How 2: Change Dash Board Lights

[Captain Starlet]

Dash Board Light Conversion : Part 1 Dials

1. First of all i started at the dials ,there are two ways to perform the conversion.

The first way is to replace the original bulbs with L.E.D bulbs. These are best available from www.ebay.co.uk as most high street shops over charge for them for instance Motor-world normally charge around 6.95 for two bulbs ,which would work out rather expensive considering there are a total of four bulbs for the conversion. The type of LED bulbs you would require are shown here..

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...7928804755&rd=1

(501wedge bulbs)

I personally ended up with the inverted wedge led bulbs which were not very bright .I imagine these ones shown to be much brighter.

The second method is to use the original bulbs ,which once removed you will see have a simple green plastic filter on them. Remove the plastic cover and paint the bulb with Glass paint available at most craft shops (I bought my glass paint from Stephen Smiths in Scunthorpe near Tesco Extra for 2.95). I had to apply two coats of paint to each bulb after leaving the first coat to dry. I personally changed my LED bulbs for the original ones ,as the led ones werenâ??t bright enough BUT also I had to replace the LED ones twice as LEDS do have a longer life span but donâ??t handle changes in voltage very well. So therefore they died mainly due to my sub I believe but a couple the led bulbs died when I started the car: S. The glass paint will not dim the original bulbs simply colour them. Be sure to use heat resistant paint or oven drying paint otherwise it will flake or run, if your unsure it should give instructions on the side as to whether or not its oven dry etc..

2. First of all you need to strip down the surrounding parts of your dials. Starting with the black plastic surround. If you look to the top of this surround you will see two small Philips screws. You will need to remove these two screws using a small screw driver. Once the screws are removed you will need to pull the surround forward. (use the holes where the screws were to place your fingers in an gently pull it forward, its simply clicked into place).Once unclipped you will then need to pull it half of the way around of your steering wheel to the left. Then turn it on its side to get it all the way out ( very fiddly little part of the job :S be patient as it will come out)

3. Once the black surround is removed you will be left with a Clear plastic cover and a black finish around the dials.

4. Next unclip the clear plastic surround. There are a total of 6clips ,there are four along the top an two at the bottom simply push each clip down an then gently ease the clear cover off. (once off I also gave the cover a good clean with window cleaner as its much easier to clean when its off and you can also clean the inside )

5. Now you should just be left with the black trim and the dials. There are again 6clips in the same places. BUT there are also 2screws. Both of which are located at the bottom. One on the left an the other on the right. The clips are easy to get two apart from the two at the bottom ( at this point I found getting a friend with skinny hands an fingers to get to them. There right underneath at the bottom. Once its fully unclipped and unscrewed the trim will softly pull off.

6. Now you should just be left with the dials and a white background. If you look carefully behind the dials you should be able to see the bulbs at this point. There now wires to worry about as the bulbs are in a small bulb holder which simply â??twistsâ? in through the back. There are four bulbs in total on at each side of the dials and one at each side of the speedo its self. To start with I would begin with the bulb on the right. This is the easiest bulb to remove so it will give you a better chance to learn how they are in place etc..

Bulb 1 (the one on the far right)

To remove this bulb slide the divers seat as far back as you can and either lie on your back with you head in the foot well or you can sit on the floor with the door open . Your choice, which ever is comfy for you. If you place you hand up behind the steering wheel you should be able to feel the back of the dash to remove the bulb put your hand up the back as I said an twist the bulb out. It may take a few minutes to figure out where you hand is, I found it helped having a friend spotting your hand as you can normally feel the side of the dials so then itâ??s a matter of moving your hand ina couple of inches till you feel a bulb. Its obvious when your hand gets to a bulb as they do stick out so its obvious. Once you find the bulb twist the bulb a small amount an it should just fall out. (again its useful to have a friend telling you how much is needed to twist or which way to twist.)

Bulb 2 (the one to the right of the speedo)

The same method as above, its just a little harder to get into the middle of the speedo.

Bulb3 (the one to the far left)

This bulb is a lot more tricky to remove as it near impossible to simply put you hand up the back again. Your hand has to get over the top of the dials .This part isnâ??t to tricky as itâ??s not to bad getting your hand over the top of them. But its really hard to twist the bulb free as its just your fingers so it will hurt a little but jus think â??ooooh pretty dialsâ? If you cant twist the bulb free get a friend to help buy using mole grippers (small thin pliers) to twist the bulb on the dial side, as you can probably only get your fingers on one of the little sticky out bits (bulb shape is kinda like this â??O- so say you pushing one of the wings get your friend to use the pliers on the other to twist it free. Just be ready to catch it as it could take you awhile to get it out if not.

Bulb 4 (the one to the left of the speedo)

This bulb yet again you have to reach over the top for, you may need a helping hand again as well. There is also a large wire bundle which you can gently move to the left to make it possible to get your hand in better. The hardest part is catching the bulb again.

7. Once all the bulbs are removed simply pull each one out of the holder and ethier put in your LEDâ??s or remove the green plastic caps and paint them. I found I needed to coats as with just one coat they looked a little pink :S not cool as you can imagine. When painting the bulbs I found it useful to get a large piece of polystyrene to stand them in while painting them. Also every time you apply a coat of paint do so to all the bulbs at once and paint the polystyrene or a spare bulb. This way when a couple of hours have passed and your wondering â??are they dry yet?â? you can rub the spare bulb you painted rather than ruining a bulb and having to repaint it. Wait till each of the bulb is fully dry before refitting them as you will be touching them a lot.

8. Now to the refitting part. The methods are the same as when removing the bulbs an some aspects of it are easier than removing them, but again the hardest ones are the two on the left as its very tricky getting nm the hole with out dropping them. Once in the should twist into position a lot easier than it was to remove them,(if you have painted the bulbs take extra precaution not to scratch the bulbs)

9. After refitting each bulb flick the lights on to check. If the bulb does not light up donâ??t panic. Simply remove the bulb and spin 180degrees an twist back into position. The check again and hey presto! Coloured bulbs.

10. Now simply reverse the steps to refit your dash trim and surround. (Not for getting the screws!)

And the finished result....(very poor quality Phone picture,much brighter an clearer in real life)....