[Anchorman]

I just placed the order. This way, when I pull the instrument cluster to - finally - tighten the connection that's causing my temp gauge to go haywire periodically, I can replace these bulbs. Doing it all at once is much better for me, because I have to pull the steering wheel to get the cluster out.

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[SILVY968]

[quote name='SILVY968' post='42641' date='Oct 19 2007, 09:46 PM']I just changed mine to the RED led's.

They are VERY low light intensity.

They do not cause my pupils to readjust when I look at the cluster and then the road.

I recommend them if you like low light, color gauges, not if you want bright illumination. And they do have some adjustment with the standard dimmer control.[/quote]



Pulled the red leds out today. Too dim for me.

If anyone is interested, I'll sell for a reasonable price.

I'll ship free.

Thanks

Brian

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[Anchorman]

Hmmm...thanks for reporting your experience. I haven't gotten to try them yet, looks like it'll be a springtime project.

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[Cloud9...68]

[quote name='Anchorman' post='42744' date='Oct 22 2007, 06:32 AM']I just placed the order. This way, when I pull the instrument cluster to - finally - tighten the connection that's causing my temp gauge to go haywire periodically, I can replace these bulbs. Doing it all at once is much better for me, because I have to pull the steering wheel to get the cluster out.[/quote]

Do you have to pull your steering wheel to remove you gauge cluster because you have the 930 wheel? I have a stock wheel, and was able to wrestle the cluster out (to replace my odometer gear) without having to pull the wheel, with only a moderate amount of difficulty.



[quote name='flash' post='42640' date='Oct 19 2007, 08:27 PM']...it seriously reduces night visibility (causes pupil to contract, reducing the ability of the eye to take in light and to see at night) - i just turn them nearly off - much better visibility - talk to some pilots - they hate dash lights[/quote]

You (at least I) learn something new on this site every day. What you say makes a lot of sense, but I never in a million years would have thought of it. I've always kept my dash lights at full blast warp power - so I can see the gauges better, or course. I'll have to try turning them down to see if it really improves nighttime visibility.



One question, though - What about all the irregular sources of bright light, like oncoming headlights (a mixture of low and high beams - the old ettiquette of turning them down when a car approaches appears to be a dying art form...), streetlights, etc.? If you allow your pupils to dilate more by keeping your dash lights low, won't these suddenly-appearing sources of light be more of a shock to the eyes than if you let them contract some? So wouldn't an in-between setting of the dash light be preferable to keeping them barely on? I can understand in an airplane, where the only sources of external light are the stars, but in a car driving on the street, the situation seems to be different.

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[flash]

well, choosing to have less visibility all the time, in an attempt to avoid the dramatic changes seems a rather backward way of going about things



don't look at the headlights - avoid the instinct - it takes practice, but make it a point ot look at the shoulder



i don't drive in the fast lane at night for that reason - it cuts down on oncoming headlight glare a LOT



i am extremely sensitive to glare (flash fire hardened my corneas a bit) - i have had to learn all the tricks

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[Anchorman]

Yes, I have to pull the steering wheel because the positioning that resulted from my conversion to a 993 wheel put the rubber boot up against the cluster in a way that doesn't allow cluster removal without wheel removal.



Flash has reported a very old "trick". The tendency is to look at oncoming headlights - and that blinds you. The "trick" is to force your eyes to the right shoulder, away from the headlights, with an overall positive result for your visibility.



I never thought about staying out of the "fast lane" - maybe because, here in New Jersey, the "fast lane" is, too often, the right-hand lane. Why do so many drivers think that their license requires them to stay in the left lane?

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[PorscheDude]

I drive on alot of one lane country roads at night.

When on coming traffic approaches I always "force" my eyes to watch the white stripe on the shoulder.



After a couple months this becomes second nature.

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[PorscheDude]

Just came across this write up for LED's on RL.

http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/show...ad.php?t=396342

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[SILVY968]

flash wants them. I wonder if they will be " just right" for him.

