How to: 2nd Gen Gauge Cluster Removal and LED Conversion V2

This is my second and hopefully much more helpful writeup on converting the 95-01 gauge cluster to LEDs. I have tried 3 different types of 12v wedge based 194 replacements and I have finally found the one that puts out enough light and lights up the cluster evenly.

Here were my candidates.
From Left to Right: Inverted Wedge LED, Refractor LED, SMD LEDs

The Results

Inverted Wedge LED: Even Light output, but not bright enough

Refractor LED: Horribly Uneven light output, Short Lifespan (they started blowing on me)

SMD (Surface Mount Diode): Even Light output and very bright (brighter the the 194LL Bulbs)

Getting to the cluster:

Step 1
Remove the Radio

Step 2
Remove the 2 screws (circled in red)
Disconnect the 5 wiring harness behind the bezel (circled in blue)

Step 3
Remove the 4 screws holding the plastic panel in place. (2 are hidden under the hood release) Then pull back on the top of the panel ( it is held in by clips)

Step 4
Remove the 3 bolts holding the metal shield in place

Step 5
Remove the 2 screws at the bottom of the gauge bezel (note the wiring harness locations circled in blue)

Step 6
Remove the 3 screws at the top of the gauge bezel

Step 7
Pull out the bezel enough to disconnect the 3 wiring harnesses. (Headlight Switch, Dimmer, and Rear Parking Assist) Then Remove the bezel. (Shifter must be in 1st gear)

Step 8
Remove the 4 screws holding in the Gauge Cluster

Step 9
Tilt the Cluster back and remove the Shift Indicator from the cluster, there are 2 plastic tabs that must be held on each side to remove the indicator.
Disconnect the 3 wiring harness from behind the cluster, then remove the Cluster

Now Hopefully You are holding your Instrument Cluster and can go on to the fun part.

Remove the 6 back light bulbs from the cluster. (Circled in Red)
( I also highly recommend you also remove the THEFT light LED so you don't risk blowing it like I did when I was trying to figure out how to bench test the cluster)
The PC board on the back of the cluster is flexible so you can carefully pull the contacts where the wiring harnesses attach out of the sockets so you can attach alligator clips to bench test.
(The white wires are the - and the RED and GREEN are +)

Here are the LEDs in the sockets. ( I used a bit of hot glue to make sure they didn't come out)

I apologize for not having a night shot of the final product, but the camera I have with me is an absolute noise box and takes terrible low light pics. When I get back my Canon ill get some pics.

Good Luck!

 

[MustangP51]

Could I bug ya to post a pic of your V1 conversion? I can get the inverted LED's for cheaper and easier than the SMDs.. (although.. I do want the SMDs..) Anyway.. I'm just looking for a quick comparison.. even if it's dimmer, they'll last a lot longer than normal bulbs Anyways.. and less power.

 

[storlied]

Just to clarify, these are with Normal LED's that you filed down? (IIRC) and this setup is damn near comparable with the inverted LED's?... I was comparing it to a pic of my own gauges... seems like to get the same brightness (hell, even a bit brighter) I Have to get the SMD's... otherwise.. yea.. I'll have LED's but it's dimmer than stock.... Gah.. I'll just replace the damn bulbs.....lol.. Hm... you don't sell these bulbs, do ya? Like have a deal or something?... I'm iffy about ebay, always have been... had some poor experiences with it before.

 

[MustangP51]

Just to clarify, these are with Normal LED's that you filed down? (IIRC) and this setup is damn near comparable with the inverted LED's?... I was comparing it to a pic of my own gauges... seems like to get the same brightness (hell, even a bit brighter) I Have to get the SMD's... otherwise.. yea.. I'll have LED's but it's dimmer than stock.... Gah.. I'll just replace the damn bulbs.....lol.. Hm... you don't sell these bulbs, do ya? Like have a deal or something?... I'm iffy about ebay, always have been... had some poor experiences with it before.

No I don't sell them, I would send you my old ones but i gave them away already. In you can get the inverted wedge LEDs easily then get them. They are fine, they just aren't as bright as the stock bulbs.

 

[Sandy]

Those are the ones, I'm very interested to see how the blue will look.

MustangP51... thanks for all of the information and nice work.

I now have a '03 Ranger Edge and want to change my dash lighting to red.
Was reading your write up and wondered where you got your schematic information ?
I need to get some schematics for this vehicle (probably the same as the X).

Thanks,

 

[MustangP51]

MustangP51... thanks for all of the information and nice work.

I now have a '03 Ranger Edge and want to change my dash lighting to red.
Was reading your write up and wondered where you got your schematic information ?
I need to get some schematics for this vehicle (probably the same as the X).

Thanks,

Do you mean a schematic for the back of the instrument cluster so you can bench test it? If so you don't need one, I didn't have one, but what you do is follow the wires on the PC board from the lights back to the contacts for the wiring harness. Now to determine which is the ground and which is positive you need to see if one of the wires connects to other components other then the lights. If it does then that is the ground.

