Has anyone changed they're LED bubls on the gauges before on any TL. I have a 99TL and i want to change the LEDS on the gauges to bright white or a blue. The bright white look that i want is like what the new Honda Acords have. Anyone done that? If so post some pics for me. I would like to see.

 

yeah.. there's definitly a few people on these boards that has that done on their cars. you should try searching it.

 

the tl doesnt have LED's they are regular bulbs. if you want to convert it to led you have to do some custom work

 

Ok, well yeah, i want to change the regualr bulbs then to bright white bulbs instead of having the stock ones which are kinda dull and not actual bright white lookin. I'll do a search but if you come across somone that has done it on a TL, not a first gen TL or an old CL, a second gen TL i mean just let me know. Later.

 

i posted this last month or something...

Here's a DIY for bulb to LED conversion of your TL dash. Hope this helps!

http://n4te.com/images/acura/leds/guide/

 

check wwwledautomotive.com that where i got my led bulb kit from, they have kits for the gauge cluster that don't require any soldering, they also have kits for the climate control and radio however they require soldering, they have pics and how to guides also

Jeff

 

1 - No one makes hyperwhite bulbs that fit in the stock locations (these things are extremely tiny)
2 - LEDs will require the use of inline resistors to prevent them from blowing out, so it's not a simple plug and play.
3 - Here is what's involved in the conversion: http://n4te.com/images/acura/leds/guide/

 

I am actually working on the LED conversion at my desk right now as I am writing this (okay, so I took a few minute break and not actually soldering while typing this!) If you take your time, its worth all the effort in my opinion....

 

Yo, post some pics after your all done with the sodering. I wana see how it came out. Also i would like to see how the gauges look in the end. The finished product.

 

I was looking at ledautomotive.com, and noticed that the gauges only come in blue. It says that the led's are hyperwhite, but they shine blue (i'm guessing because of some sort of film or something). I could've sworn that i've seen white led gauges on 2nd gen tl, anyone know what the deal is with that?

also, if i were to do a total hyperwhite conversion for the car, would it come out too bright to the point where it would bug you while driving at night??

 

bro what you have done with stock bulb? cz l need the BROWN bulb can you sell it to me ?

 

You must be referring to the indiglo gauge overlays. I used to have them but they burned out in less than a year. I finished up my blue LED conversion and am a million times happier with the results.

As for blue or white LEDs, I used the blue for everything but the instrument cluster. The reason you cant use blue for that is because the red needles (non type S) as well as the redline portion of the tach won't light up at all with pure blue light. (Red is at the opposite end of the color spectrum).
As for being too bright if you go with all hyperwhite for climate controls etc, just make sure when you order the kit that you ask Nate (the guy who runs that site) to send you 910 or 1.2k ohm resistors to use instead of the 470 ohm. Even with the blue LEDs I used 910 ohm for the climate display, but 470 ohm for the switches and indicator lights within the switches (I replaced the amber LEDs as well as the bulbs).
Also, due to the way the clock diffuser works, I found that using two 5mm LEDs next to one another (instead of just the single one that is supplied with the kit) will make the clock illuminate as bright as the climate display (you'll remove the colored diffuser behind the climate display LCD, but leave the one behind the clock.) You can see the difference in brightness in the pic on the ledautomotive.com website if you do it the "regular" way. But double up on the clock and use 910 ohm in the climate display and all the lighting will be exactly the same intensity.

 

What brown bulb?

 

Here is the climate controls and clock. Compare this pic to the one on the ledautomotive.com site and you will see what I mean about matching the illumination intensity.

 

can you do a FAQ with pics?

 

Nah, it would take up too much time to do that. Besides, Nate has info on his site. I just took his kit to the next level and made some mods to it. I was a pro audio installer for 15 years so I can rip apart a car pretty easily and have the eye for 'tricked' out stuff. However, no bling bling goes in my car as I must admit I'm getting past the Pimp My Ride age however....

 

Here are the sunroof, fogs and cruise control switches. Use a 910 ohm resistor for the fog "on" indicator, a 1.2k resistor for the cruise "on" indicator (not shown on in this pic) and do all the rest with the 470 ohm resistors.

 

Here is another mod I did to the kit Nate sells. I used hyperwhite LEDs for the turn signals, along with 1.2k resistors. The factory signal bulb has a blue-green diffuser which makes the white look slgihtly green. To fix this, I replaced it with a frosty clear difusser I cut from a sheet of plastic.

