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U12 Bluebird, Pintara & Stanza => the style department => Topic started by: Rake on Sep 23, 2004, 07:27PM
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Alrighty, I found a Oil/Fuel/Temp cluster at the wreckers (Corsair Ghia lacks the Oil Guage), and I've modded it all Red as some of you may have seen, but I've also made the needles White and done the Indiglo Needle mod with Red 8)
(http://users.communis.com.au/~rgrant/Stuff/DashNew1.jpg)
Sorry for the dark shot, but thats what it looks like with white needles, very nice they are.
(http://users.communis.com.au/~rgrant/Stuff/DashNew2.jpg)
And WHOA!!, what a diffrence those LEDs make!!
I still have to fix a couple issues, the temp guage won't spring back to the bottom by itself, which I suspect is because it is touching the led (Tapping it makes it move), and the Oil Guage will only either be off or spring up as far as it can possibly go, however I suspect thats something else, not in the cluster, as someone else mentoned.
What you guys think?
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very nice any pictures of how you got it together? and any tips on the placement of leds near the needles?
and howd you get the needles for the tach/speedo off ?mine wont come off there to stiff get some pics in the normal light if you could
thankyou
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I just pulled them off! Maybe a small screwdriver under and a twist in the worst of situations.
No pictures but I can try be descriptive with words, if your in sydney somewhere I could easily help anyone out.
As for LED Placement, just look at the clear plastic stuff. There are angled parts which reflect light in the right directions. Thats usually where they're best put. Examine the underside of the needles and such too, it's all pretty easy to figure out. Speedo and Tacho have 2 leds as they are longer and go around 240 degrees, and 1 for the oil/temp/fuel as they don't move as far and are shorter.
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mine are evil and refuse to come off :P thanks mate
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it might just be the photo, but wow, they look searingly bright :o
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Yeah cameras dont take the photos of the dash overly well .. The colour is more blood-red and less pinkish, and although the needles are bright, they're not that overly bright. The best thing I can do is to go and show people! I'm bored and I'm pretty boasty about my efforts :P
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the Oil Guage will only either be off or spring up as far as it can possibly go, however I suspect thats something else, not in the cluster, as someone else mentoned.
What you guys think?
That means the oil pressre sendor is not connected properly. The same happened to my car and it was because the wires connecting to the sendor had come loose.
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Dunno if i missed it, but what size leds did you use? looks nice, good work :)
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That means the oil pressre sendor is not connected properly. The same happened to my car and it was because the wires connecting to the sendor had come loose.
Hmm, might have to check it out, but from what people have said in my other thread (http://www.antrx.com/smf/index.php?topic=5170.0) I was under the impression that I had to replace the oil sender...
Dunno if i missed it, but what size leds did you use? looks nice, good work :)
90c from Jaycar buys you 5mm, 4,000mcd bright LEDs. Red LEDs of this kind require 2.9v (I think, from memory) and need ~500ohm resistors to work off 12v. Diffrent coloured LEDs use diffrent voltages so you'd need diffrent resistors, also depends how you power them (I did mine in parallel). I think I shouldv'e used 3mm LEDs though to simplify installation and reduce the preperation work involved.
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Hmm, might have to check it out, but from what people have said in my other thread (http://www.antrx.com/smf/index.php?topic=5170.0) I was under the impression that I had to replace the oil sender...
ahh yeah sorry, i assumed you'd already done that :)
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dude! :o looks really good! I wouldn't mind trying blue LED's.
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looks pretty good rake, cant really tell by the pic though. Good work m8.
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dude! :o looks really good! I wouldn't mind trying blue LED's.
Maybe this'll help you visuallise. :)
(http://users.communis.com.au/~rgrant/Stuff/DashNew2BlueChop.jpg)
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instructions are here:
http://www.antrx.com/smf/index.php?topic=4867.0
also vector, i've pulled my brother's n13 gauges apart and the needles are pretty tough to get off but with a bit of careful force they do come off.
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Also I'm going to need some help concerning the Oil Sender, could post here or in the other thread I made a little while ago (http://www.antrx.com/smf/index.php?topic=5170.0). I was told $67 for a genuine, new one. Pfft, stuff that! Inspecting the Ti and TRX at a wrecker nearby it had a metal, round thing whereas mine doesn't, maybe I can grab one of those from the wreck (How do I remove?), or is there a cheaper/better aftermarket one?
