LED interior, part 2 : shift gate indicator light
 

continuation of this thread: https://acurazine.com/forums/car-parts-sale-361/sale-m5-spoiler-144257/

finally got time to do it this afternoon. :)

this is no simple bulb replacement... because the stock shift indicator has nasty green/red/yellow hues in the plastic that prevents even a blue LED underneath to shine through as something else (trust me on this i've tried it).

so, that means you have to make your own.

i wanna give thanks to z3ro and aaaron, got some tips from these guys that have done this before :thumbsup:

i'll let the picture-ful DIY do the talk:

first off, obviously, remove the shift gate trims.
the black outside frame is taken off easily by sliding your fingers under the corners and then pulling it out.
the silver (or chrome if you have a cool 99 like me :toocool: ) piece requires pulling on one edge away from its position horizontally, and then upwards. <-- read this phrase again if you don't really understand it at first. sorry it's tough to explain in words.

http://files.subtledream.com/forum/led_dash/diy2/01.jpg

and this is what you'll see:

http://files.subtledream.com/forum/led_dash/diy2/02.jpg

peeling off that thin plastic filter / indicator letters (it's like a sticker) would reveal the diffuser underneath:

http://files.subtledream.com/forum/led_dash/diy2/03.jpg

and of course take that off to and you'll see the bulb (74-type). you can find the LED replacement here: http://autolumination.com/74.htm the $2.50 one with the single bulb works just fine.

http://files.subtledream.com/forum/led_dash/diy2/04.jpg

spray paint! (i only used black)

http://files.subtledream.com/forum/led_dash/diy2/05.jpg

and also need these:
you can find them at staples/wal-mart/office depot/etc.

http://files.subtledream.com/forum/led_dash/diy2/06.jpg

now comes the not-for-impatient-people part.

you'll be matching where the stock indicator letters are (P, R, N, D, etc.) and applying those sticker letters onto the laminating pouches.

we are doing this because we'll be spray painting these pouches later and with the stickers on, they act like masking tape so that light can shine through later!

http://files.subtledream.com/forum/led_dash/diy2/07.jpg

http://files.subtledream.com/forum/led_dash/diy2/08.jpg

i also traced the shape of the original piece so it's easier to know where to cut later.

http://files.subtledream.com/forum/led_dash/diy2/09.jpg

and to be less wasteful (and also playing safe), i did two on each pouch.

spray time!

http://files.subtledream.com/forum/led_dash/diy2/10.jpg

i applied about 6 layers of paint... waited about 7-10 mins between each recoat. if you are bored and wish to make another pouch/sheet in case the first one ends up being bad, now would be a good time.

http://files.subtledream.com/forum/led_dash/diy2/11.jpg

^ after painting

now, cut the piece out. you do not have to be exact around the edges.

i used a pin to help remove the sticker letters.


http://files.subtledream.com/forum/led_dash/diy2/12.jpg

tape the finished piece onto the backside of the silver shift gate piece to secure the correct position, as follows:

http://files.subtledream.com/forum/led_dash/diy2/13.jpg

lookin' good eh!

http://files.subtledream.com/forum/led_dash/diy2/14.jpg

and behold... the finished product! :D
this was with a super-white LED (it's REALLY bright, might even be distracting for some at night)

http://files.subtledream.com/forum/led_dash/diy2/15.jpg

and this is with a blue LED, matches my dash nicely ;)


http://files.subtledream.com/forum/led_dash/diy2/16.jpg

Questions/comments welcome! :tongue:

damn thats niceee

Ohhh I really like that it looks sweet. Just if you sell the car make sure you explain to the people what you did because if they read the manuel there gonna be like wtf?

oh very nice. I was wondering what the options were for those considering the different colored parts of it. Came out VERY nice looking.

nicely done :thumbsup: , but I am concearned a little about the fact that it may be distracting, I'm going to look into possibly diffusing the light coming through the lettering when I do this one

how did the led look with the oem prndl in place instead of your new prndl?

Looks great!

that looks real nice

Nice DIY!, give us a pic of the whole dash even tho I saw your last project, but this wasn't included. Your a genius!

Must have been incredibly tedious. I would do the LED Dash and interior light conversion, but I don't have the patience. I really do like super white or blue LED look though.

You should make more of those templates and sell them. I know that it's a simple DIY project, but I bet people would pay.

dam man u are the most patient person i have come across lol....thanks for the DIY because guess what.....my shift gate light went out last week so now i get to attempt this beautiful project :thumbsup:


as stated above pics of the whole dash including this would look hot.....do you have anymore projects that you will be completing for the interior????

Dude If u would make one of those for me I will buy it...

^^ yea, can you make us one? I'll buy one too! I got a 99

man you are fucking smart.

add these to the DIY section subtle.

