[todzilla]

OK, after living with essentially no lighting in my guage cluster, I decided to take the cluster out and replace the bulbs.....or tackle the relector issue.

After I took the assembly out, I saw that the p/o installed the led lighting in the 3 bulb pods/holders......figure they're either burnt out or just garbage? So I got 3 new bulbs from the dealer (3 watt) and proceeded to pop 'em in hoping for actual illumination! Sadly, nothing, or VERY little light coming up thru to the guages. So I took the cluster out and thought I would check the condition of the 3 'cones' (reflectors) that can wear and cause the chrome to flake off or fade.

For whatever reason, they were all covered in black electrical tape and had NO chrome to reflect anything up to the guage face!? As if installing the led's would have caused too much light, they chose to blacken the reflectors out!?

I then cut out and taped on 3 peices of tin foil (shiny side up (in)) - in the hopes it would solve this problem...but again, very, very little light (I put the new 3 watt bulbs back in)

Then I got to thinking. If someone were to follow the advice (sticky thread explaing how to prep the cluster) - as to how the original coating must be removed to allow the 'chrome' to shine thru, it would seem that those 3 'cones' should be clear - not black (like a dark window tint) to allow any kind of reflection to shine thru and up to the guages! Mine almost look like they are painted/tinted black!?

I'm going nuts having no guage lights at night so any advice is greatly appreciated! Maybe I have to take the led's out completely to allow the new bulbs to do their job? I simply tucked the wires into the bulb holder pods out of the way.....well, for the most.

Cheers!!

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[sstman]

I had the same problem, I stripped the reflective 'cones' with acetone (nail varnish remover) to remove all the crummy original silvering paint, including the edges of the reflectors, took a while to get them totally clear and transparent (i had removed them from the cluster) then cut and trimmed cooking foil to fit exactly the back of the reflectors, including the left/right edges, and the 'step' at the front. stuck it on with clear nail varnish, and with new 2.5 watt lamps from the OPC, it works very well!

Don't tell her indoors where her nail varnish kit has gone though.....

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[DaveN]

I have used the same process with 2 different 944's and it worked out well.

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[todzilla]

I am going to try to remove the dark tint (paint?) that seems to not be allowing the light to shine thru those 3 cones. So you're saying that they should be completely transparent/clear when polish remover is used (or whatever else I opt to do the job?)

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[Darryl]

Nail polish remover works best to remove the silver stuff from the factory and won't eat the plastic, BUT, not sure what your trying to remove so you may have to try a couple of different things. Yes, as others have said, those light tubes are supposed to be clear and then the back side reflects the light up onto the instrument cluster via the foil or whatever material you decide to use. I use a thin metallic tape that's very durable. Search this board...I think I had posted some pics. I'll look as well. As far as bulbs go, Sylvania 194 is the way to go. They are the highest wattage that have no heat issues.

I've not done the LED conversion so I'm not sure about what was done in your particular case, but there is usually a resistor involved in combination with the LEDs, so yes, make sure you have completely removed all traces of the LED installation. Sounds to me like you're most of the way there.

- Darryl

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[todzilla]

I will have to remove the led's completely as it appears that they no longer emit any light at all! I guess they burn out over time? Then I will see what I can do to get the cones clear....maybe acetone? I'm also gonna check out Home Depot for some kinda chrome tape. The 3 watters I got from the dealer should cut it......the 194s are also 3 watts I believe?

Progress - or lack of - will be reported asap

Cheers!

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[DaveN]

LED's don't burn out over time. They either took a voltage spike or the guy who installed them didn't put the correct value limit resistor in series (if at all). The latter being bad because it will draw as much current as it can and will tax the flexible PCB because the only limiting factor will be the resistance of the PCB traces. This will produce the most light but burn out is inevitable.

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[apex]

I can't add to the reflector discussion directly - but we used to use a fantastic silver tape to mask photographic slides - came in about 1/2" width or less. For example. Can't vouch for the adhesive - but might be worth checking out.

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[todzilla]

(RE - what DaveN said.....)

Well this is a new perspective on the whole thing!

I actually dug up the paperwork as to when it was all installed and it was just over 2 years ago - the car was driven VERY little for well over half of that, so these definitely have some kind of issue other than a burnt (3) bulb. I'm thinking of re-soldering some Radioshack led's in but I'm thinking it'll just have the same problem down the road!

A good thing is I took the cluster out and examined the cones closely so try to detect if they were painted over or dark tinted all the way thru......and they are. They appear to actually be a replacement cone that comes essentially black. The led runs straight thru up towarsd the clear flat end where it inserts into the cluster itself so the light is basically aimed right up at the guage face, thereby bypassing any need for reflection! But after playing around, it seems all 3 led's are 'out'.

I didn't know how these replacement cones were installed - taped/glued/welded!? - so I saw an slight gap underneath each one - enough to slide a flathead screwdriver into - and pried gently and could see they weren't permanent.......so I pried a little more and *pop* - they came off! They were all just held down by strong double sided tape, but were pretty straighforward to take off. This allowed me to take the actual led wire and bulb out and start at square one. But these cones are definitely NOT strippable to be clear - it's in the plastic!

So what I need now are 3 'old' (used?) clear/factory cones - as in what the car came with! I can then insert the good ol' 3 watt normal bulbs and be done with it! I can't imagine the dealer sells these parts seperately so I'll have to hunt or possibly fabricate something.....unique! - that'll work.

Anyways, it was an interesting endeavor and let me get to know how essentially straightforward these cars are!

Thanx guys!

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[DaveN]

Call Frank at nineapart.com for spares, you might have to get a whole, dead cluster just for the cones. He is in Ontario so there will be no border issues.
Put in some bulbs first and make sure you can get light otherwise you may need other parts from that spare cluster.

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[flash]

i'm not convinced that LEDs work long term in this car at all - all i hear about are problems with them - they have too much glare at night anyway, and reduce night vision - i installed 194s and dim them almost all the way down

here is the DIY and a bulb chart for options on page 5

http://www.968forums.com/index.php?showtop...111&hl=bulb

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[todzilla]

Good (GREAT!) news! Seems that along with every single receipt and document from day 1 on my 968, the p/o opted to keep the original - and still decent - silver cones along with the led kit package, in case I ever decided to go back to stock! How's that for insight!? So I popped those black led cones out, adhered these 'old' ones down and threw in some 194s and I'm good to go.....well, SEE! All ^^ this for nothing lol - sorry guys, but at least now I can give input should anyone else want to know exactly how the lighting works in this series of car!!

FYI - if anyones' thinking of improving their stock lighting, the 3 watters really do the trick, though my cones were pretty decent, with very minimal fading/flaking.

Thanx for all the help everyone!

~T~

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[flash]

lol - sometimes it's just that easy - gotta love this site - very cool

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