EvoRSfor060

Originally on NASIOC, by: MU5A5HI
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show...0#post10457260

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Changing Clock Color using Mitsubishi Lancer Clock
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Well I finally managed to get my clock red, for real, not brown... and thought i would write it up. I apologize in advance that I am not the best photographer around.

Here are the cliff notes:

1. Buy a used Mitsubishi Lancer Clock. (Evo, Ralliart, Plain old lancer...) I got mine from ebay for $25.
2. get a piece of red plastic that is very vibrant to make a 'lens cover' for inside the clock case. (details later)
3. Bend back the 'LIG' pin on the clock if you want the clock not to dim at night. This is not 100% necessary. I wanted mine lit brightly at night.
4. Sand the tabs off the clock cover sides to make it fit in the WRX.
5. double stick tape the clock in place. plug up everything, and go.
6. The results are -slightly- less bright than stock, but i am pretty pleased. See pics at the end of the post...

Ugly green WRX clock vs. Red clock:



I have been frustrated that this thing seemed impossible to do, so I looked around the net to find a car that had a similar clock but in a different color. Turns out the Lancer Evo had a similarly sized clock that appeared white instead of green so i took a shot and got one off ebay used.



It was a good buy in my case. The Lancer clock has a reddish lens instead of a greenish black one like the WRX clock. This is really the only important difference in my opinion. i think the WRX clock's green/black plastic cover is the real problem with reddening the clock most people have experienced. Check out both clocks taken apart and laid side by side:

http://www.cnw.com/~lavinrac/redclock/both_apart.jpg

The lancer clock's display itself actually lights up the exact same color: mostly white, but just a tad greenish. The WRX's green color is really a combination of the clock display and the plastic cover.

Here's the part number: MR962799. If you are crazy and rich enough to pay for the lancer clock NEW its $93.55

It also turned out (this seems obvious to some but to me it was surprising) that both clocks had the exact same 4 pins and the same pin out and even the same connector, though its turned on its side. (note that i have bent back the 'LIG' pin on purpose on the lancer clock)



The only real 'challenge' and it is a very minor one, is the tabs that click the clock into place on the two clocks are different. This is solved by sanding the tabs off the lancer clock cover.



With that done, I needed to make the clock really truly red. I chose to cut out a 'lens cover' from an old cd case that i had that was transparent red. this is probably the hardest part to find. you just need to find something thats an acceptable color of red.. tending toward orange side instead of toward purple... then cut out a cover from it and fit it into the clock case in front of the display. you can see mine has cutouts for the buttons so it sits in there nicely and doesn't rattle around.



If you want the clock to be lit brightly all the time, including when the exterior lights are turned on at night, just bend back the 'LIG' pin as shown in the picture above of the connectors on the back of the clocks. That way you should be able to change your mind at least once without it breaking.
CLARIFICATION: Someone asked me if the dimming function works if you do not bend the pin back. It does work. If you leave the pin unbent the clock will dim properly when you turn on your exterior lights.
Finally, i reassembled the lancer clock and put some double stick tape in my dash's clock cover:



Here are a couple of shots of the finished product. Pardon the fingerprints all over the clock face: