I order alot more than I actually needed so I could mess around with stuff. Took me a couple of weekends soldering everything (where most of my time was spent) and putting it all together.
09-30-2006, 09:32 PM
#40
I did buy a new gague cluster, but for reference purposes. I didn't want to take my car apart before I knew what I was getting into. I did not use the new gauge for the conversion, just for the record. My mileage shown is correct, and hasn't been changed. I know there are services on the internet, I believe one of our sponsored sellers TVandNav2go, do change mileage to be correct. Check out their website, I'm sure they can help you out.