How do the speedometer and tachometer dials get there orange light, and if its a bulb can you change them?
I think itd look kool, any opinons?

 

Everythig is driven by many small LEDs. Do a search for "blue LEDs" - I know someone has a really long thread about how they manually replaced every orange LED with blue, along with detailed instructions (the gauges need to be removed and taken apart, then each LED needs to be resoldered - it's lots more involved than swapping a bulb unfortunately)... It took quite an effort, but in the end it looked FANTASTIC. They left the orange needle LEDs alone and the contrast was breathtaking - I'd actually pay someone that really and tuely knew what they were doing to do this job for me, as I love the look of the blue gauges.

 

i would love to have green gauge lights to match my body color :( but me + soder = bad stories!

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ue+dash+lights
I did the swap last winter. It was a bit of a hassle, but the end result was well worth it. Cost me about $120 for the LED's, soldering equipment and mountain dew. Don't ask me how long it took. I hadn't soldered before, so I taught myself on a old RX-7 ECU I had. I highly recommend practicing on something before you put hot metal to your MINI's gauges. Here's some quick, unprofessional photos of my finished product:

 

those gauges look so sexy!

 

hey, Uber, want to give it another try? I've got GALLONS of Mt. Dew at my place...

 

I can't say that I wouldn't mind... However, I'm still trying to find the right color (temperature?) LED's for my A/C and Radio. They're pretty tiny (about the size of this guy's middle tooth --> ), and the ones I have are a lighter shade of blue than what my gauges are. I also have to change some of the resistors in there, because the LED's are too bright in some places and too dim in others. I'm keeping track of all the wrong ways to do this, so once I get it right, I'll put together a little how-I-did-it.

P.S. - Ever see that Y2K episode of King of the Hill? Dale Gribble had stored two 55 gallon drums of mountain dew in his basement/apocalypse shelter. He is my hero.

 

If you ever want to give it another try, I'll bring the Dew and the LEDs if yoy bring the know-how and the soldering iron. Plus, I'd be happy to take more "high end" photos of your install, should you ever want them - I travel to Norcross, GA a few times a year on business, so let me know and I can always bring down my camera to help out a fellow NAM-er.

 

That is absolutely amazing, but where do you get the LEDs and i definetely need the tips or instructions

 

There are Word docs with all of the How-tos in Uber's linked thread:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ue+dash+lights

Look about halfway down the page. All the part info is in there too.

Honestly, I widh I had the guts to do this... I think that some people, if I recall correctly, actually tested this on spare gauge clusters that they bought specially for this purpose. Since I may have to return the car to stock at some point, if I did this, I'd start by getting spare gauges (speedo and tach) from ebay or from a junk yard and I'd do all the blue LEDs on those parts, then I'd swap them over the modified gauges. That way, if I ever wanted to return to orange OEM, all I'd need to do is spend an hour or so replacing the ones I MODded with the stock ones I took off.

...


Hmmmm... I wonder if anyone has ever contemplated just offering THAT as a bolt-on MOD? Buy spare gauges and swap all the LEDs, then offer the complete pakage. It would be costly, true, but it is a very striking change...

 

This is slightly off topic, but does anyone know if there are some orange lights for the map lights that match the dash light color?

 

Ok, HighSchoolz - check this out first, and be sure to read the docs by BluMiniMe in post #11 of the thread. You may learn more than you want to: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ue+dash+lights

If you're still interested, congrats. Here are a few things I did to get my mod done:
- I used bent needlenose pliers rigged with a rubber band on the handle to hold the LED's. Forceps didn't work for me, as I crushed a few LED's with 'em.
- My soldering iron of choice was a Sears Craftsman 30-watt. I picked up the iron, a stand, extra tips, and some of the electrician's itty-bitty soldering wire for less than 20 bucks. The lower the wattage of the soldering iron, the better your chances are of not cooking your LED's/circuit boards.
- Get at least 10 extra LED's (25 if you're clumsy like me ). I dropped 'em, burned 'em, crushed 'em, and probably drank a few in my Dew. You don't want to have to wait for a re-order. Also, it helps to keep things organized if you mark your new/old LED's with some kind of paint/permanent marker. Once you pull an old orange one out, it looks just like the new blue one. It gets frustrating when you reassemble every thing and find out that you put an orange one back in instead of a blue. Twice. In the same spot.
- Don't pull on an LED to get it off of the circuit board! Not that most people would, but it can pull the circuit board apart, and you don't want that. So I hear. Next time my car goes back under the soldering iron, I'll use one of those solder-suction-bulb thingies to keep the circuit board clean. It should make a big difference in the quality of the joints as well a preventing the LED's from coming loose.
- Grab a couple gallons of patience from your local supermarket. Some for you, and some for anybody else who has a personal (or financial) interest in you or your MINI. Remember: the end result is worth it!

 

Imagox: I'm on the same track you are... Once I had finished the mod, I had some "modder's remorse". I think it'll be a few years before there are MINI's easily found at the loal u-pull-it, but once they are available, I plan to scrounge up a whole new set of gauges and controls so I can return to stock if I desire.

I agree about the cost of doing the swap, though. It probably would cost a few hundred bucks to locate gauges/controls, another hundred or so for LED's and tools, and then the labor cost(!)... It would make it cheaper to do it on a core/exchange basis, but there are complications with that of course...In the end, most people would agree that its not worth it. But hey, if everyone wanted to pay for blue gauges, I've got my weekends free...

 

Now heres a question, the speedometer and tach are one thing but what about the stereo and climatronic control unit, can those be changed to match?

 

I see you guys are interested in changing your dash lites..I have a new speedometer cluster 02-05 ...I purchased it to exchange the clear plastic lens with the one I scratched on my car...(Mini does not sell the piece alone). Just change the clear lens cap with yours, if it's in better shape ..$60 shipped, it's yours. I'll except Pen-Pal ..........


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