Yet Another Amber Interior Lights -- Includes Foglight and Headlight Switches!
 

There are lots of good write-ups out there on how to convert your GREEN interior lights to AMBER, and there are a few vendors out there selling parts. I even went so far as to order a set of red bulbs (you can't find amber bulbs) from a small vendor mentioned on the boards, but I haven't been happy with the results. A few things to note:

- The RED bulbs aren't the right color to match the factory cluster, or the DEFI gauges that I have in my car
- RED bulbs (or even orange "condoms" on the bulbs) make the blue range of the temperature select lose contrast with the red side
- None of the write-ups I have seen address the fact that you still have green lighting behind the foglight switch, headlight adjuster, and mirror adjuster!

So, being horribly annoyed by stuff like this I worked through it and figured I'd give a cheap and easy write-up on how to make all of the interior lights match. Finished pic is below so you can see what you're working towards.

http://www.guagenti.com/Evo_VIII/Pet...o_VIII_013.jpg

I started out by trying to find a good way to match the colors. I liked the other write-up on the boards that used paint, so I figured I'd start there. I couldn't find anything amber to use, so I bought a yellow and red paint pen to blend to match the color.

Paint pens have the advantage of not needing a brush, drying faster, and being very, very inexpensive. Not to mention they made me all nostalgic for the good old days when I used them for other purposes on the streets of Brooklyn where I grew up. {devil}

http://www.guagenti.com/Evo_VIII/Pet...o_VIII_001.jpg

You start by getting access to the lights behind the HVAC controls. I won't go into that all over again as you can find a million posts on the boards on how to do that. Once the bulbs are accessible, pull them out, pull off the color condoms, and break out the paint pen.

To match the orange Defi and instrument cluster lighting, I first painted the bulbs yellow. Once the yellow was dry, I added lines of red (four in total) to make the bulb look pinstriped.

Don't paint the base of the bulb where it plugs in. Sounds obvious, but it's easy to forget.

I waited for the bulbs to dry and then put them back in the car.

http://www.guagenti.com/Evo_VIII/Pet...o_VIII_002.jpg

Here's the result lit up (note the red bulb which I left in the ashtray -- that was personal preference):

http://www.guagenti.com/Evo_VIII/Pet...o_VIII_006.jpg

Next step is to move on to the switches to the left of the steering wheel. I started with the interior dimmer switch and headlight dip adjuster. You can basically just press the carrier out from behind (I reached through the ashtray opening)

http://www.guagenti.com/Evo_VIII/Pet...o_VIII_005.jpg

Once the switch panel is out, you can remove the switches (they're pressed into place with small tabs -- be gentle so as to not break them off). The bulbs for the switches are screwed into place -- rotate the bulb holder and it should fall out easily. Remove the blue bulb condom:

http://www.guagenti.com/Evo_VIII/Pet...o_VIII_004.jpg

and then paint these bulbs the same way:

http://www.guagenti.com/Evo_VIII/Pet...o_VIII_003.jpg

The foglight switch is a little more difficult. You have to remove the instrument cluster bezel -- unscrew the top two screws to remove it. Once it's out, you can pull the trim holding the mirror straight up.

http://www.guagenti.com/Evo_VIII/Pet...o_VIII_007.jpg

This carrier and bulb is harder to get to. I'm sorry I don't have more pictures, but I'll try to talk through how to do this.

You basically need to take the switch apart to get to the bulb as it's wired to a board inside of the switch. There are four tabs holding it together. Put gentle pressure between the tabs and the slots they fit in and gently pull them apart. If you do one tab at a time it will come apart easily.

Try not to pull them apart too hard as the switch will basically fall apart in your hands. If it does, it's not a big deal. The little copper "comb" is basically held in tension trying to touch the copper plate on the board. Mine came apart, but with a little trial and error I got it back together and made sure it worked before putting the panel back together.

The final product is worth the effort:

http://www.guagenti.com/Evo_VIII/Pet...o_VIII_015.jpg

Once you put everything back together, the three switches on the left side of the steering wheel all match the lighting of the Defi gauges, the instrument cluster, and the modified HVAC lighting:

http://www.guagenti.com/Evo_VIII/Pet...o_VIII_014.jpg

Now all I need to do is find a turbo timer that matches the amber lights. :(

http://www.guagenti.com/Evo_VIII/Pet...o_VIII_013.jpg