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Bolsen's Guage cluster light mod ROCKS!

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Old Nov 7, 2004, 11:39 PM
  #16  
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ok i finally got around to doing this mod. my gauge cluster is very bright now. like the cluster in an sti. i have one problem, though. i accidentally pulled out one of the bulbs while trying to take off the blue gel. couldn't get the bulb back in so i'm going to have to buy a new one. my temp and gas gauges don't light up. anyone know where to buy it beside the dealership? because mine closed. have the part number?
Old Nov 7, 2004, 11:50 PM
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so the whole process is to remove those blue caps (if you don't wanna do the optional step 7 and 8) - why did mitsubishi even have them in there in the first place??
Old Nov 8, 2004, 12:03 AM
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mitsu had those there because they thought it would be funny making really dim gauge clusters. seriously i don't know why they are there. the lights have a dimmer.
Old Nov 8, 2004, 12:07 AM
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Has anybody these LED type instrument cluster and gauge light bulbs?

At the bottom of the page: Instrument Cluster and Gauge Backlights, T1 1/2 (#73/74) miniature LED bulb in a twist-lock socket base:

http://www.superbrightleds.com/1157.htm

I don't even know if they'll work in our stock cluster, but they look a lot like the smaller twist-lock style stock bulbs.
Old Nov 8, 2004, 12:18 AM
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since the tick marks and numbers are red, if we don't do the step 7 (color bulb with red marker) we'll still get a red cluster by just removing the caps right?

Last edited by d3wu; Nov 8, 2004 at 12:51 AM.
Old Nov 8, 2004, 12:23 AM
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yeah, it's still red. actually amber(same as stock, just brighter).
Old Nov 9, 2004, 09:25 PM
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Hrm, I had 1 blue-backed bulb, and 3 gray-backed bulbs. The gray bulbs had a thick white gel covering that was glued on or something and didn't peel all the way off, so I just removed as much as I could from the tip. Still much brighter, and it only took about 15min

Anybody else found gray bulbs too? This is an 03 btw
Old Nov 9, 2004, 09:32 PM
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nice! hell yea johnny cash!
Old Nov 10, 2004, 09:27 PM
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took before/after shots with camera phone. quality poor but shows the difference in brightness still...


before...



after...

Last edited by d3wu; Nov 10, 2004 at 09:30 PM.
Old Nov 10, 2004, 09:41 PM
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Originally Posted by d3wu
took before/after shots with camera phone. quality poor but shows the difference in brightness still...
WOW. What an improvement.
Old Nov 10, 2004, 10:05 PM
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Howdy guys... just saw this thread lol!

To answer a few questions, you could potentally buy a bulb and put it back into the socket... I believe they are just bulbs with the leads wrapped into the base. However, I don't know the ratings and such... and with all honesty... $4 for a new bulb bah, I'll just pay it.

Someone asked about LEDs... I thought about this... however, LEDs have poor light dispersment... in other words, they are good for shining in a particular direction, but not in a "half globe." You could try them, tho I don't think it'd be worth the effort.

About the gels... I'm thinking about putting together a kit... if the interest is there.
Old Nov 10, 2004, 10:08 PM
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Also, I believe that Mitsu put the covers on there to create a "white" light vs a yellow.

My guess is that this application wasn't designed for the evo, but another mitsu... and they just used same parts to keep costs down.
Old Nov 10, 2004, 10:16 PM
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Ok, one last note, I made some updates on the web page... just some tips.
Old Nov 10, 2004, 11:33 PM
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Oh and once your done brightening your cluster... make the needles easier to read too

Old Nov 11, 2004, 12:03 AM
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your link to interior lights on your site is broken now- goes to to oil pressure and oil temp install. Good info though


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