 

I'll post a pic of the istrument cluster maybe tomorrow. I have to reshoot it because the picture didnt come out so good. Hard to shoot a good shot in near total darkness (and even harder when you have to shoot through the steering wheel...)

 

wow, that came out amazing....your pics are so damn clear, i love it!!!

quick question, i'm under the impression that the reason the gauges come out bluish is because it has a diffuser that has a blue tint (am i right?). so would it be possible to just put a clear diffuser there in order to make the gauges light up white?

 

Thanks. About the pics, I shot them with a Pentax *ist DS digital SLR. Pricy but you just cant get that kind of a photo with a point and shoot style, especially at such low light.

There is no diffuser behind the gauges. The color comes out white with a slight blue cast due to the color of the gauge face overlay itself. Once I get a pic uploaded of it, you'll be able to see the actual color. In my install I went with the blue LEDs because I have a Pioneer Premier DEH940 which has all blue illumination for the buttons. It matches perfectly with the dash color so it no longer looks like an "add-on".

 

Here is what I meant about the Premier unit matching th color of the dash illumination:

 

o man, thanks for the pic^^^

i got the same deck, and from all the other pics i thought that the blue was slightly off....i didn't want a "close but not quite" look, so i was about to go w/ all hyperwhite. i might rethink that now.

 

Here is a picture of the head unit in the daytime. (This photo is from 3 years ago so the picture quality blows compared to my current digital camera, but at least it gives you an idea. I mounted my head with a home made bracket and face panel long before any aftermarket install kit was available.)

 

Anyone did this in the white lights and have pics. Not sure If I want to do it white or blue but the gauges only come in blue so it might look weird if i do those blue then the controls in white.

 

That looks nice! I've been wanting to do that in my car and unfortunately, I need my dad's help and he is still recovering from eye surgery. It looks like I'm going to have to wait until summer to do anymore mods to my car.

 

looks great. maybe this will be one of my next mods!

 

man how long did it take?

 

Thanks for the compliments. It doesn't take too long to do the install if you have any experience working on cars and have at least intermediate electrical skills.

I didn't do the whole car in one day, so the conversion took probably 3 evenings to finish, partially because of added time I took to make some modifications to Nate's (Ledautomotive.com) kit and partially because I have a remote radar that I previously installed in my speedo gauge so working around that slowed things down a little bit. If you just use Nate's kit "as-is", you could certainly do the whole install in the course of one weekend day.

I still have to post a picture of the instrument cluster, but its harder to shoot a good picture of that because the steering wheel gets in the way. I will drop it back down out of the way to shoot the photo.

Incidentaly, for all of you who may undertake the project, the easiest way to get the dash panel off, and then remove the instrument cluster, is to undo the two bolts that hold the steering column in place (look under the column and you'lll see them; you will need a deep wall socket to remove them) and drop the whole steering wheel console down out of the way. The column will still be connected to the steering rack but just be careful not to put too much pressure on the assembly or I suppose you could cause damage to the steering knuckle. To remove the dash, undo the two steering column bolts, then sit upright in the seat and support the wheel with your knee as you press the column down and off the the two bolts. Keep supporting the wheel with your knee while doing the instrument panel removal, just to make sure the column isnt dropped down too far and being overstressed. While working on the instrument cluster LED conversion, temporarily reattach the column so it doesnt just hang down unsupported when you are out of the car. Follow the above advice and you will have a very easy time removing the dash and cluster and won't risk scratching anything, especially the plastic on top of the steering column. (I was a pro audio installer for 15 years and ripped apart just about every car ever made, so I speak with some authority with the advice I am giving you.)

 

The gauges only come in WHITE, not blue because the redline part of of the speedo gauge won't show up if blue is used. Since red is on the opposite side of the color spectrum, the blue would be completely filtered out by the red. The White actually appears as a white with slight blue tint due to the way the gauge overlay filters the illumination.

When I upload a pic of the instrument cluster, you will see what I mean. Its not as bright as the instrument cluster of a new TL or Accord, but it is a zillion times better than those dull yellowy OEM bulbs.

 

So will the white climate kit look good with the cluster.

