I know lots of ppl have already posted pics of this mod, but just for the hell of it, i wanted to post mine too....came out really nice in my opinion.
here's what you need:
(6) #194 Blue LEDs with inverted lenses (if you want your dash to light up brighter, you can use all Matrix Bulbs, but it is going to get pretty expensive that way...)
(1) #194 Blue Matrix LED for the boost gauge
(3) #74 Blue LEDs for the climate control
I got all of mine from
www.autolumination.com for $34 shipped and they arrived to my house in 2 days. They carry damn near any color you want, and if you want to try a different style of lens, tey have many to choose from. its all up to you.
heres how to do it:
1-pop off both A pillar covers. Be careful not to use TOO MUCH force, as the spring clips break VERY easily. it is best to pull the weather seal out just a little bit to give you more of a grip so you dont twist the Apillar cover.
2-unscrew the two screws on the sides of the dash cover and the two screws in the middle of the window defroster. the cover pops out with minimal force
3-while holding the cover up, reach in and disconnect the vacuum line and the electrical line for the boost gauge
carefully slide the cover out of the car and set aside.
4-remove the top bezel above the steering column.
5-loosen the bottom bezel below the steering column to make room for a screwdriver to get the instrument panel
6-remove the 4 instrument panel screws and pull panel out
7-remove the 6 incandescent bulbs from the panel back labeled "illum".
8-replace with new LED bulbs. this is a trial and error part. LEDS are polarity sensitive, unlike incandescent bulbs. they will only work one way. if one doesnt light up, flip it the other way. it is best to do this one at a time, so you can pinpoint WHICH lights work and which ones need to be switched. I marked mine with a marker to make sure i put them all in the right way when i was done.
9-replace instrument panel. re-insert 4 screws. replace lower and upper bezels.
10-remove light from boost gauge, replace with new LED. same directions for this as for the inst. panel.
11-replace dash cover. reach in and hook boost gauge back up. keep in mind that the cover has a few tabs on the bottom of it that must slide into a hole to line it up properly. it is simple to do, but just make sure you get it. re-insert the 4 screws.
12-replace a pillar covers. again, there are tabs that must be lined up for this part to go in properly.
if you want to do the climate controlss too, this is how:
1-with a flat tip screwdriver, carefully remove both vents.
2-remove 2 screws located behind vents.
3-pull off all 4 control knobs. they come right off.
4-pull off silver accent panel. it snaps right off.
5-using great caution, carefully twist all 3 bulbs out of panel. they come out of the back. you do not need to remove the panel to do this, but if you want, you can. there is also a small metal bracket in the banel. it is for the defroster. if it is in your way, simply puch it left or right. it moves out of your way with ease.
6-once you have all 3 bulbs out, you must remove them from the holders. this part is a pain, but worth it. using a small pointed object, poke at the end of the wires to loosen them, then unwrap them from the holder. pull them out straight and then remove the bulb.
7-now you must modify the holder to accept the new LEDs. using a small fine file, shave off the top of the holder all the way down to the locking tabs. DO NOT FILE any further or your holder will not lock into place anymore.
8-if your LED has long enough wires, you can just reinsert it like the stock lights and wrap the wires around the same way. if not, you will have to shave off some of the plastic from the LED base to give you enough wire to work with, or solder on a longer piece.
9-re-install into climate panel. same thing goes for these as with the inst. panel lights, they are polarity sensitive. try it, if it doesn work, flip it the other way.
10-install silver accent panel.
11-insert 2 screws into vent holes.
12-insert vents
13-put knobs back on
youre done! this whole ordeal only took me about 30 miuntes to complete, so if you have all the right tools and some simple engineering skill, you can be done pretty quick too.
even on the lowest setting for brightness, the new LEDs will still light up prettier and better than the stock incandescent bulbs, and they consume far less energy too, so dimming and flickering will no longer be an issue if you have a big stereo setup.
HOW TO:Blue LED instrument panel lights
Linear Mode
