Installed superbright red LED's in my cluster and switches

[rodent]

Last week, I finally went and purchased some LED's for my cluster. I'm not sure why Mitsubishi chose that nasty orange/yellow color to light our dashes but its horrible.

Before I purchased the LED's I wanted a couple things-
Simplicity (no soldering, hacking, running wires, etc)
No dead spots (normally caused by most LED lights)
ie- http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/att...1212091666-led-gauge-cluster-b10f56aced0d.jpg
Matching color LED's in switches (small mini suckers)

Started to look at superbrightleds.com and found some LED's that seam like they fit the ticket.

1st set of lights is for the cluster. Mini wedge bulbs (bulb # 74)

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These are very bright and have a 360 coverage where other LED's do not. This helps with any dead sports. Unfortunately, I think red is the only color that will show though the orange coated cluster. You can remove your gauge faces and sand the orange off but that was too much work for me and I wanted the upgrade to be simple. The bright red LED's will go right through the orange and still light up red. The other reason I liked these bulbs is they're shorter. This means no drilling or filing out the cluster just to make the LED's fit. Other LED's are usually taller and hit the plastic inside the cluster.

Basically you have 7 in the cluster, 1 in the HVAC, 1 for the cigarette lighter, 1 for the ashtray (10 total). These are all 74 bulbs. I did have one LED that was DOA so I'd suggest ordering an extra just in case. Cost on the LED's was $3.50 each.

Next you have the bulbs for the switches. I searched and searched and couldn't find any info on what bulbs these are so I just took a guess when I ordered. And with luck, the bulbs I ordered were correct. The bulbs that fit are the Neo3-x.

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These are pretty small and a pain to get to in some switches.
You basically need one for each switch (mirrors, cruise, fogs, defroster, rear wiper) for a total of 5. You can also get one for the hazards if yours is burnt out and another one for the defroster indicator on. The cruise on/off display has LED's that are soldered on but you can replace those with standard red LED's if you want all the lights to match. You will have to file down the tip of the fogs LED about 1/16" since its the only one that makes contact. All the other LED's fit in the switches fine. Price on the Neo3 bulbs is $1.29 each.

Total with shipping the 74 and Neo bulbs was $46.35

The end result is a deep red lighting for the cluster and switches that all match. I'm still working on my dash swap but here's a picture of my cluster. My camera takes horrible close ups and the lighting is actually a solid red and not a dark orange like the picture shows.

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The red lighting looks very similar to my old STi cluster:

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You can also see how the cluster compares to the stock light on the HVAC which I have not yet replaced since its PITA to get to.

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The defroster and wiper switch will light up red as soon as I swap my new dash in. For now I just have the cruise, fogs, mirror done.

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Again, sorry for the crappy pics.

You do have to have the correct polarity on the LED's so its important to note which side is neg or positive and have them in the correct position in order to work. If you do get one backwards, it won't hurt it, just flip 180 degrees and it will work. Also to note: You can still dim the LED lights if needed.

Anyway, I think this lighting upgrade is definitely worth it and its a job you can knock out in a couple hours.

Next upgrade, I may do the super bright white LED's for the mirror and the foot lighting.

 

[DGajre777]

Looks great without the hot spots. Is the RPM gauge needle just as bright as the speedometer needle? If it is, I might swap to these LEDs.

 

[blackGSX2g]

Looks good. Where did you get that tachometer overlay? I recently changed my interior lights to red LED and am working on my cluster, but the problem I am having is the redline area lights up the same as everything else.

I should have tried my cluster with the red LEDs before I took everything apart to sand off that orange tint, oh well.

Did you leave the orange on the needles as well?

 

[rodent]

I'm running the stock 99 silver face cluster. No overlays. I left the needles alone.

The speedmeter needle is just tad brighter than the RPM but it was like that before with the stock light bulbs.

 

[beyondspexj]

not bad. looks good.

 

[Spanky2324]

Wow those look really nice. I've been wanting to do something like that for a while now but it never seemed simple but you seem to have found a way. Good job.

 

[fwdmaster]

Looks great and bright, might copy your idea

 

[rodent]

Thanks!