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you should be able to get a non genuine one from repco/bursons etc.
it just screws out with a spanner.
heres is a pic of the sender so you know what and where it goes
(a bit blurry sorry)
[attachment deleted by admin]
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I went to Autopro and asked if they had any, they asked if they had one or two wires. Whilst not 100% certain, from what I had gathered it has two. Upon hearing this he said he had none and to go see Nissan for a genuine part, as they didn't have any..
Knowing which part/manufacturer to look for would be handy. Would they include any seals and such I would have to install at the same time? Otherwise I might just go nab one from the wrecker, because a Ti and TRX had them I believe, the metal circular ones whereas mine doesn't, it is smaller and Red, with a wire of some kind going in the end and another to the side of it.
In that picture, is that the bolt part I see at the bottom of the sensor? Would it be easiest to access from under the car?
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yeah you undo it with a spanner on the nut at the base where it connects into the oil filter to block adapter. It's quite easy to get to from above, just reach down from the drivers side as if your going to remove the oil filter, and you should be able to feel the nut you need to turn in front of and up from the filter. It may be easier to do from underneath with the car on ramps or jack stands, but youd have to remove the oil filter to get to it properly.
If you can't find a non genuine sender and you don't want to spend too much on a genuine one just grab one from the wreckers, that way you'll know it's the right one.
I honestly can't remember what seals are on the sender as it was a while ago that i had mine off.
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Went to the wreckers (for the bazillionth time :P) and found two. One seems kindof rusty, but the other with a bit of degreaser and elbow grease shined up really nice, so I think I'll try putting her in.
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Ok, anything about the Oil Guage please go here: http://www.antrx.com/smf/index.php?topic=5170.msg77091#msg77091
Tryin to keep things neat :), Basically I put the new sender in, but it still does the same thing, and I wanna get it fixed! :P
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That looks pretty good man. How bright are they. Do they blind you at all?
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Pretty bright, some people have been like "Whoa holy shit!" but I think they're fine :)
I powered them off the bulbs that light the guages, so the dimmer switch changes them somewhat also.
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Thats a good idea man. I did that with my tacho so i cud dim the tacho lights!
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thanx for the pic rake! I'll be having blue LEDs in my car this weekend! :) I also have a little 6 inch fluro light which i wanna hook up somewhere. any ideas anyone?
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If you need a hand at all, I'm unemployed, school is out and with my computer nicked, I've nothing much to do, so just let me know.
As for a fluro.. What are you looking to do with it exactly?
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i wouldnt mind neons under the dash and seats that turn on when i open the car doors. coz at the moment my interior light dosent work at all and i cant see shit at night, inside the car.
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I dont really know what im gonna do with it :-\ but im trying to come up with something creative. maybe i can use it instead of LEDs or put it in my grille or.........somthin.
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Footwells are good, but as for something a bit more creative .. Hmm .. I don't think it'd make a good LED replacement though for the guages :P
What colour are you thinking of doing? Could do heaps fo things for the guages, but you'd be limited when it comes to LEDs for the needles.
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i definately want blue LEDs in the gauge cluster. Thinking about putting the blue fluro in the footwell to give it that affect while your driving. it came with a dimmer control so you can make it as bright or as dim as you want. hmmmm
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I used 5mm LEDs but I'd strongly consider 3mm's as they would be much easier to work with, both with preperation and installation, and maybe work better for general use, I've had to screw around to fix some problems I've had.
http://www1.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=ZD0132
Thats a 3mm Blue 3,000mcd LED. I used a 4,000mcd bright one, some people say its too bright but I'm fine with it, so 3000mcd might be ideal and suit you better. Just have to pickup some resistors too, only about 40c your looking at (For around 8 ). I used 510ohm's, but as Blue LEDs use more voltage you'd need a resistor with slightly lower resistance. That, some wire, heatshrink or tape, and soldering tools :)
I just don't know if 3mm LEDs will light the needles as good as 5mm ones do.
