[saxman]

One of the things I've read a lot about on these cars is the poor gauge lighting. I've seen the problems, and the fixes, and honestly, they don't really impress be. The flamingeye kit seems to be nice, but all the leds seem to leave a lot of hot spots on the gauges. Obviously backlighting would be a nice way to go, but isn't going to be cheap/easy.



I got to thinking... it would probably be quite easy to add in a 2mm or so ccfl tube along the bottom and/or top of the gauge cluster, running the legnth of the gauges. Would provide much more even lighting over some leds, would be very easy to wire(as ccfl tubes run off an invertor that use a 12v input, and work great with automotive electrical systems), and would cost all of maybe $10. They're available in a large variety of colors... even a uv light, which should make the numbers/needles glow quite nicely, as seen by the pictures I've seen of the flaming eye kit with uv leds.



You wouldn't have the dimming ability, but that seems to be given up with the leds as well, and you could probably fine tune it based on how you mount it and how direct the light is.

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[94SilverCab]

Saxman,



First of all welcome to the group. You seem to bring a tremendous amount of knowledge about lighting (both the fixed headlight and this thread) to the table.



Both of these topics are near and dear to the hearts of your fellow 968 owners.



As a new poster, you should know (or have probably figured out by now) that you will be questioned/challenged about any approach you are thinking of trying. PLEASE accept in advance that the spirit of these conversations is to make you think harder and deeper and not a challenge to your capabilities.



We will all benefit by your inventing solutions to these issues.



Once again, WELCOME!



Jay

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[saxman]

oh, no worries... I know being the new kid on the block that my ideas are bound to be questioned... I'd be worried if they weren't.



Hopefully I can offer some out of the box solutions to some of the common problems... now just to get a 968 of my own.

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[TMturboCAb]

I have this problem with my gauge cluster..only half is lit and the half lit is still not that visible. If you have any further descrition on how this would work I would be willing to give it a try. Thanks Tate

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[sasilverbullet]

I've owned two other 944 type cars and I had to do the "tin foil on the back of the gauges" thing on both of them.



It was fairly easy to do and worked great! One thing I did that I haven't seen mentioned is that I scraped off all the "old" reflective paint before I taped the tin foil on...



Reason I bring this up is that you almost have to do all the same work to do your idea of the light bar - and now you've made the car not stock. There's a lot of Porsche owners out there that place a high value on cars that are totally stock...just a thought.

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[chris]

Hmm, well it's pretty close quarters, and from my experience cold cathodes (despite the namesake) get pretty darn hot (or at least certain models?).



Do you think this will be a problem? Would the target product be similar to computer case modding models?

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[saxman]

[quote name='chris' date='Sep 26 2006, 09:54 AM']Hmm, well it's pretty close quarters, and from my experience cold cathodes (despite the namesake) get pretty darn hot (or at least certain models?).



Do you think this will be a problem?  Would the target product be similar to computer case modding models?

[right][post="26415"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote]

cold cathodes by design don't really get that hot... certainly a lot less hot than a bunch of little light bulbs will get. Keep in mind we're talking about a 2mm thick bar here... nothing huge.



target product I'm discussing using IS computer case modding models. They already have an invertor set up for using the voltage range the car runs at, are designed for running long times in tight spaces, etc.





And there's no reason this has to be permanently attached in any way. No worries about doing permanent modifications for when it comes time to sell the car. Afterall, the foil method isn't stock either.





Something like this(in whatever color you so desire) should do the job nicely.

http://cgi.ebay.com/CCFL-Computer-light-ki...tem320030533105



And will cost you all of $8

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