Install white gauges/change cluster bulbs

[havik]

Difficulty: http://www.aleromod.com/images/beer.gifhttp://www.aleromod.com/images/beer.gif
TIME: http://www.aleromod.com/images/beer.gifhttp://www.aleromod.com/images/beer.gifhttp://www.aleromod.com/images/beer.gif


HOW TO: Install white gauges

Special thanks goes out to Molson: first for selling me his drjracing white gauges and secondly for providing me the initial instructions on how to install them. :thumbsup:

Tools required: Pencil, Paper, Ratchet Tool set

Begin: Record where your needles are set, especially the gas needle. Use the Pencil and paper for this.
1. Begin by removing the two screws at the top of the gauge trim.

2. The bottom section is clipped on, so tug on it to pull it out.

3. Unclip the trip button. Pull the trim out until you can see and access the trip button connection on the inside. There is a small clip normally located on the bottom of the connection.

4. Remove the trim.

5. There are four screws holding the cluster. Unscrew these, careful to not drop any screws inside the dash, they are a pain to retrieve.

6. Remove the cluster but notice the wiring connection attached at the top of the cluster. Unclip this connection to completely remove the cluster.

NOTE: Recommended you work in a more comfortable area now.
If you are changing the cluster bulbs, proceed to step 17

7. Unclip the front cover, exposing the gauges and needles.

8. Remove the pins (the ones that hold the speedometer and RPM needles at 0).

9. Remove the needles. It was suggested to me that using a fork works beautifully, and it did.

10. Begin removing the stock gauge cover. This is extremely sticky so be careful. Once completely removed, place in an area where nothing can or will stick to the gauges.

11. Place your white gauge cover.

12. Place the pins and the needles.

13. Plug wire connection back into the cluster to test if needles are set correctly. If you place the cluster back in the dash, be careful when/if adjusting the needles as they may fall in dash. Recommendended you test with cluster on steering column.

14. Once adjusted, clip front cover back on. Place cluster back inside dash (if not done already).
NOTE: cluster should be plugged in at this point.

15. Rescrew the cluster in place.

16. Take trim and reclip the trip button, the place the trim back in place. Make sure the bottom clips into place and the top screws are in place as well.

Done installing white gauges.

Changing cluster bulbs, continue from step 6

Bulb model numbers:
- 194 (5 bulbs)
- 24 (4 bulbs)

17. Unclip the rear cover, exposing the circuit board.

18. Turn the grey knobs roughly half a turn counter-clockwise to remove the bulbs.

19. Replace bulbs.

20. Re-clip rear cover. Plug in cluster and place into original position.

21. Please see step 16.

Done changing bulbs
Note: If you needles have adjusted incorrectly, you will have to reset them. Can't drive around with improper RPM, Speed, Temp and Gas ratings can we? :D

[jonez]

What size bulbs go in the cluster??

[99blackalero]

i didnt know you could change those bulbs...nice work havik

[havik]

thanks :thumbsup:

btw - there's 5 of these bulbs, plus there's some smaller ones that I haven't taken out yet, but the 5 bulbs light your gauge numbers/lines. I'm going to rip open my cluster again and see if we can replace the lights around the needles, I'll keep ya posted...

... (adjusted thread to read better)

The smaller bulbs best model number (estimations) is 24. Go to www.bulbs.com and you can order these bulbs there. I have sent numerous emails about these bulbs but haven't received anything back yet :(

[jonez]

Thanks Havik

[jonez]

I found a lot of places where I can purchase the 194 but I can't find anywhere to get the 24's. Was wondering if you had a site to get the 24's

[havik]

Updated my posts, please re-read them.

[1WhiteOSV]

hey man, instructions sound good...BUT i tried replacing my bulbs a few months ago when the idea popped into my head but the bulb itself did not come out of the gray piece that twists into the back of the cluster...i mean it MAY have if i pulled harder, but I was pullin pretty DAMN hard and i didnt want to break anything. let me know if there's any "trick" or somethin that might help me..or if im just retarded and cant get the bulb out lol...

thanks again man,
Adam

[bigd6983]

I had the same problem as whiteosv, its almost like the buls are soldered into the grey sockets that you can pull out the back, you can pull them out but it will take time taking and putting them back in cause it will take some custom work I think

[boarder211]

its almost like the buls are soldered into the grey sockets that you can pull out the back, you can pull them out but it will take time taking and putting them back in cause it will take some custom work I think

Yeah... I was working on this, putting in new "ultra white" bulbs... only way that I found to get out the old bulbs was to grab them and rock them for like 4-5 mins until they finally popped out.
Installing the new bulbs wasn't too tough, though I have one that intermittently turns on/off... all I did was take the small wires on the bottom of the bulb and bend them over to the sides where the actual connections are. Testing was done using a trusty 9 volt battery and two wires to connect to the leads on the grey socket.

I'm beginning to wonder if it wouldn't have been easier to just buy new sockets... oh well. That's the way tha I had to do it on my 99

[jonez]

I took a very small screw drive and slightly pride them at the base to get them lose, then they pulled fairly easy.

