Got my Tri-Led bulbs today, so after the mustang meet, decided to go ahead and mod the gauges.

Pulled the Gauge Cluster using a Torx T15 Screwdriver to remove the screws. then removed the 2 wiring harness plugs from the back of the cluster.

went inside, took the back off, swapped the 5 bulbs, went to the car, and tested them...i had 3 in backwards, so went back inside rotated the bulbs 180 degrees, fastened them back in, and went back out to the car plugged it back in and wahlah it lit up but still green, which was what I was afraid of.

So i took pics of my needles so I could remember where they went when i put it all back together. then i pulled off the cluster lens and bezel...and pulled the needles off...then gently i pulled up on the overlay until it came off.

sure enough those idiots at Ford put some green ink or something on the back. reason i think it was ink was because when i was sanding it off, it made a big mess all over the sandpaper and my fingers. (see pics of the overlay).

once the overlay was finished i cleaned it off with water, dried it off then put it back on the cluster. reattached the needles, and put the lens and bezel back on.

here's pics from start to finish.

 

more pics

the gauges aren't as bright as they look in the pictures, but they are visible and look great!

 

I can make my dash glow whatever color I want. IUP FTW

 

those look good for only some sanding and bulb changes.

 

yup...took about 3 1/2 hours to do everything.

i just got tired of that *** ugly green...so it was time to take drastic measures!

 

how much did it set you back?

 

$25

 

Good work Mixedbreed! i don't even have anything mean to say.

 

sweet andrew! another thing i want to do over winter break! what did u use to take the needles off?

 

damn those things are bright. looks pretty good

 

now ya got to do the ac stuff

always thought of doing this, now that i see it work i might do it

 

that looks good, i might do that some day.

 

thats awesome, id try it but id mess something up. that looks way better than green though

 

looks awesome.

 

well i found out today that my damn speedo is off by 5 mph. it shows im doing 80 when I'm only really doing 75. i did the little trick with pushing the trip reset button and holding it in, then putting key on accessory, and so i started the car, and switched over to mph, and my digital readout was saying 75.3 mph, when my needle was on 80, when i got going on the highway. grrrr.

so im probably gonna have to take it to the dealership and have them recalibrate the gauges. i was afraid of that.

i took pictures and drew a diagram of where the needles were at, but that didn't work at all. go figure.

but it's only $92 to get them recalibrated, and I can get a discount through a car club here. oh well, still worth it in my opinion to get rid of that nasty *** green.

 

a very small flathead screwdriver.

 

can you give me the site where u got the bulbs!

i am ordering them!

but one question...you sanded off the red for the redline. was that on purpose?

i will be trying to keep the red for the redline if at all possible

 

just get a shift light. redline problem solved

 

Actually, in pic three of post two, it looks as if he kept the red for redline, but it just doesnt look red when illuminated, most likely because his bulbs are blue, maybe it lights up slight purple?

 

http://autolumination.com/74.htm

yes i sanded the red off intentionally. you won't be able to sand it off all the way, but you sand it off to reduce the darkness of the red, to help some light get through there.

when you click the link, just scroll down to the very first set of lights you see and those are the one's you want.

 

Looks good, maybe something to think about Trade Marking and trying to sell to make a little profit on the side? Just would need to have enough clusters freely to supply & demand.

 

Arent the clusters attatched to the VIN of the vehicle? I dont believe the car will turn on without the correct cluster in it... or maybe it is intelligent and just uses the odometer readtings from the computer?
If not, then definately a good idea! I would buy one (or do it myself, either way, I like the idea alot)

 

yep, but i'd just have them send me their cluster, and the payment, do it for them, then send it back. either that or just buy one, so i can send the one i have out, and get the other in return.

they aren't matched up to the vin. the odometer has nothing to do with the car not turning on. not sure where you get your info at, but that's one of the worst posts i've seen in a while.

 

http://www.3.8mustang.com/forum/showthread.php?t=206735
Not that "other peopel are saying it to" is an arguement, but I am pretty sure that the car will not start without the correct cluster. There is more to it than plugging in from another car, you have to switch out other stuff.

 

that doesn't make any sense...why would the car not start just because you changed your gauge cluster?

what if your gauge cluster broke, and you had to replace it?

if that was the case then companies wouldn't sell these

http://www.griptuning.com/showProduc...Num=GT2024-707

i think the guys on the 3.6 forum don't know what they're talking about because i saw no step by step instructions, seemed like it was more just a bunch of guessing to me. i could be wrong, but I don't think so.

also, they're wrong about the mileage being stored in the cluster...it's stored in the ECU, to keep people from just swapping out there clusters and resetting there car's to zero mileage, and then trying to sell them for more than they're actually worth.

V6 guys ...think they know it all

 

here's another one

http://mrt-direct.com/v3/Styling%209...ng%2099-04.php

have to scroll down a little bit.

 

think the bulbs and everything are the same for a 98?

 

yes the bulbs will be the same...there are 5 that do the main guages.

no sanding will be required, so you don't have to worry about recalibrating your gauges, or removing needles or anything.

 

see this:

not even a Ford part...my car runs.

 

I have never heard of a something like a car not starting cause of the change of the cluster, thats insane. Hell we wouldnt have so many vendors out there selling all these after market items for the dash inlays and so fourth if that was the case.

But just because they are v6 owners, dont mean they dont know there ****, some of them do and some dont!

You some times remind me of that old lady that used to be on Jay Leno that people would ask insane questions too " thats just stupid, why would you do that..." she would say, lady is like 80 yrs old. *L*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIT8DLySWeM