I almost forgot you need another neo3 bulb for the AC switch so it lights up red. So thats a total of 6 neo bulbs.

 

[99 GST-R]

Thats awesome. I'm gonna do this when I finish the other interior projects I have going. Thanks for posting this!

 

[sirsol66]

Just for clarification: The type 74 bulbs with the 3 leds are what you used for the gauge cluster and hvac, right? I converted my gauge cluster with red bulbs but it is not bright enough so your idea seems great. Also, the hvac has only one bulb? Do you think one of these LEDS will be enough to light it up?

 

[xioca]

That looks awesome.

 

[rodent]

Just for clarification: The type 74 bulbs with the 3 leds are what you used for the gauge cluster and hvac, right? I converted my gauge cluster with red bulbs but it is not bright enough so your idea seems great. Also, the hvac has only one bulb? Do you think one of these LEDS will be enough to light it up?

Yes, all 74 bulbs I got are the 3 LED super bright red. This adds more coverage and seams to light the cluster better. Before this, I tried to coat my bulbs in clear red with poor results so the red bulbs will not work and look dull. It should light the HVAC pretty good and yes, only one bulb. I can tell the cluster is brighter so I'd assume it will do the same for the HVAC. I have a spare HVAC control but no extra LED but I'll be ordering more this week. I'll update this a picture with the HVAC.

 

[bmoha2]

I like it.

 

[iboost]

looks good dude, i think i might try this sometime

 

[rodent]

I used an existing picture someone posted and circled in orange the bulbs you have to replace and labeled which side was positive. On the LED bulbs, one side has a small 6 legged chip. That side is negative. Other side positive. Simple once when you get it figured out.

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This can also be done on the 1g's too but they do use different bulbs and I'm not sure how many. Maybe someone can chime in with that. There's a good bulb reference here for all cars:
OSRAM SYLVANIA - Replacement Guide - Start

 

[sirsol66]

It all looks really good and thanks for answering my question!

If you could, post a picture of the hvac when you get it done. That's the main point of concern for me because I find it hard to see it fully lit up by one LED; I'd imagine it'd take at least a small strip like the writeup that was done on here.

Either way though, post up pictures if you could please!

 

[crimsondragon]

Awesome. I've been meaning to fix my shitty gauge cluster. Needles don't light up due to the blue not affecting the red underlay. I'm getting cool white and then painting the back of the gauge faces a transparent blue.

 

[myeagleneedmods]

Any chance of a tech write up?

 

[Killa_dsm]

Wow great write up. I plan to do this once I get my new gauges.

Thanks

 

[rodent]

It all looks really good and thanks for answering my question!

If you could, post a picture of the hvac when you get it done. That's the main point of concern for me because I find it hard to see it fully lit up by one LED; I'd imagine it'd take at least a small strip like the writeup that was done on here.

Either way though, post up pictures if you could please!

No problem. I just put in a new order for some more LED's so probably next week. I don't think you need a strip. Thats a little overkill and a PITA since you have to take it all apart. If you look inside of it, it has clear plastic to distribute the light. Similar to fiber optic, it spreads the light inside. Just for the hell of it, I stuck a single blue led I had laying around inside my spare HVAC and this was the result:

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Seams to light up the whole thing and the bulb is not positioned in there correctly nor is it a 360 LED which would help light it up more. I'll get a picture up as soon as I get the new red 360 LED's.

Awesome. I've been meaning to fix my shitty gauge cluster. Needles don't light up due to the blue not affecting the red underlay. I'm getting cool white and then painting the back of the gauge faces a transparent blue.

Post some pics when you're finished with that.

Any chance of a tech write up?

Well, thats sort of what I was trying to do here. It was a quick and easy mod with good results so I thought I'd just share. I suppose I could try to write more details on another thread somewhere else. Would be nice getting some 1g info too so it would cover both generations.

Wow great write up. I plan to do this once I get my new gauges.

Thanks

Thanks!

Appreciate the comments from others as well. If there's more info anyone needs, just post it here and I'll try to answer it.

I also replaced the blurry pictures with some better pics. Still not the best and they don't show the true red color but it gives you an idea. You can also see the cruise on/off color better which is the old stock color and how much brighter the red LED's are. Be sure to hit refresh to bring up the updated pics that are in the first post.

