944/924/928 dash/cluster mod/was dim now bright as ...

[Tamas Opra]

So I had my 87 944 turbo for a while,and the dim dashboard would drive me nuts.
Cant see a thing at night.
I rebuild and customize dashboards for GM,so I taught I give it a try.
I pulled it out,took out the backlight bulbs,its only 3 of them.Usually youll need at least 5-9 bulbs.
Anyway I installed triple LED lights in the socket.
Didnt do a damn thing,shocking.The light mirrors(I dont know how they call it) were all oxidized so no wonder they werent reflecting the light into the cluster.
After a little brainstorming I ditched the mirrors and worked something out.
I fitted 3 flat top LED lights into each "window",than I pulled 3 bridges from the orginal socket,hooked it up and OMG,the cluster got bright as f....
I re installed it and it looks really good now.
I changed the color to blue,I think it goes with the gp exterior and black interior,but any color or just bright white is possible as well.
I heard they charge an arm and a leg,the regular speedo shops.If anybody else would ask me I would probably do it for them.
Its not easy,dont get me wrong,but not that hard either.
Here I post some pictures.

Any feedback is welcome.

On the first picture we can see one of the mirrors and its in bad shape,I guess previously somebody spray painted it with chrome? paint.Didnt really work out i guess



Here you can see how I fitted 3 LED lights in each window and pulled the bridges



And this is how it looks when powered up(cell phone pics with no flash)

[9FF]

So you bypassed the reflectors and direct wired LEDs. However I cannot see in the picture how you mounted the LEDs. Those reflectors, when they work correctly, spread the light evenly across the panel, yours looks brighter but a little "patchy" in places, but that could just be the photo. Good effort, have to say not keen on the blue though and with the other acceptable fixes out there I can't see myself hacking up my panel that much to get similar results.

[Rasta Monsta]

Somewhere is a thread where someone repaired the reflective surfaces.

[desertt5]

I redid my reflector surfaces with aluminum foil. Cleaned off all the old then stuck the foil down.

I like the blue. It is different from most. Good thinking outside the box on the fix if you ask me.

[ramius665]

This is similar to what Jager Engineering sells. I had it on my car but didn't like it because there were portions that were dim (as stated above) and because the LEDs died from vibration after about 6 months/3k miles. Jager replaced the kit I bought and it happened again. After that I just ditched the LEDs all together.

[Skeletor]

Love the orange needles against the blue. Think it looks great - nice work.

[9FF]

I did mine with double-sided aluminum tape after using acetone to remove the old finish. The regular bulbs now work fine. I learned that regular "generic" LEDs have wide manufacturing tolerances which can cause problems. Even ones from the same batch will vary in color, brightness and voltage. There are companies that sell better LEDs with tighter tolerances that cost a bit more but operate and last much better.

[flash968]

sorry - i know that bright lights are the rage with all the kids, but i like driving at night, and that would be extremely detrimental to that.

blue is the absolute worst color for night vision.

the brightness will also cost you a LOT in your night vision. the glare from that will absolutely cost you in peripheral vision and color distinction ability.

for best night vision, dim your dash lights as much as possible, while still being able to make out the readings of the gauges.

there is a 400 page study on this, with all of the appropriate data. pilots already know all of this though, and you can ask any of them.

porsche made a big deal about how much work they went to in finding the perfect color of light for dash lights, and the best design for lighting the cluster while limiting night vision issues. modern cars have bent to the public's ignorance about night vision. it has resulted in an increase in accidents at night. i'm sure that the safety nazis will soon get legislation going to limit the brightness and color of dash lights.

[nynor]

Originally Posted by flash968

sorry - i know that bright lights are the rage with all the kids, but i like driving at night, and that would be extremely detrimental to that.

blue is the absolute worst color for night vision.

the brightness will also cost you a LOT in your night vision. the glare from that will absolutely cost you in peripheral vision and color distinction ability.

for best night vision, dim your dash lights as much as possible, while still being able to make out the readings of the gauges.

there is a 400 page study on this, with all of the appropriate data. pilots already know all of this though, and you can ask any of them.

porsche made a big deal about how much work they went to in finding the perfect color of light for dash lights, and the best design for lighting the cluster while limiting night vision issues. modern cars have bent to the public's ignorance about night vision. it has resulted in an increase in accidents at night. i'm sure that the safety nazis will soon get legislation going to limit the brightness and color of dash lights.

yep. i like the dimness of my gauge lights. i consider it a feature for the exact reasons stated above.

[ernie9944]

Originally Posted by nynor

yep. i like the dimness of my gauge lights. i consider it a feature for the exact reasons stated above.

+1 this is what I see nigth driving with the fader turn on to maximum.Car has a little over 50K miles,bulbes have never been change.:cool

[Tamas Opra]

Thanks for all the input/comments.I chose blue because I like it(my car),it would be less brighter with green or amber LED's.
I like to experiment with new things,doing it the way others do it for me is boring and does not resemble any challenge.Each to his own as they say.
If its to bright I can dim it or just use less lights,3 instead of 9.I do like the LED lights better in a semi modern car like late 80's 944,928 etc.The flat top ones have a nice spread.
However I would never change it in my 911.I like it the way it is.

Will pull out the ac control,clock and change those lights to LED as well,sometime over the weekend.Will keep you posted.
Thanks

[rothaus]

See also the last post in this thread

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-924-944-968-technical-forum/638958-installed-led-gauge-cluster-lights-now-not-illuminating-1987-944-a.html

[Tamas Opra]

Originally Posted by rothaus

See also the last post in this thread

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-924-944-968-technical-forum/638958-installed-led-gauge-cluster-lights-now-not-illuminating-1987-944-a.html

I just did.My guess would be the polarity,the bottom is the + on all 3 of them,if not than the bulbs might be the wrong ones.
I did my lights from scratch and they work perfect.I installed these type of leds in many different cars ,and 2 years later I havent received any complaints.