 

[XtremeRanger]

Wow...I'ma have to put those in the back of my cluster in my VUE!!

 

[b3hr3ns]

I just replaced mine with red LEDs. they look ok but i need a new sheet with the dials and numbers as they are green... If you don't mind I got some night pictures to put up.

 

[blueka]

will these work?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2x-T10-5W5-19...trkparms=65:12|66:2|39:1|72:2136|293:1|294:50


Si

 

[MustangP51]

I just replaced mine with red LEDs. they look ok but i need a new sheet with the dials and numbers as they are green... If you don't mind I got some night pictures to put up.

We all love pics

will these work?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2x-T10-5W5-19...trkparms=65:12|66:2|39:1|72:2136|293:1|294:50


Si

Yes those are the correct ones

 

[blueka]

Excellent!... thanks


Si

 

[PedroDaGr8]

I noticed on here some people asked why they appear blueish. This can come from TWO different causes. Either 1) is that there is a blue colored filter or bulb condom in their somewhere or 2) is a long ass explanation but it deals with how the LEDs are made. Read the rest of this if you want to find out the details.


Why some white LEDs have a blue to purple color to them:

White LEDs are made by taking a Blue/Purple/UV Led and applying a yellowish phosphor to them. The combination of the blue and the yellow results in a color or eyes interpret as white. The original white LEDs were known as Cool White as the blue coloration gtended to shift the color spectrum to the blue side of things. Later advances in the phosphors used allowed for warmer colors to be used. As the original technology is the cheaper one, cheaper LEDs tend ot be on the blue to purple side. Just as important if the maker uses TOO little of hte phosphor more of the Blue/Purple/UV light shines through skewing the color as well.

Let me know how long these last, I know a lot of the unregulated LEDs such as the drop in bulb LEDs tend to only last 6 mo to a year and then voltage transients or over votlages (depending on if the designer speced the bulb for 12V or 14.5+V) and the like start killing them. Unregulated means no voltage regulator used.

 

[bp1506]

Will the single smd bulbs like http://www.besthongkong.com/product_info.php?cPath=10_81&products_id=800 light up evenly .. i ask because it seems that smd bulbs have a very wide viewing angle compared to conventional leds.

 

[indiejen]

Hey there, I just want to say thanks for posting this thread with the pics and mod details. I'm needing to do this as I'm down to only two working backlight bulbs; can't see the fuel gauge or the lower half of the speedo at night for lack of illumination.

I've been reading up on pulling the cluster and replacing with LEDs, and some folks are replacing ALL bulbs including warning lights. Is this worth doing while the dash is apart? Are the other lights on the dash the same size/specs as the SMD LEDs used for the overall backlight illumination of the instrument panel? I'm talking about everything from the 4x4 indicator to the seat belt, check engine, ABS... do these burn out, or are others replacing them just for aesthetic reasons? Note that they presently illuminate in either red or amber.

Also, my Ranger also had the 'green film' that's been mentioned, since the tach and speedo illuminate green. Is there any way to remove this and perhaps buy the blue SMD LEDs to have the gauges light up as blue?

Thanks again. Loving the pics and the detailed advice!

 

[battousai9439]

I'm considering doing the same sort of conversion to my Aerostar's internal lights, to match the purple/violet exterior lights I'm ordering in the next couple of weeks. Problem is, I'm having trouble finding purple non-UV SMD LEDs... anyone have any leads?

 

[mjc784]

hey i was wondering if anyone attempted to convert the heat controls and all of that stuff to LEDs, if someone has please let me know

 

[mjc784]

it is painted on. you can scrap it with a knife, or use 220 sandpaper. the heater controls have a tint sheet that can be easily removed.

i know its painted on for most explorers but my 01 sport seems to have a film or somethin between the plastic and i dont think i can access this. i want to make my cluster blue LED like the rest of the lights in my ex. so if anybody has done it to an 01 sport please let me know

 

[MustangP51]

hey i was wondering if anyone attempted to convert the heat controls and all of that stuff to LEDs, if someone has please let me know

Heater controls are easy, just 2 194 LEDs. Pretty much everything else you can find in my signature

 

[dutrainertom]

Thanks for the awesome write up! While I didn't replace the bulbs with LED's, I did replace them with stock ones. Took me about an hour. The hardest part was getting my big meat hooks to delicately take the shift indicator out. Killed 20 minutes right there!

Thanks again!

Tom

 

[storlied]

Alright, I have a few questions... I just ordered some reverse glow gauges:

And I ordered up some of those 5 SMD LED lights... are these gonna be pointless for the main parts of the gauge since these are overlays? Or will the LEDs help? If anything.. can I use them to brighten up my needles? I'm gonna need em brighter for this kinda gauge.

 

[storlied]

Everything got here, and everything is installed... including the 5 SMD LEDs in all the spots... but I have a weird issue.. my rpm needle is a lot dimmer than my other things.. kinda lame... any ideas? I even changed the LED with another one just in case one was defective... nah.. same issue.