Personally I'd only have lit footwells which come on with interior lighting. I enjoy being immersed in darkness at night, rather than sitting in a bright glowing thing of light. Thats why I don't like Reverse guages - theyre too distracting, having giant white circles in front of you. I hate driving at night with oncoming traffic also, it's just, toooo much light! I love my red dash though, it's more subtle :)
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thanx for the info rake :). youve been very helpful. i cant wait to do this now ;D
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I'll be changing the colour of mine tomorrow when i go get the leds that i want. I took the cluster out today, hopefully i won't break anything in the process :)
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When doing the Fuel and Temp guages, be very careful. Note the holes in the clear plastic behind the guage faces are very small and only allow the turny thingomobob's through. I strongly suggest making a seperate hole next to them, but not making these small holes any bigger, otherwise the fuel and temp guages won't work perfectly and the needles might move around and such... Will post more later.
Also it is MUCH easier to not install the airvents/clock part or the clear guages cover until your completly finished and satisfied with the results, as without these in place you can get to the instrument cluster much easier.
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Also it is MUCH easier to not install the airvents/clock part or the clear guages cover until your completly finished and satisfied with the results, as without these in place you can get to the instrument cluster much easier.
heh tell me about it.. i've got a feeling i'll be driving around with no dash for the next week hehe ::)
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how sweet are the blues!!!! i wanna do that in my GLi!!!
how do you put in the led's??
azzie
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noss mirrored a guide in the FAQ forum, and I made a mirror also.
http://www.antrx.com/smf/index.php?topic=4867.0
http://users.communis.com.au/~rgrant/Stuff/IndigloMirror/
It's not the easiest thing in the world. There is very limited space to fit the LEDs, as to not make them prevent the guages from working correctly. I made numerous mistakes and often had to make changes or even re-do things. Also drilling holes for the leds and such is a fairly delicate thing to do, hell only knows how I managed it with a handheld drill, haha! Gotta be able to solder and all that too.
Guage faces were easier though.
All up, the entire lot would've cost less than $10.
I'm willing to give people a hand though, since I've kindof learnt what and what not to do. Plus I'm bored as all hell!
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awesome, ill give it a go!!! it looks sweet
thanx for tha links!!!
cheers
azzie
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Look up a few posts, for the Blue LEDs I reccomended to fast90trx .. 3mm 3,000mcd Blue LEDs from Jaycar. Would be easier to work with methinks, will have to give them a try. If I end up helping him out, we shalst post results!
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I became lazy and really couldnt be fscked taking the whole cluster apart, so i fixed the blown bulbs and replaced the plastic with my old corsair cluster (the one that came with the trx was barely visible because some moron thought i'd be cool to try to clean it with some sort of stuff that ate the plastic away ::) )
But, i just came home and realised that the odomoter and trip meter isnt working anymore, but it'll stay like that now because i cbf unscrewing everything again hehe :)
kudos to you rake, you really have some patience to unscrew the cluster and pissfart around with the leds :)
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Dude, I put the dash together for like, what was to be the final time, made it all perfect, test the hazards button..
.... And one of the indicator arrow bulbs were busted, one I messed with .. bah!
But, lol, since I've pulled my dash apart so many times, I know exactly how to do it! And all reasonably quickly too :P
I did everything gradually, I have some serious lack-of-motivation issues but I just went ahead and did it one day out of pure experimentation and then like ... yeah. Did everthing in stages afterward and, now look at it :D
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i dont have a camera on me but i might go round to a friends place so i can post you a pic of my cluster mod i have blue needles using leds and red backing using 1w luxens from jaycar it looks allright
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where did you put the luxeons? im thinking of just replacing all the large globes with them but i dunno if it will shine through the needles enough ???
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i counter sunk them into the plastic right behind the gauges themselves it is a bit tricky but because luxens have a 180 degree focus the light desperses eaisily through the plastic. Only problem is that the luxens are kind of big because they require a het sink on the back.
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Sounds interesting, I'd like to see what they look like. Mounting shouldn't be too difficult provided it doesn't matter where you put them, I would imagine
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ware you put them does matter to a point as the luxens at the very centre will be more brighter this was a problem with the spedo gauge for me the best place to put them is not in the middle of the needle sweep (ware the numbers are) but to get them in the center if possible or bellow or above the needle sweep.
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Hmm, I think I'll just be happy with the way my dash is now...
Of course, that could change pending photos :P
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how do you go about just changing the backlighting of the gauges (standard green) to red like yours rake? i might be stupid, but i've read through but most of you are talking about the LED's in the actual needles.