[havik]

My bulbs came out after a couple of seconds of rocking them back and forth. I have an 03 (could be different for different years)

[b-spot]

You can see on the side of the grey deals where the wires from the bulbs wrap over the metal connectors. Pry these wires out with something, and the bulbs come out like butta!

[rodney]

are you guys putting in colored bulbs, or just replacing the stock ones?

[jonez]

I put red bulbs in looks good.

[rodney]

do the numbers light up red now?

[jonez]

Yes, I can take a pic sometime this week if you like

[rodney]

that would be cool. i was planning on putting red bulbs in there too. i just didnt know if they would glow red, since the stockers glow a greenish color.

[jonez]

Thet do, and even the needles are red

[havik]

I just took some pics of an installation to help out others.

http://sacredgrounds.brinkster.net/aleromod/index.html

[-Alero-]

beautifull, so are the colored bulbs cheap at all? im considering yellow :D but i better buy a new gauge face first so i can take care of 2 things at once

[boarder211]

Well, I posted this pic under a different topic, but i think it could be of use here. The stock gauges do tint everything blue. So unless you want to make them more blue, you'd need to replace the gauges in order to get a different colour... well, I suppose you could make purple or green... but that would be about it. :)

Anyways... here's the gauges infront of a regular, house-hold 60W blub...

[mouse]

I recently changed all the 194's into multi-changing led's ... they look awsome. :thumbsup:

[AleroSS]

please post how you did it dude

[alero_ecotec]

this whole positionin of the needles thing kind of scares me, i'd be afraid that i'd mess something up......but when you turn off the car the needles go back to their default positions, so why would u need to mark them, im confused

[smlzalero]

No, man. I didn't pay attention because that's what I thought. They move around if the cluster gets upside down or anything. just remember where they are, then put em back onin the same spot...: if you lay the cluster flas on a table, the needles wont be all the way down. Remember where they are, then put them back there with the cluster in the same place(flat on the table) and it'll be fine. I'm a dummy so I ferked up the fuel and the speedometer... :rolleyes: don't be like me..lol

[bigd6983]

why do u gotta take the needles off in the first place......i didnt hafta take em off when i installed my reverse glow gauges......

[smlzalero]

You don't have to take them off unless you have the vynil stick-on faces... if you have just like the SpeedHut glow ones then you can just thread the needles thru the holes, then stick the faces on.

[alero_ecotec]

anyone have the reverse glow with intelliglow needles? ....im not sure if it would look right ......... and bigd6983 you wouldnt happen to have a link to where you bought your gauges would you?

[smlzalero]

Since I don't think people understand what i say most of the time (LOL) I thought I would post a pic or 2 of these little suckers being changed. B-spot saved me a lot of frustration when I changed theses bulbs so long ago, but I think peeps either didn't see this or didn't understand it, plus that other guy's link is no longer active, so hereya be :)

This is where the wire is on the original bulb

http://vip.aleromod.com/albums/userpics/10010/sun%20visors%20changing%20194%20bulb%20006.jpg

stick a knife or a pin under the wire and either pry it out or break it where it's melted to the contact, being careful not to puncture or damage anything.

http://vip.aleromod.com/albums/userpics/10010/Copy%20of%20Copy%20of%20sun%20visors%20changing%20 194%20bulb%20008.jpg

bulb practically falls out

http://vip.aleromod.com/albums/userpics/10010/sun%20visors%20changing%20194%20bulb%20011.jpg

most new bulbs have both ends of the wire enclosed in the glass, so just unfold the wires, twist them 90* (so the loops will come out as shown in the next pic) and bend the ends out a little (so they're easier to get thru the holes in the socket)

http://vip.aleromod.com/albums/userpics/10010/Copy%20of%20Copy%20of%20sun%20visors%20changing%20 194%20bulb%20018.jpg

Once the bulb is in and both wires are sticking out over the contacts, use a fingernail, knife, or pin to press them to the metal to ensure contact

http://vip.aleromod.com/albums/userpics/10010/Copy%20of%20Copy%20of%20sun%20visors%20changing%20 194%20bulb%20016.jpg

VOILA!!

[Airbuffkin]

Hey, just wanted to let everyone in on a couple of sites I found that may help you out:

http://autolumination.com/74.htm

which sells all kinds of colored regular and led bulbs and they also have the #74 bulbs which I believe someone refered to the smaller bulbs on the instrument cluster earlier as #24 but I believe they are actually #74 and that is the same size bulb that is in the cubby hole in front of the shifter. The other site is:

http://www.midwayautosupply.com/detailedpr...ription.asp?624 (http://www.midwayautosupply.com/detailedproductdescription.asp?624)

This is really cool they sell the replacement bulb holders for the instrument bulbs so that you don't have to un-solder the factory bulbs and try to work a replacement bulb into the old socket. With these sockets all you have to do is plug the bulb in and put it back on the cluster. The connectors for the bulb are actually on the inside of the socket and you don't have to do any modifications to the bulb itself. Good luck!

BRAD