Northwoods Snowman Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 I would recommend something along the lines of 800 grit or finer. You want to polish the film off, not scratch it off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
one bad bg Posted June 14, 2010 Author Share Posted June 14, 2010 ^better opinion. i dont sand too often, i just know 80 is used for rough sanding, so 240 sounded good, lol. but if 800 is recommended, i would go with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c_W_j Posted August 1, 2010 Share Posted August 1, 2010 for the guys having problems with the needles after taking the clear front off, try looking at the video titled "LED Install #2 step 6 gauge face installation", it shows up in the similar videos scroll at the end of OBBG's first video. It mentions moving the needle clockwise then counterclockwise until it stops at "0". maybe that'll help. also, for people looking for a slightly cheaper alternative that will be brighter than regular bulbs but keeps the light dispersal, try searching for "hyper white" or "super white" bulbs. I don't remember the brand, but I put some in my Tacoma and them dim/yellow problem was solved. Not a help if you specifically want low heat/low power, though. http://www.autolumination.com/xenon.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1-3-2-4 Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 question those #74 bulbs they light up the inner part of the gauges right? Anyone have an idea on which bulbs to pick from that is not going to hot spot as bad but still be near as bright as stock? I'm switching to white having said that Does the gauge have some type of bulbs above the gauge cluster? It seems every color change I see it has like a strong light cast down on the gauge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
one bad bg Posted August 13, 2010 Author Share Posted August 13, 2010 once you take your cluster out, youll see a clear plastic "thing" along the top of the cluster that picks up light from the outer top bulbs and uses the light as kinda light.......ambient lighting on the whole face. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1-3-2-4 Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 thanks.. I wonder if it's possible to black them out? I wonder if it would mess up my lighting? lol btw I Finally just now ordered the LED's after some what is it 4-5 months? I got the brightest wedge LED's and 74 leds they had.. order came to $25 and some change. got the WLED X5 and the 24 x HP 74 LED's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
one bad bg Posted August 13, 2010 Author Share Posted August 13, 2010 i wouldnt suggest blacking them out. our needles dont light up like the newer legacys. so you wouldnt really be able to see any of the needles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1-3-2-4 Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 ah yeah forgot about that and when you say outer top bulbs would it be from the bulbs I'm replacing or the stock bulbs? I've seen people do red and the light looks so harsh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
one bad bg Posted August 13, 2010 Author Share Posted August 13, 2010 here. lemme help you out a bit. i have a second gen gauge cluster sitting in my room. ill take a few pics and post them here for you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1-3-2-4 Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 thanks man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
one bad bg Posted August 13, 2010 Author Share Posted August 13, 2010 these are the 2 bulbs it pulls light from http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c144/kelesez/2010-08-13103711.jpg?t=1281710605 heres the clear plastic piece that is runs the light through. it goes along the whole top of the cluster on the inside. http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c144/kelesez/2010-08-13103735.jpg?t=1281710699 and it illuminates it here http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c144/kelesez/2010-08-13103747.jpg?t=1281710726 http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c144/kelesez/2010-08-13103759.jpg?t=1281710746 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1-3-2-4 Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 Ahh cool that helps a bunch I just have to wait for the LED's to come now.. I already have the sanding stuff and a few grades of sanding paper all the way from 200 to 2,000 grit. Most of it saved from past projects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
one bad bg Posted August 13, 2010 Author Share Posted August 13, 2010 i didnt sand mine cause i did blue. but i think the people that did used 800 and said it worked perfect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1-3-2-4 Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 I should not have any issues I don't think when I sand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1-3-2-4 Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 Led's came today but I don't know if I will get around to installing them today or not.. so much always happens when you get new stuff for the car.. taking people all over the place.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
one bad bg Posted August 17, 2010 Author Share Posted August 17, 2010 Look at the title, lol, you cant squeeze in 10 mins of "you time." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1-3-2-4 Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 lol yeah just waiting for someone to contact me back before I do this lol gotta drop his PC off I need gauges but having said that.. will I regret not getting the HP led's? just did a quick little test on my messy desk http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/SubaruWRX/Web%20pictures/a6b9711c.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/SubaruWRX/Web%20pictures/7dcd27ed.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1-3-2-4 Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 All done! took me like a little over 2 hours because I was working on that plus watching futurama.. but man it's almost too bright on the highest setting.. low is just right.. maybe i'd get used to it.. It was a pain to get to the x1000 rpm but I had a cone shaped dremel buffing wheel which was enough to get the green off on that and the fuel gauge. speaking of the fuel gauge I had to move it it seems to be about right I don't know for sure yet. Anyways these shots are from my evo I will put the dslr shots up later. full high http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/SubaruWRX/DSC_1348.jpg low http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/SubaruWRX/4361c316.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
one bad bg Posted August 18, 2010 Author Share Posted August 18, 2010 wow, full high IS hellabright. low looks good. and for the most part, pretty even light distribution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1-3-2-4 Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 Yeah it's a tad too bright which I should not complain since with the other bulbs I found myself trying to turn up the brightness because it never felt bright enough.. Only when you turn down the LEDs to the lowest setting will you see the uneven light spots. but overall I'm happy with it! I just don't know where the hell the bezel screws are since I had this thing unscrewed for months.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1-3-2-4 Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 update the bulbs worked great for about a month or so and now the LED behind the fuel gauge is starting to flicker like a strobe.. the rest are fine so far.. A quick check on google showed that other people had the same issue as me and also with the WLED-5. I might switch to the VLED's for the replacement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frogg Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 this was almost 10 years ago but on my corolla at the time I used just regular colored bulbs and not LEDs and it gave a even color that wasnt too bright or too dim (perfect imo) and they lasted the 1.5 yrs I had the car... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1-3-2-4 Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 thank you for that informative post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sukaboy Posted November 1, 2010 Share Posted November 1, 2010 I didn't use the high power ones for the gauge cluster either and mine light up everything bright and even. Did you order the 90 degree angle instead of the 120 degree leds? And whn I did my hvac it took me less time than my gauge cluster. Hey OBD, I changed my gauge cluster. All blue LEDs. Your vid tutorial was awesome. I tried changing my HVAC bulbs to the NEO3 and they just wouldn't come on. Or I couldn't tell if they were on or not. But the gauge cluster I could definitely see if they were on. I am not sure what I am doing wrong with the HVAC controls. Can you give me some suggestions? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amm203 Posted November 1, 2010 Share Posted November 1, 2010 Hey guys. LED's in my '03 Legacy have been working great until recently. There is one bulb thats powers each backlight behind the LCD on the gauge cluster. The left LCD shows the trip mileage and odometer mileage while the right shows time and temp. One night the left and right LED's backlighting the LCD's started to flicker. The left one subsequently burned out but the right one stayed on. To be safe I decided to replace both LED's with the stock incandescent bulbs (both of which worked prior to me replacing them with the LED's.) However, the right bulb is working fine while the left one that originally burned out is not lighting up with, what I think, a working bulb. With that being said, could it be a fuse issue? I doubt this since it is the only light that is not working on the entire gauge cluster. I can't see how the incandescent coincidentally burnt out upon installing it. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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