What needs to be bought, and done to change the gauges backlighting color?
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Easy! :P I briefly wrote how I did it in the post where I introduced car (As I had done this mod just before I joined Antrx), this thread was relevant just to the Indiglos but the guages fit in too, so. :)
Look through the pics as you read and you'll probably understand easily :)
http://rgrant.communis.com.au/Stuff/CarDashMod/ <-- First photos of when I made guages Red
http://rgrant.communis.com.au/Stuff/Dashmod%20Blue%20Experiment/ <-- More recent experiment with Blue modelling paint, worked very well
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What you need:
- A little jar of modelling paint of desired colour (Flat, common colours like Red and Blue are best, nothing too light or dark). Available from modelling type places, only a few dollars, and will be MORE than enough to do the lot.
- Small paintbrush to apply paint. Available as above if you need one, or perhaps just improvise if your only doing this once.
- Some mildly-rough sandpaper :) Something a few hundred grit should work nicely.
Howto:
1 - Take the guage cluster out. I've posted how to get to it somewhere else, I'll post a link when I find it later. I'm presuming you are getting that Corsair one calteoh? Just take off the clear cover and black part with the circles (Clips on top and bottom), pop off the needles (Screwdriver underneath and twist if theyre reluctant), and then undo the two screws on each guage face and lift it off. Be careful, these screws are easy to loose and are delicate, so be gentle with them or you might bugger the heads up.
2 - See DashMod01.jpg .. Remove the guage faces. Flip it over. The white/green stuff, with dots in some areas, is what makes the light green. I presume the diffrences in area (With/without dots etc) help even the light. We can't do this when we mod them so the guages may be lit unevenly, but who cares :P
3 - See DashMod02.jpg + DashMod04.jpg .. First we need to remove the green stuff. If you want to leave the tacho redline, indicator arrows etc as-is, cover them with masking tape first!! When ready, sandpaper off the green stuff.
4 - See DashMod03.jpg + DashMod05.jpg .. Paint on the modelling paint! Also leave any masking tape on for this step. If you are doing a large area like the indicator arrows, try and keep the paint as even as possible otherwise it will appear very 'blotchy' (Can see un-evenness in the paint when lit). However for numbers and such you can get away with it.
5 - See DashMod10.jpg to DashMod12.jpg .. Leave paint to dry (Should be fine to fit guage faces back on after around 5-10 minutes) and then check against a light and re-install. (If your not going to do led needle mod too :P).
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Very easy, and should take under an hour to do :)
Note that when reinstalling the needles, the fuel and temp ones fit onto half-circle things so they don't need to be adjusted. Speedo, Tacho (and Oil Guage needle if you have it) will go on anywhere, but can point to the wrong position on the guages. To fix this, understand that there is a "Low limit" where the needle moves to and stops when you let it go. There is also the upper limit, where the needle will stop when you push it as far as it will comfortably allow.
What I do is simply put the needle on. If it points to anywhere below zero whilst at its Lower limit, I push it to the Upper limit and then keep forcing it slightly. Then if the
Lower limit is above 0, I carefully keep forcing it past the lower limit until it points to the right spot (0).
It might be a little tricky to understand but have a play with the guages and you'll understand. I did the Tacho first as I would rather have an inaccurate Tacho than an inaccurate Speedo, for obvious reasons. My guages still work perfectly and are accurate after being this, but I would advice caution - don't force the needle around over and over and over again because we don't want to break them. Try and keep it as accurate as you can to keep the need for adjustment to a minimum.
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I'm presuming you are getting that Corsair one calteoh?
your a persceptive one arnt you ;)
yes i plan to do this with the corsair cluster i bought.
Thanks alot for the write up, awsome pics u took aswell!!! sounds really easy to do... and might i add that blue looks kickass ;D
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Yeah I was surprised at how good Blue looked. A little bit of temptation to switch to blue but I'm sticking to my guns, Red is awesome too :P In the 4th Blue experiment picture you can see what the little jars of paint will generally look like if your not sure what your looking for. :)
I posted instructions on how to get to the guage cluster too - http://www.antrx.com/smf/index.php?topic=5302.msg77790#msg77790 - might help you when it comes to installation.
