Hey guys. After lots of work I was finally able to change those stinkin red gauge numbers to a visible green/blue color! I know there have been several threads about this but I wasnt satisified with the idea of simply lighting the faces of the gauges with LEDS. Let me know if anyone is interested and I can post how i did it and what went wrong...I have a few pics but I wont be able to get back to them until this weekend.

 

i am and i want pics! lol

 

Ok. I'll write up as much how-to as I can tonight after work...BTW if you're on a budget this only cost me like 4$ and the accuracy of my temp gauge and fuel!!!! (I'm still working on correcting that!!)

 

hey cool. cant wait to see pics and the how to's. how long did it take you?

 

I'd like to see your how-to as well.

 

definately show this. I assume its just a bulb of some sort behind the gagues .. but not sure. thanks for sharing

 

i think he colored the plastic. the bulbs behind the speedometer are white i believe. they just color the plastic.

 

ummmm.....

i like the red gauges. it's one of the selling points of the OZ. why didn't you just buy the ES if you don't like the gauges? the reason i bought the OZ instead of the ES is cause i am planning on keeping it mostly stock....but i see lots of people that bought the OZ (which costs more than the ES) and changing everything that makes it different from the lower model....

 

im doing all red details in my car but would still like to see some pics sounds cool

 

Ok. Well to start, the reason i changed the red was that the rest of the car is greenish and doesnt match (Not much of a selling point if thats why you bought the car) But I do like the gauges as they are much nicer than the ES. Anyhow personal opinoin aside, to start as in previous posts the backs of the gauges are tinted yellow so that when the red condom covered bulbs shine thru, the familiar orange color comes thru (red + yellowish =orange). This is what I wanted to change. So, I started by dissasembling the gauge pod. There are two black screws on the top of the gauge area. take them out to remove the black shroud. Next, there are three more zinc plated screws in the white assembly...remove these too. Once all of the screws are out the whole gauge assembly can be pulled out. (It can be tricky but believe me it comes out.) Once the assembly is part way out the two clips must be unhooked (There are areas on the clips which need to be depressed to 'unlock' them from the car end) Now that the whole assembly is out you can take it inside. Note that the trip odometer will be reset so notice the mileage and amount of gas in case you screw up the gas gauge and need to figure gas out like that. So now you can see that there is a brown cover on the back with several screws holding it on. Take this off to discover the three little bulbs in it. (I think that the bulbs are blue colored plastic holders. .the black ones are the LEDS for the open door sign and stuff) You can simply twist the bulbs out. Once they are out remove the red condom covers to make them now plain old white. (You can try blue condom covers but trust me they wont work) You can also try bright LEDS but they wont be bright enough...believe me i tried that too (2600mcd blue 4$ a piece). So now you need to make the numbers light up another color. You can now reattatch the brown cover to the back. On the front of the gauge ***'y you need to remove the clear and white housings by uncliping them in various places. Once this is gone the actual gauge faces are exposed. BE CAREFUL WITH THEM AND DO NOT ATTACK ANYTHING WITH A LOT OF FORCE!!! I can not stress care enough in this part. All of the gauges are controled with magnetic coils and thin copper wire. If you sever this thin thin wire your gauges will no longer function. Also if you screw with the alignment (as i did) they will no longer be calibrated. So that being said, remove the gauge pins with pliers or whatever you choose, just pull straight up nicely. They will come off. Next remove each gauge face by pulling nicely and evenly. These will come off to with some easy pulling. Now, notice the back of them and how the yellow tint pisses you off. You can try to carve this out if you want but i dont think that you will be sucessful (let me know if you try but not if you fail). In order to get the desired color simply find acetate gels (colored overhead sheets/colored basket wrapping foil/even colored saran wrap i guess and cover the backs of the gauges with the color you want. (I used deep blue and when mixed with the crappy yellow you get a blue green color) I also used 2 layers because one didnt do the trick and 3 blocked too much light (Experiment with a flashlight to get the desired effect) Once all of the gauges are covered and nicely trimmed and back in place reverse the removal to install and pray that you didnt screw up the gauges..me, i screwed up the gas and temp because i am retarded and played with the stupid needles. Anyhow if anyone knows how to recalibrate w/o going to the dealer or sending to Cali let me know. OK well I'll post pics this weekend when I get back to the computer that i used to take the pics with. And post any problems or solutions to my gauge accuracy problem....

 

For the Temp, I suggest you drive your car for 10 minutes, and switch the gear to "N" then put the niddle in the center point(Keep the engine running).
For the Gas, Just fill it up very full then put the niddle back w/ a little over the limit(about one more block) then pull back the niddle of the limit niddle. or
dran out the gas until you see the fuel light on, the put the niddle back about 1/2 to 1 block above the lowest limit niddle.

If you screw up the meter niddle , don't worry!( I done it before ) You need your friend drive in front of you ( keep the speed on 65 mph will be more good) and use CB radio or C.phone to make sure your friend's speed and keep a certain distance then put the niddle back make it point to 65mph, It's better you have one more person use the phone for you! , That's how I fix it before 8 years ago!
hope it helps!!

 

for the gas, on the galants, all we do is just push the needle down when the car is off and it will fix itself. as for the temp, i just never fixed mine. it doesn't really tell u anything. just says cold (bottom) warm (middle) too hot (top) its not that accurate anyways, the ECU gets its own sensor and gets a better reading for temp

 

what's a niddle?

stuff4f44-
i didn't mean to bash you or anything. why didn't you change the other lights to red in order to match? no doubt that it will look nice, just wondering. and i was just eluding to the fact that i've seen people who buy an OZ and change the gauges, put a bodykit on, get new wheels, paint the dash, and get new floormats. basically the only thing that seperates their car from an ES (equally modded) is rear sway bar, different front shocks, and about $1500.

 

I just cut the gels to fit around the needles. Mine needs work, and I'm going to try white LEDs despite all the warnings (yes, I'm stubborn)

https://www.evolutionm.net/registry/...hicleid=465&s=

 

Sweet!!!!!



Nice work my bruthah!