 

[snowborder714]

There's been tech articles on this for a while. May not be exactly the same way as the OP did it, but it's a full LED interior change.

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/articles-exterior-interior/274519-how-light-gauge-cluster-leds.html
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/articles-exterior-interior/282656-how-light-hvac-leds.html
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/art...ght-fog-cruise-mirrors-switch-bezel-leds.html

And for those of you who want to get that pesky HVAC out:
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/articles-exterior-interior/282624-how-remove-hvac-unit.html

These are all done on my car by turbosax2. They are still going strong and look great at night!

 

[rodent]

There's been tech articles on this for a while. May not be exactly the same way as the OP did it, but it's a full LED interior change.

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/articles-exterior-interior/274519-how-light-gauge-cluster-leds.html
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/articles-exterior-interior/282656-how-light-hvac-leds.html
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/art...ght-fog-cruise-mirrors-switch-bezel-leds.html

And for those of you who want to get that pesky HVAC out:
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/articles-exterior-interior/282624-how-remove-hvac-unit.html

These are all done on my car by turbosax2. They are still going strong and look great at night!

I saw those awhile back. Great write up! I admit those lights look awesome but thats some major time you have in those. Can I ask why you didn't use a something like a Neo LED bulb instead on the switches?

 

[snowborder714]

Well, I had seen azdave's cluster and loved it. My brother was bored at school, so he talked with azdave and did his best to mimic his LED cluster. Then he posted up about doing the other lights in the cockpit, so he did them too. We found lots of LED's on eBay for a decent price and had just learned to solder, so it was an appropriate project.

 

[rodent]

Well, I had seen azdave's cluster and loved it. My brother was bored at school, so he talked with azdave and did his best to mimic his LED cluster. Then he posted up about doing the other lights in the cockpit, so he did them too. We found lots of LED's on eBay for a decent price and had just learned to solder, so it was an appropriate project.

Well props to you, your brother and azdave. His electronics and custom work he's done on his car is amazing! Would love to have his tail lights but thats hundreds of dedicated hours I don't have to spare. Even though I have a degree in electronics and have no problems soldering, I prefer to take the easy road. A GMC Typhoon and a rockcrawler also take up too much of my time these days...

Edit:
Stole one the LED's from the ashtray and thought I'd show how they lit up. My camera kind of freaks out with the brighter light. They look like they're blinding but they're not, just bright.

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I also went ahead and put it in the spare HVAC. The lighter orange in the middle is a brighter red, the camera just freaks out with the brighter light and doesn't display the proper color. Again, the HVAC has more of a red tint, not orange. I need a new camera!!! You can also see you lose the blue on the right dial but I don't mind. I'd rather have all my lights red and no blues.

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[rodent]

I forgot one more bulb. The ignition key light. Just took my column apart and verified it is a 74 bulb with the yellow/orange condom. I thought there might be a bulb needed for the dimmer but I searched and found that somebody took his dimmer apart and verified there was no bulb in the dimmer.

Here's the total number of bulbs needed and options you have.

11 total LED's needed (74-xHP3 Wedge Base LED bulb)
Includes:
Cluster (7)
HVAC (1)
Lighter (1)
Ashtray (1)
Ignition (1)
Spare (1) - optional
(12 would be needed if you got a spare)

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Part number 74-RHP3
(R=Red)

Switches- 6 total LED's needed (NeoWedge 3mm Instrument LED bulb)
Includes:
Cruise Control (1)
Fog Lights (1)
Mirror Control (1)
Hazards (1) -optional
Defroster (1)
Wiper (1)
AC (1)
Spare (1) -optional
(8 would be needed if you got the spare and hazards)
Also remember, the defroster has 2 bulbs. One for the light, one for the indicator. If you want the indicator to light up red (or a different color than amber) you would need another Neo3 bulb for that (9 total for all options).

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Part Number: NEO3-R
(3 = 3mm, R= Red)

More options:
2 standard LED's for the cruise on/off lights. These will need to be soldered. Can be purchased from RadioShack or superbrightleds.com.