If you need a few do's and dont's when it comes to installing the LEDs, just ask :)
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hey rake where in sydney are u from coz i really wanna do that to my car but im scared to mess with it im from sydney too
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yer i used your guide on how to get to the gauges last week, was very helpful!
you gotta knack for these DIY guide things :)
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Haha I should :) I've got HSC exams coming up but if I find spare time (Well, as if I'll study anyway :P) I'd be glad to write up whatever you people want. Bonus is it's all U12 specific, which the other indiglo needle mod guide isn't :)
jet81u - Blacktown way buddy, will be glad to help.
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thats alright i live blacktown to bro i got hsc too wat school u go to.
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We'll continue in PM's.
If we do yours in a diffrent colour we'll get some pics and stuff, because it'd be cool to see a real-life shot of another colour, might help inspire others a little more than they already have been :P
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hey rake how did u apply the paint so evenly?
i'm doin mine now, and the i think i'm painting too thick a layer on as the light dosent seem to come through very brightly, and its very uneven, no matter how hard i try. at the moment i'm sanding it back to see if i can fix it but no avail, as the sanding is very unaccurate too :( any tips on painting? and yes i'm using the same paint as u did
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dont apply it too thick, do it very thinly so it doesnt build up anywhere... its best to have to add another layer if need be than have it too thick
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so i guess i should sand back and start again? :-\
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It's been found that putting coloured silicon covers on the bulbs (me and benzor nickname them "globe condoms") help reduce things like brushstrokes and uneven-ness. Sandpaper helps too, to even out the paint and get rid of brushstrokes to an extent. Only problem is that the needles and redline (if you leave that stock red), depending on the colour you do, will suffer. The good side though is that the light around the odometer/tripmeter counter will be the coloured :)
As for the uneven-ness, well, thats expected unfortunatly. If you look on a stock guage there are varying levels of the green stuff .. some areas have black dots, others don't, etc. I presume this is to make the light even, as bulbs are directly under some areas but not others. When you put on paint, you loose this. The best thing I can think of is to put an additional layer of paint on the areas where it is brighter. I notice mine, for example, is brigher around the top of the speedo (Where it reads 80, 100, 120) than areas where it reads 40 and 160, however it's not too severe and it doesn't bother me.
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u could use one of those sponge brushes, thats what i used because i had the same problem, but it works better than a standard brush
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ok the cluster is in, and i'm abit dissapointed by my efforts :(
it looks good in some places, yet shoddy in others (light and dark patches everwhere so it looks kinda dodge) as well as some brush marks.
so it seems like u need a REALLY thin layer of paint for it to come through nice and bright, but with thin layers, brush strokes and imperfections standout like dogs balls.
ahhhhhh well, i cant be stuffed taking the dashout again to fix it... maybe after uni is finished i might try sticks idea of using the sponge brush. mines no where near as bright as your rake
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also i scratched off the orange paint on the needles and painted the bottom red like yours, but it looks like the needles do light up as well as they used to. they get very dim near the tips.
in this pic http://rgrant.communis.com.au/Stuff/CarDashMod/DashMod08.jpg
what is that white stuff u put on over the paint?
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That was whiteout / liquid paper ... but those needles were a failure. if you look in the first page of this post, you'll see i later put on white ones!!
$3 from supercheap will buy you a can of gloss white spraypaint (brand australian export). It looks and works a shitload better than the modelling paint! White needles also look far better during the day IMO, and works great with LEDs.
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hey Rake, (or anyone who has done indiglo needles already)
Where did you hook into the 12 volt is there something like ILL+ from the pulsar one printed on the back of the light blue stuff or what? also where is ground??
If this stuff is in the service manual somewhere then just tell me and I'll look it up,
If it would make explanation easier I could attach a pic and you could maybe draw circles or something? please :)
thanks mate,
Angie
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I used the 12v on the flexy blue bit on the back of the instrument cluster to power the LEDs. I just soldered the wires to a bit of exposed copper track where the regular globes connect (ILL I presume yes). :)
I'll happily show this on a photo if you need.
Only thing to note is that if you ever have to take the cluster apart again, you'll have to remove them + resolder on assembly. Unless you put some kind of small plug along the wire. Bit more effort/cost, probably not really feasibly, but hey up to you.
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ah yep i get ya, so that's how you got the dimmer hooked up aswell then! its all coming to meĀ ;D
karma for Rake
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Yep! Easy :)