I went to a used car dealership and had a chance to drive an '04 LS. I immediately noticed that the gauge needles lit up significantly better than the gen 1. What causes this difference? I would love to have my needles (00' v6) light up like that.
Gen 2 needles in Gen 1?
- Thread starter fudge12
- Start date
Yes, the wheel is turned all the way up. I mean the gen 2 needles seem to have a perfect stream of light running through them from the base to the tip. the Gen 1 seems to have light at the base of the needle that fades as it reaches the tip.
FDR
Dedicated LVC Member
A burned out bulb would cause the needle to change brightness as it rotated, as it moves from one bulb's refracted light to another's. IIRC the fuel and temp needles utilize 2 bulbs each, the speedometer uses 3, and the tach uses 2 or 3. However, a burned out bulb would likely cause a much more noticeable dim spot on the gauge face. Just a consideration
I would guess that, assuming the internals are the same, Gen 2s seem more uniform because either A.) they cover up more of the brighter base or B.) by having a fully circular base (Gen 1 needle cuts into the circle), there's more room to fit curved optics in the base, as opposed to a flat 45-degree cut. Light comes out of the gauge, straight into the needle's clear portion, hits a ~45-degree slant, and reflects inside the clear plastic down the needle.
Gen 2 could also use a different cut on the end of the needle. A slight slant to the tip could reflect light back at the end of the needle to the backing at the end of the needle to help.
Maybe adrst could shine some more light on this subject. I've only opened up a Gen 1, but I definitely noticed the tapering brightness.
I'm glad to hear another gen 1 owner seeing the same thing. I just love the more modernized bold stream of light the gen 2 needles have vs the old "fading" look the gen 1 has. It just adds that one kiss of class to the whole interior of the car.
FDR
Dedicated LVC Member
I considered swapping (or at least trying to swap) needles and the gauge face (it's just a thin plastic sheet), but I got tired of my gauges not being orange and just went ahead with the LED swap. Plus, there aren't nearly as many Gen 2s in my local junkyards as there are Gen 1s. I don't think you can swap entire clusters.
Quick toot of my own horn... I had to add individual red LEDs for the needles. Otherwise, they don't light up at all due to any non-red or non-white LEDs emitting the wrong wavelengths
View attachment 828471247
The tapering brightness isn't as noticeable in the picture as real life, but it's there. The tach is definitely brighter because one of it's LEDs is placed much closer to the center of rotation than the others.
Dude that actually looks really really good! Much better than the icky stock green...
FDR
Dedicated LVC Member
Orange- standard 168 5x5050SMD LED replacements, though I had to buy ambers and replace each individual LED. Orange is nonexistant. All orange results are actually "orange/amber" which are just yellow
Needles: I cut a slot into the clear plastic backing and placed individual red 5050SMD LEDs that I prewired with 30ga wire (I'd go with 26ga at the smallest now that I've learned). This way, the LEDs sit flush with the clear plastic and don't interfere with the prongs sticking out from the needles' galvo motors. I'd go with a single-chip SMD LED, probably a 5630 (brightest) or 3528(medium). 5050s(bright) are 3 LEDs in one, requiring funky self-series wiring for compactness, and are brighter than necessary.
3528/plcc2, 5630/5635, 5050/plcc6, dime, 5x5050 for 168 replacement
cammerfe
Dedicated LVC Member
Your ingenuity never ceases to amaze me!
KS
KS