 

I'm going to say "probably". There are some tinted diffusers that are behind the clock and climate control displays that may change what the ultimate color looks like if you go with white LEDs.
If I recall, you can remove the one behind the clock face, but not the one behind the climate display. Actually, both can be removed, but i didnt take the one out behind the climate display because I was concerned that the LEDs would be to spotty without the diffuser.
In the case of the blue LEDs, the tint of the diffuser didnt effect the color of blue but it might change the white LEDs from looking pure white, just as the white blinkers had a slight greenish cast before I removed them and made my own frosty clear diffusers. (scroll up to earlier in the thread for a picture of the diffusers I made for the turn signals). If you find that the white isnt looking pure enough you can try removing the diffuser, and if the LEDs end up spotty, you will have to make a frosty clear diffuser for behind the climate display.

 

major props to 2002AcuraTL... that looks really sweet!

 

Thanks for the compliments. I know its all psychological, but after driving my car for the past 3.5 years, it does make the car feel like its brand new again. Probably the same effect you have after you've just washed and waxed your car and think it handles the corners better and accelerates faster

 

Everything looks super clean, as it should! Has anyone done this process with RED LEDs? Any pics or am I just being outlandish...?

 

Some of you have PMed me asking about the mods that I did to the standard kit Nate sells. Here is that list (and you can email Nate in advance of ordering in the event you want to buy additional LEDs to make these same mods to yours. Eventually he may incorporate my mods into his kits, but since the mods require more skill than just removing a bulb or a simple solder joint, they may not be best for everyone to attempt).

Here is a partial list of the mods I did over the 'kit' install:

2 LEDs are used for the clock rather than one (5mm x2) with 470 ohm resistor(and also bent them 90 degrees toward center of LCD diffuser). With only one LED, the clock will be much darker than the climate control display due to how the light shines on the LCD display. You will understand this only when you open up your clock module and see the refelctor for yourself. If you look at the photo of a 'regular' install on Nate's site, and compare it to my photo you will notice this difference.

- 910 ohm resistors in LCD for the climate control display. (all other reistors used are 470 ohms except where indicated)

- Added one extra LED for each of the two knobs on the climate control. Each LED is aimed towards the top of knob display and slightly towards the center, not to the outer edge as there is already an LED located there). (3mm flat top LED and 470 ohm resistor used). LED is tacked in place to the edge of the climate control potentiometer

- Removed filter for the Odometer

- Removed the filters on each of the climate control buttons

- Installed blue LEDs for the climate control "on" indicators in place of the amber ones (3mm Blue flat top LED and use black marker on the top to keep it from shining too brightly). No additional resistor used as circuit already has a resistor for the OEM amber LEDs. Note also that the 3mm LEDs require the thin edge around the side to filed off so LED will fit into place.

- 910 ohm resistor used for fog “on” indicator LED

- 1.2k ohm resistor used for cruise control “on” indicator

- all LEDs used for 3 switches (fog, cruise and sunroof) as well as the trip/reset switches, were left a little longer than shown in the ledautomotive.com website "How To" section, so they could be bent at 90 degree angle to minimize spotty effect. In the "How To" section its shows them bent at no more than 45 degrees. This will result in less that even light distribution since the LEDs have more of a pinpoint of light than the wide dispersion of a light bulb.

***NOTE: some of what I described above may sound cryptic without you actually pulling apart your car and seeing it for yourself***

 

Ill post the cluster leds for you. I did the white and the blue. I wanted the hyper white, but the white leds make the guages a sky blue color. I am just keeping them blue now. I am in the process of making the needles a hyper white. I will finish my interior once I have time.

 

hrmmmmmm....while the hyperwhites do give the display a bluish cast, the illumination appears very spotty in your pic. Maybe it was just your camera. Also, with the blue kit for the dash, none of the gear shift indicators lights up.

 

The blemish are just the white led bulbs. The picture looks bad becasue I forgot to turn on the "flower" buttom for close-up pictures. Since you said the gears dont light up blue, Ill try the hyper white there or let them be.

 

Yes I see that none of the gear shift indicators lights up very much in either your white or your blue kit install. Mine light up very clearly. Again,maybe this was just your camera?

NOTE: There is one glitch in the kit that I made Nate aware of, and this relates to the gear shift indicators. There is a lone light bulb that is is soldered to the cluster that can't be simply removed and replaced with a wedge LED. This bulb lights up the shift numbers 1, 2 and 3. The fix is to desolder this lightbulb, and solder in a 3mm White LED (or blue depending which kit you go with) where the bulb had been. Then just bend the LED about 30 degrees pointing away from the numbers and you will get a perfect spread of light across all the numbers. If the LED points striaght up, it will cause the numbers 1, 2 and 3 to be too bright relative to the rest (The shift indicators P, N, R and D get illumination from the cluster wedge bulbs).