86black&gold

I want to change my cluster lights to a different color. Has anyone done this or have any ideas? The bulbs have a slip on cover. Do they make these in different colors?

rarebmx

iTrader: (6)

I changed all mine to clear. My covers were baked on and some were burnt. Back in the 80's we used to spray paint them with transparent colors, mainly red.

AceBoogie!

you can buy colored bulbs from Autozone for cheap and it is an easy install.
Looks pretty cool too.
I had blue bulbs in mine

86black&gold

Do you have a picture of your cluster with the clear?

86black&gold

Awesome. I'm thinking about trying to get a yellow or goldish color.

Maverick H1L

iTrader: (8)

For that, you need approximately 12 194A bulbs (A is for Amber color, same as is used in a lot of park and turn lights).

86White_T/A305

I got wideangle led bulbs in natural white.I hated the all orange/red of the firebird clusters.This is how it looks now without just from the leds.

I have another cluster with white overlays but it wasnt done properly and slightly off so it blocks alot of lighting.I prefer white gauge overlays in the interior but for now this is still pretty sharp looking at night.

86black&gold

That looks really good! If I don't like the amber color I will definitely consider white. My car is black and gold so I kinda want something to go with that. Amber might look alright. It's been awhile since i drove mine that I can't even remember what color I have now. Lol

86White_T/A305

Yea I wasnt sure how this was going to turn out but I dig the way it lights up especially the tach

Ed1LE

iTrader: (39)

Looks good but holy cow, does that odometer say 429K???

edit: realized it's Km/H - still, looks like a lot! LOL

Joe Tag

iTrader: (4)

That would be 265k in miles

mdtoren

Where were you able to find these? Any additional modification needed? It looks awesome!

Barlow8869

iTrader: (1)

last time i got some of those, in red, the color burned off of them in a few weeks, and they looked like crap ... how are your's holding up?

RoosterC

I would recommend putting in LED lights. They're much brighter and take far less energy to power.
I replaced all of my lights with LEDs a couple years back and I absolutely love the look, not to mention that my dome light actually illuminates the cabin now XD.
Here's a URL to the thread I saw that inspired my change to LEDs

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/inte...sh-lights.html

IMissMy86TA

are the stock bulbs actually colored? havent had to replace mine but I like the stock color myself but would like the brightness of LED

mantaguy

iTrader: (5)

They have like a colored rubber glove on them.

IMissMy86TA

so the glove is removable and transferable then?

mantaguy

iTrader: (5)

Ed1LE

iTrader: (39)

Do all years have the gloves? I plan to ad white overlays when I ad my phantom gauges and not sure how the white faces will look with red lighting. If my '91 has the gloves tho, that should make it easy enough to remove them if I don't like the red.

mantaguy

iTrader: (5)

I have all VDO,White gauges with Red Lights in my Hot Rod.I think they look great in Red.

91interceptorZ

iTrader: (3)

You can get colored bulbs without the cover too. At one time I had red on left, white in middle and blue on right. Was kinda different. Blue is very dim however. I Personally run electro-lumenicent gauge overlay now....much better looking and cheap!

cdoyle

I went a different route, and installed LED strips into my cluster.
Gives me a very bright and even light.

I have some pics here:
https://driiive.com/chrisfromwa/1984...!/timeline/815

86gn

iTrader: (3)

checking out your page, some great work you have done! Where did ya get the strips and what wattage r they.
Thanks

cdoyle

It was awhile ago, but I think I got them from Superbright LEDs, they are the kind you can cut after every 4 leds.

kevmma

i went with red on the tach and speedo, and white for the temp, oil, fuel.. i dig it!

Stonehenge

iTrader: (3)

Gosh, you t/a guys have some pretty gauge clusters... stone

91interceptorZ

iTrader: (3)

I know my gauges are laid out different than the iroc gauges...but they make these for both styles just in case you were interested.....sorry for bad pic.

86White_T/A305

Wow forgot about this thread from awhile back lol.That cluster isnt 429k..its 42k km.I now swapped to a 140 mph cluster and re-used my leds from the previous cluster.I got the leds from superbrightleds.com iirc. I think they were the 5 led wedge 194 type. This time I also lined the inside of the cluster panel with aluminum tape to help even out the light but do like the suggestion of led strips for the same affect.

86gn

iTrader: (3)

Was thinking of using the strips myself and get the ones that can change colors so you can have them any color @ any time

pete0013

Word of warning!! On the models with printed gauge circuits, be mindful that some bulbs may be factory and can stick to the circuit causing it to rip and malfunction, happened to my 85 iroc cluster and it can be very aggravating, especially after reinstallation.

paulo57509

I like the strip lighting. Did you hook them up to the dimmer/can they be dimmed?

I've gone the blue, red LED replacement bulb route and quickly tired of these colors. I've settled on cool white

cdoyle

hmm, you know I can't remember if they can be dimmed or not. I like them bright and keep them at max, the car is in storage right now so I can't go out and check. The next time I take it out I'll check.

My guess is no they can't, or they can't be dimmed much because there won't be enough voltage to keep them lit.

mattfick

all the lights on my cluster went out so I decided to install some LEDs and they still don't work however, my shift plate and climate control lights still work, could it be the twist socket that may be bad? or the backing of the cluster itself which could be bad?

sonjaab

Its prob. the circuit strip is prob. broken in a spot or two.
Since the shifter/hvac lights works its not a fuse/power issue.

Check the circuit board plug in..........It may just be loose.

mattfick

Thanks ill check that. It was crazy they all went out one by one

gamewiz83

Are those different coloured LED strips? Green and Blue? I really like that look!

Stonehenge

iTrader: (3)

I didn't change my cluster lights, but I took out the black metal trim ring that sits behind our gauge glass and painted it bright Silver and WOW! The instrument cluster really pops and is so much easier to see at night! Stone

alex722607

iTrader: (3)

I changed my illum bulbs to LEDs. It looks different, not good not bad just different. It makes the orange gm used on the digital dash look almost light green.

cdoyle

Mine are cool white, but I believe they do make strips that you can change the color on.

ace13733

Ebay has the led bulbs and the normal ones real cheap and in tons of colors.

aaron7

iTrader: (7)

Yeah, and some were DOA, the rest died within months. Don't get cheap ebay LED 194 replacements! lol

mattfick

I used 4 or 5 red 194 leds with new sockets

DirtySpleen

How would this look on a 91 RS? It looks like the gauges are yellow, would per-say a green bulb actually look green, or would it just look discolored?

mattfick

doubt it, I put red lights and the yellow lenses had no effect on the color going thru

Termn8r

I went with blue leds. Wasnt horrid but putting cluster back in was a bear.