Brian

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[spectre996]

Well Flash, what do you think of them? Are they suitable enough for you?

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[PorscheDude]

This is something I have wanted to do for awile.



The only thing holding me back is that I want the rest of my dash light to match (ac unit, clock).



The clock is easy, but the ac unit may be tricky. I have an extra ac unit here I have been wanting to pull apart to see what this is going to take.



I was talking with my dad, who is an electronics engineer, and he said he would help me come up with a dimming device that is controlled by the factory dimmer. He said it is pretty simple.

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[spectre996]

I'm kind of the same way, wanting everything to match, even the stereo. Let us know what you find out/come up with.

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[saxman]

[quote name='smokiemon968' post='44946' date='Dec 22 2007, 08:05 AM']come up with a dimming device that is controlled by the factory dimmer. He said it is pretty simple.[/quote]

the easiest way to do this, I would think, would be to use a pwm controlled by the factory rheostat.



Head over to hidplanet.com/forums and take a look in the LED section for info on pwm's

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[PorscheDude]

Thanks, I will check it out.

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[SILVY968]

What I ended up doing was getting red bulb covers for the 3 cluster lamps. The size that we need is T-10.

They slip over the stock lamp so that you can use the oem dimmer control, stock lamps and get the red color.

They ship in a 3 pack from egauges.com, they are a supplier of VDO gauges. They offer red, blue,yellow and green. They also have covers for T-5 and T-6.5 bulbs if you want to color change the whole set up.



http://www.egauges.com/vdo_agrp.asp?SNam...ccessories





The result is a dim able red cluster. While I was at it I inspected the reflective foil, which was fine and ordered 3 new lamp sockets for good measure. The whole project cost is less that $10.00 and the results are great. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



While I am in there I will replace the odo gear!!! <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/mad.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



Brian

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[spectre996]

Even a little bulb like that can still heat up pretty goog. Any chance of or problems with the bulb covers melting?

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[SILVY968]

I am not sure, but the covers seem to be made of silicon. I had the covers on my VDO gauges when I had the 3 gauge cubby in place of the clock cubby and had no melt issues.

Since they are made by VDO, I felt that they would perform well.

I pulled the cluster after 2-3 weeks to replace a bad socket and the covers were fine.

The color and brightness are, dare I say, perfect!

Brian

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[dmband0041]

[quote name='saxman' post='42644' date='Oct 20 2007, 05:58 AM']I really wish there were some backlight/el gauges available for this car. Nothing says 1970's hold over technology like lighting up the gauges with a few spot lights just shining on them.[/quote]







@Flash-



Since you are the resident expert and creator of awesome products for our cars.....here's something for you to chew on (if you're looking for any more projects right now).



There is a guy on the Corrado boards who makes white, luminescent gauge overlays for our old stock gauges. They are back lit faces which replace the stock gauge faces. The kit includes the gauge faces and a separate power supply that makes them light up the way they do. It is very easy to install (requires tapping into power behind the dash to power the inverter for the gauges and some simple wiring behind the dash) and the difference is night and day in my opinion.



Here are some pics to get the ideas rolling..





Stock Corrado Cluster





Aftermarket Gauges (with alum gauge rings and red LCD mod done as well)







An idea of what Stock VW clusters from the MK3 cars look like at night:



(note, that cluster is photographed beautifully and brighter than ANY vw cluster I've ever seen)



What the Aftermarket Gauges look like at night:













and i have to add a few glory shots of his car too since I stole his interior pics...this guy is like the Flash of the Corrado world :-)

















And this guy was able to make the custom gauges for about $150/set, which included the three cluster gauge faces as well as another oil/volt gauge that is in the Corrado. I would gladly pay that or even a little more for a quality set of gauges for the 968...

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[PorscheDude]

That is very cool. I would like that.

please look into it. I am sure you could sell at least 500 sets if you include the 944 cars.

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[FRporscheman]

Dude that 'rado is HOT. I love those... I with my brother would chuck his GTI and get one of those.

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