Colored bulbs or bulb boots

[WormGod]

Driving home tonight, I was checking out my dash cluster lights and decided that there is just too much boring orange in the dash lighting. I was curious as to whether anyone has swapped out their dash lights with any other colors. I would love to try a green or blue. Especially in my a-pillar gauges. Anyone have any info about this?

I found a SITE that offers colored bulbs, but I have not torn down the dash except for when I did my radio install, so I don't know what is in there. Bulbs are one thing, but like the a-pilar gauges, there are colored rubber boots to change the color. I figure that is a possibility too.

Anyone have any clue?

[Apostle]

i too am interested in getting rid of that gawd awful orange color, blue is the way to go for me as it matches the concept i have in mind.

problem is, i havent the foggiest clue on how to do this


Edit: gawd, $6 for one bulb? thats highway robbery, not to mention expensive

[WyrreJ]

FWIW, red and red-orange is the best color for maintaining your night vision as your eyes are most sensitive to those frequencies.

[WormGod]

After doing a little reading (without tearing anything apart to actually see if it's true), it appears that most imports use a 194/168 bulb in their dash clusters. I can't say for sure if the VX does, but it's seems very likely. I checked out a link from autotoys.com that explained the installation of the bulbs on a Gallant, and it seems pretty straight forward. If the same goes for the VX, it should be able to be done without a huge headache. I swear, if it werent coming on winter, I wouldnt mind tearing her down in the driveway to test it out.

If anyone happens to have a spare dash cluster around (what are the chances in that), any chance that you can check on the possibility of this? I sure as heck wouldnt mind being the guinea pig to see if this thing works out. I have thoughts of a deep red or blue.

[Raque Thomas]

WormGod - I have a spare cluster, and it does in fact use 194 bulbs;however, the bulbs aren't what's coloring the display. In fact, the bulbs already have boots on them - green ones! The orange color is coming from the guage faces themselves - I don't think you can change it with bulbs. The needles are clear lexan, but have an orange coating (paint) on the bottom to produce their orange glow.

I just ordered new guage faces (white with the green or blue night glow). I have received the TOD area, gas/temp guage, and shift indicator, but not the speedo and tach yet. There was some earlier concern voiced here about how they installed, and "bumps" from covering the screws. I haven't installed them yet, but they look very easy and straightforward. The screws actually are not covered - you remove and re-install them. It appears that it will be a very professional looking install when done. I've hooked up the guage fronts to see the illumination and it is a vast improvement over the stock guages. As soon as I get them installed, I'll post pictures (if I can figure out how to do that!).

[WormGod]

Thats a let down Raque. Figures, the orange would be baked in somehow. Quite annoying.

Maybe it can be etched out and cut sheets of gel cel can be tacked in.

This no make me happy.

Definately, post pics when you get something all set up. I am very interested. I would love to try a few things but its already getting to cold outside to work on her.

[Rickster]

I took my dash apart and changed all of the 194's to blue, but their are a lot of really tiny bulbs, with green boots. I installed (8) 4 packs of blue LED's in the dash, air conditioner control, and vents, looks great, but expect to spend a weekend doing it, especially if you disassemble the A/C to replace all of the bulbs there.

Rickster

[WormGod]

I wrote autotoys an email since they CLAIM to be teh know-it-alls of car modding. If they in fact do and respond, I asked them if they knew how many bulbs, what sizes, and what recommendations they may have, in order for me to make a purchase of bulbs from them.

Rickster, any pics of what you have now? Perhaps you can snap some shots while you are tearing down the rest and installing? Just to get an idea of what you are going through.

[Grant Eaton]

Originally posted by Rickster
I took my dash apart and changed all of the 194's to blue, but their are a lot of really tiny bulbs, with green boots.

Rickster

I'm sure everyone would LOVE to see a picture of your new dash at night!

[Apostle]

waiting on info on this

[Apostle]

Still waiting, would like to see the change in colors, before and after

Rickster any pics?
Rague?


rague: seen your pics, where did you get the guage faces? and what all was needed to complete the install?
what about the panel, with the temp controls, etc?
post pics of your entire interior, if you could

[Rickster]

The truck is in the shop being painted, I should get it back next week, I'll shoot pictures for posting here.

Rickster

[Raque Thomas]

Originally posted by Apostle
Still waiting, would like to see the change in colors, before and after

Rickster any pics?
Rague?


rague: seen your pics, where did you get the guage faces? and what all was needed to complete the install?
what about the panel, with the temp controls, etc?
post pics of your entire interior, if you could

I bought the gauge faces off eBay, a company called Pro Car Parts. It is actually two kits - one for a '94-'95 Trooper, and one for an '02 Trooper. If you haven't read my other post - there are issues. The gauages look tremendous night or day, but:
The TOD area cover is the wrong size, and the temp gauge/gas gauge area needs to be modified. My plan is to install the '94 Trooper temp, amp, oil pressure, and gas guages in my VX, and relocate the TOD display to the fuzzy hole area.

For bulbs - my advice would be different that what has been stated here by everyone else. When you get into colored bulbs, they rip your head off on the price. What I have done in the past, and plan to do soon to the VX is buy transparent glass color at a craft store - remove the boots from the factory bulbs and brush on the bulb color. You end up with the same result (unless you want higher wattage bulbs) at a fraction of the cost. I have already taken the bulbs out of the Trooper cluster I have and tinted them - it takes almost no time, and the tint is about $2.50 per bottle - which would probably do 100+ bulbs. I'm changing everything to blue, the turn signal indicators to amber, and the shift indicator lights to blue, yellow and red.
When I get it done, I'll post some pics - but it is likely going to be after the Holidays.

On another note, I was able to resolve the chrome mirror installation obstacle with the guy that i bought the mirrors from. The passenger side is installed, and the driver's side will be put on this week. It is VERY involved, but looks very nice, as the entire mirror head is chrome, rather than just a stick on cover. I'll post pics of those also when it is complete.