How To: Change Your Cluster to Blue L.E.D.s/Incandescent bulbs for $8

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Ok, so I got tired of wondering about the 04 gauges. If you remove the clear lens assembly from the front of the cluster and slightly peel back the factory overlay, you will reveal that the green is imprinted in the factory overlay on a 2004 Mustang Gt. :mad:
 
Finally got a shot of the Mach. obviously it works pretty good, no green or blue mess to mix the colors. i ripped out the green on the HVAC also, T/C Defrost and Fogs have been switched too. Even the bulb in the gear shift.

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Okay guys, I've seen a ton of threads on "how to make my cluster blue" and I tackled it today so listen up! :nice: Oh, and this only applies to 99-04 fellas out there.

*EDIT* For BRIGHTER results, purchase 5 Tri-LEDs from here -->Autolumination Instrument Panel Light Bulbs & Lamps) @ ~$24 shipped. See the difference at this post -->Mustang Forums at StangNet - View Single Post - How To: Change Your Cluster to Blue L.E.D.s/Incandescent bulbs for $8

Once, they come in, let's get working. First, follow the instructions posted on MW to remove your cluster. Should take you about 10 minutes to remove the entire cluster: Mustangworld White face gauge kit Install

Okay, now you got your cluster out. Turn it over and you'll see all your sockets for the bulbs. There are 5. What you need to do is stick needle nose pliers into the sockets and twist a 1/4 turn to the left and pull out the socket:
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Next, take the socket and pull out the nasty bulb that's in it:
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and replace it with one of your new LEDs:
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to his:
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Place back in the socket and twist. All done! Do this for all 5 bulbs.

*NOTE!!!! The LEDs have polarity!! So if you put them in and plug in your cluster and they don't light, take them out and turn around the LED within the socket. :nice: ***


Go ahead and put the cluster back in and you're all set! Here is what you'll have when you're all done:

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Before:
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After:
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:nice:
:SNSign:

Awesome!
 
The Tri-LEDs light up the needles! :nice: What a difference in the brightness! No hotspots at ALL. Check out the difference in the LED itself:
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I tried to get a shot to really show the illumination of the needles and no hotspots. I couldn't. I'm not a photographer. hehe So I decided to whip out the old digi-cam and take a quick video. Take a look at what it looks like. :nice:

YouTube - Tri-Led

It does make the blue look "white" but it's a deep blue like in the other pics. I know it still looks "dark" but when the camera gets close, that's the best representation of the illumination. The needles are clearly visible. :nice:!

Hey AmBo... I have those exact Tri-LEDs and the HVAC bulbs (got the HVAC ones from PepBoys) but my cluster and HVAC does not light up at all with the LEDs installed in there. There's no blue coming out from the gauges at all (in fact, still a VERY faint green) but I'm fairly certain that all the LEDs are installed correctly (they are all light up in the back).

Any ideas?!?! (Oh, I have a 2003 Mustang... no GT, just the V6er... couldn't afford the bad boyd... YET!)
 

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Hey AmBo... I have those exact Tri-LEDs and the HVAC bulbs (got the HVAC ones from PepBoys) but my cluster and HVAC does not light up at all with the LEDs installed in there. There's no blue coming out from the gauges at all (in fact, still a VERY faint green) but I'm fairly certain that all the LEDs are installed correctly (they are all light up in the back).

Any ideas?!?! (Oh, I have a 2003 Mustang... no GT, just the V6er... couldn't afford the bad boyd... YET!)

We've had several occasions where this happened to many guys with your year stang. It seems like a hit or miss kinda deal. :shrug:
 
I finally tackled this mod today, I have a new pioneer deck that was blue and wanted everything to match.

I have an 01 GT, I already had white face gauges installed previously. I got the LED's from autoillumination and used the Tri-led in the dash cluster and the 5 wedge led in the HVAC controls (Someone said to use the superstar nova's, but I tried those first and they sucked donkey balls).

The HVAC panel had the crappy green tint film that I ripped outta there (what a biyotch that was) and I'm really happy with the results.

All I snapped was one really poopy pic from the iphone, looks ten times better in person. I'm glad you can see the needles pretty well, cause I was worried bout that. The only thing that sorta blows is the 2 hotspots on the HVAC panel are a tad on the omgea bright side, but I'll take that over the old faded out non-machin' color anyday.

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I'll take a couple of high res pics in the next day or two.
 

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tthat looks good! can you post a link to the exact bulbs? I tried looking on auto illumination but couldn't find em. the 5 wedge ones I guess.


Thanks Bra, yea the 5 LED wdges that are on this page like half way down. You need two of these for your HVAC controls

194 168 W5W 2825 Map Led Parking Signal Marker Bulbs

These are your dash cluster bulbs. They are the first ones listed on this page. You will need 5 of these. I ordered a couple extra just in case.. now I'm thinking to maybe to change out the dash turn signals to blue also.

Autolumination Instrument Panel Light Bulbs & Lamps)

I feel like I'm driving a new car .. well at night anyways, lol.

Haven't gotta chance to snap some real pics, but I will by the weeks end.

Oh and the dimmer does not dim the lights in mine at all. Not really a big deal, cause I love the looks. Ambo said his did dim completely, but it seems some people get totaly different results from this so who the heck knows.
 
I have an 04 and tried this mod over a year ago and i had the green overlay. However I do still have tri leds for the center cluster and the other leds for the ac/heat if anyone wants to give it a shot Pm me and im sure we could work out a deal.

john
 
I just tried swapping in tri-leds in place of the stock incandescents in my cluster on my 02 gt. I was looking for a brighter, richer green. The results were very disappointing. There were still dim spots around the areas where Visteon chose to blot with extra green gel, and the red needles barely lit up. I think it's because I used super white leds and the stock bulbs give off a yellow, almost amber light. Does anyone think it's because of the extra blot of green film not agreeing with the white/blueish light?

How do you think it'll work with amber tri leds? Will it emulate the the incandescents? Really all I want is a brighter, more clear green.
 
I just tried swapping in tri-leds in place of the stock incandescents in my cluster on my 02 gt. I was looking for a brighter, richer green. The results were very disappointing. There were still dim spots around the areas where Visteon chose to blot with extra green gel, and the red needles barely lit up. I think it's because I used super white leds and the stock bulbs give off a yellow, almost amber light. Does anyone think it's because of the extra blot of green film not agreeing with the white/blueish light?

How do you think it'll work with amber tri leds? Will it emulate the the incandescents? Really all I want is a brighter, more clear green.

get green led's, it will give you the look you are after