Sweet! I'd buy one.

Great job, Jon! :thumbsup:

Dude, if you ever need help getting the leds to work in the radio, let me know, I just finished (this morning) soldering my dash console and the entire radio in less than 12 hrs. :thumbsup: ( I left the cluster untouched since I'll be swapping it out for Type-S gauges later down the road.)

Do them in the type-s cluster. I want to do that to mine really bad. I dont care for the greenish light at all with the silver gauges.

GREAT DIY THANK YOU. Have you tried shaving the LED so it gets a rough surface to difuse the light? What about placing (taped) a red piece of red lighting gel over (under) the R...

damn thats awsome!

i just finished mine.....those little letters are hard as hell to line up if you have big fingers lol i just painted mine so im waiting for it to dry right now

I know I can use the same way i made my last gauge cluster turn white with the tl-p gauges with teh TL-S ones as well... The filter's still removable. This came from gaping46and2's thread, remember?

http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/5230/gauge1qx1.jpg

Once I get to the tl-s gauges, then i'll go all out. It's actually extremely easy to my surprise. If you ever need anymore leds, let me know, i have at least 200+ blue and white leds just laying on my table. :thumbsup:

You can remove the filter on the TL-P gauges? I didn't know how, someone want to direct me where I'd find this?

All my LEd from LED automotive will be here next week..... I had then solder them becasue I really sucked at it

lol, u got right on top of it so quick.

thanks for all the compliments guys!! :D

haha yeah! i had to realign some of the letters too when i was doing it. after applying everything i realized i could have use a tweezer of some sort to have more accuracy, doh!

the LED comes with a pretty broad angle of light diffusion already (it's intended for gauge/cluster use).
the red tape idea - brilliant! now i just need to find some :D

i shall post that up sometime soon...!

maybeeeee :ponder: i'll need to contact the mods about selling stuff on az first though :tongue:

haha good timing bro~ i really want to get my AC temperature display to have a blue backlight too. but for those i guess soldering is a must. got to find another ballsy day :rofl:

im gonna leave the radio alone joe. will pick up a double DIN navi/dvd player in the futrue, plus my current HU is crap (doesnt play ANY cd-r's, even the ones burned at 2x!). i only use it with the tape adapter + mp3 player :tomato:
and... 12 hrs is a long time!

man i might just want to take up on that offer. would you happen to have some of the super white neo-wedge bulbs?

this:
http://autolumination.com/images/aut...o_w_led_wm.jpg

and perhaps the 74-type super whites too:
http://autolumination.com/images/aut...4_led_w_wm.jpg

the LAST type of bulbs i would love to have are the miniature verison of the neo-wedge bulbs that go in the middle AC temperature display as well as all the buttons on the dash (sunroof, trip select/reset, TCS/cruise, window up/down)... with those i'll be really completing the package!

if you do you are my hero. at least allow me to pay for shipping :wish:

loks real good, now i gotta find the extra 74 bulb i had left over from the gauge install..

It came out super nice! Im definitely gona use this DIY. BTW, do you know the part # for the '99 TL shift gate? i want to buy it and chrome it out! Maybe they wont just sell that piece but whatever it is let me know, it looks sexxxy.

lol yup thats because i was waiting for someone to post a DIY lol plus i have 2 weeks off from school so i have plenty of time to get shit done


lol yea man i made one with a white background but it came out kinda lame so im redoing a gunmetal one to match my car and shift gate!!....this time i layed the letters down with a razor blade

heres a tip: put the original piece under the clear pouch and just lay the letters directly over the original....sort of like you are tracing a drawing.....and use a razor to lay the letters down straight and everything should be perfect...

Jonathan thanks alot man without this DIY i wouldnt have had a clue as to wat i was doing lol :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Looks awesome.....now I know what I'm going to do on my next few days off!!


OntarioTL:canada:

I forgot to ask what font size did you have to buy for the lettering?


OntarioTL:canada:

The only leds I have are the ones that you have to solder with a resistor, i'm just hardcore like that. lol If you want them anyway, let me know... I'll give some to you for $5 plus shipping :thumbsup:

i got the 1/4 in. lettering size im pretty sure Jonathan has the same because the other ones wouldve been way too big

nice they turned out really good...finally figured out how to do it...sorry i lost the pix to my diy...

How big should the stickers be? I compared 1/2" and it seems too big. Is 1/4" right?

i wana add to the DIY...from mine...its also best if u have another piece of lamination on top as the cover...that way when it gets dirty...u dont have to make a new 1...just a new piece of lamination

a piece of lamination over witch piece? and witch lamination did you use? thanx

what do u mean which lamination? the same kind lol...ok ok...ill see if i can put it in an easier way...um....

"shift gate cover"
layer 1...clear lamination
layer 2...modified lamination <----shift indicator