My LED gauge cluster

[george graves]

Did you remove the two orange plastic light tubes? If so, drill some holes on the edge of them, and add some LEDs to it and put them back, you'll have your needles back.

[Schnitzer318is]

+1 for George's suggestion.

And DEFINITELY A+++ for effort. I would like to do something similar but convert all the lighting in the car to blue LED. :flamesuit: I'd do very similar but go with gray faces like on the e46 m3 and blue lighting. Where did you have these made, if I may?

[thornado327i]

Did you remove the two orange plastic light tubes? If so, drill some holes on the edge of them, and add some LEDs to it and put them back, you'll have your needles back.

Wouldn't that make the white faces light in orange too?

+1 for George's suggestion.

And DEFINITELY A+++ for effort. I would like to do something similar but convert all the lighting in the car to blue LED. :flamesuit: I'd do very similar but go with gray faces like on the e46 m3 and blue lighting. Where did you have these made, if I may?

There are people here in Poland who make custom faces. They put few layers of some kind of thin plastic that makes for the colour (the LEDs are white - I wanted the odometer in white) and finally a non transparent layer with laser cut out digits. You just tell them what would you like (or send them a cdr with your project) and they just make it. Costs vary from 20 to 30 USD per set.
LEDs themselves are cheap, but soldering them and stuffing the cluster was a bitch. Thought of making those for sale but:
1. with dark needles the product is incomplete
2. don't have that much time
3. people in here who own E30 either wouldn't pay much for that or make their own.

[bimma360]

Here is my suggestion on getting rid of the dark areas: Since the surface of the gauges (whats underneath the new gauge faces) is clear plastic... etch little slits, very close apart, all the way around the outside perimeter of each of the gauges (not the gauge faces). Make sure you do this directly under where the numbers and such of the gauge faces would be. I'm assuming you have the LEDs already in drilled holes around the plastic part of the gauges. Etching the slits, lets you disperse the light evenly throughout the entire area the slits cover.

Honestly, If you get gauge faces made to look like identical to the stock ones.... This would look very very good. And as far as the needles go... I'd imagine there is pretty much nothing you can do except finding different needles that are made to be back lit.

Dave

[B2702]

thats just stupid IMO

[deathtomine]

Props on labor, but should have done a different mod.

[bimma360]

thats just stupid IMO

I think with better gauge faces, and a little more work on the actual cluster this could come out pretty good.