I've got my clocks, (speedo etc), out of my car at the moment for some other work I was doing, and noticed that all the capless bulbs that light them up at night are a bit black, so i thought I would change them all as a matter of course.

But what are they? W5W, or W3W?

TIA.

 

In case anyone else needs to know, they are W5W.

 

 

is there a green filter behind the clocks on the 98 models? i want to change my bulbs to blue but no point in taking clocks out and buying the leds if it won't work.

 

Yes, the bulbs are clear.

You CAN split the whole panel, and get at the filters, but I wouldn't fancy it. The most I did was change bulbs and took the plastic glass off the front to clean out the dust that had got in through the trip meter button hole.

 

ok cheers so if i get some w5w led bulbs from ebay its just a straight swap..but they are still just going to look green no matter what unless i get rid of the filter somehow

seems abit of a pain to split the panel... grrr

 

That's about it, although I'm unsure as to the effect of putting a BLUE LED, for example, behind a GREEN filter........probably be too dark to see.

Also, are the LED "W5W bulbs", giving out light in the same way as a bulb does, ie: to ALL sides? It's quite important when you are using ONE bulb to light an area, that it doesn't give most of it's light from the rounded top, like most LEDs seem to

 

LED's are also polarity sensitive, if you plug them in the wrong way round they won't light up.... and you'll have to remove them and tun 180 degrees, then replace.

HTH

dunx

 

i also wanted to drill some holes in the doorcard pocket to light it up when the door opens and also drill underneath and do some puddle lights too.

So is it these which would be best?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/10-X-501-W5W-W...item3c9fc432a2

Also where is best to wire into for the led lights etc?

Thanks for the help so far btw

 

Here you go - Cumbrian Scoobs :: View topic - A small Mod to the door cards

 

thanks, thats a great help so i wire into the door switch just to be sure lol don't want to do it wrong

 

Is the dash fairly easy to get out then? I've got a 97 WRX import. The left light is yellow, the right is green and the needles don't show up in the dark. Far too dim, (the dash not me). lol.

 

I've always thought my clocks were a bit dull. Not interested in changing the colour at all, but would like to brightne them up a bit.
Jeff, I don't suppose you have tested your new bulbs have you> Dit you ever notice any dark areas when they were lit?

 

Apparently the uk cars have a bright switch that the jap versions don't have.
It seems to be the lower half that's so dull.

 

The bright switch is only for the clock. Its one of the most pointless items on the car.

 

Glad to be of use mate.

 

Not sure if they all are but my 95 wrx has green rubber covers that go over the clear bulbs,so if i wanted to change the colour i just need the bulb rubber covers

 

Try finding a decent scrappy though, always full of rubbish.

 

Fancy seeing you on here Have you got the dash with the little bin above the centre air vents?? If not, (not full facelift) its just a simple bulb swap like I did with mine. (the reason I ask is there are two possible dashs on a 98 car, you are an R reg aren't you??))
I used inverted W5W led bulbs in my car with very good results. Much better than the rounded topped ones.

 

Getting the clocks out on mine was a cinch: two screws on the top inside edge. Undo those, lower the steering wheel to it's lowest position, and pull the surround out. You have to work it over the steering wheel shroud, or remove THAT too: two more screws underneath.

Once the clocks' surround is out, there are IIRC two more screws at the top of the clocks, remove those, work the entire clocks out and unplug the connectors.

It's ONLY as easy as this if you have the elctronic speedo/mileometer. If it's cable, you have to undo that too, which is NOT as easy.

 

yeah,was gonna add,a mechanical speedo cluster is harder to get for sure than the electronic version !!!!

 

Took me about 20 mins from start to finish - so very easy to do as I hadn't tried it before.

Got some blue leds in mine and they light up great although I did get some of the 'tower bulbs' with 9 leds.



Only problem is at night the needles are poorly illuminated at the ends which isn't great.

When I get back from holiday I will be changing the heater bulbs and also the bulbs in my gauges.

I had an idea to try white leds in the clocks with a layer of blue film so hopefully the needles will still be fine but haven't got round to it yet.

 

Hey Yeah i have the dash with the compartment above the centre vents.. (it comes in useful i may add)

And yeah mate i am on a R reg, so does the fact i have the bin thing mean i can't change the bulbs?

 

That looks really nice, my clocks are the earlier ones though, again with poorly lit needles. Nonexistant really. I like that blue.

 

I have the early dials and have no trouble with the needles.

 

That's the ticket!

 

so what bulbs are we using then ?

these ?

2 X 501 W5W WIDE ANGLE 1 BLUE LED BULBS HID XENON LOOK on eBay (end time 10-Dec-09 20:34:07 GMT)

 

Good question.

 

I used these 10pcs 501 W5W Inverted LED (Spark Blue) Wedge Bulbs on eBay (end time 15-Dec-09 14:47:14 GMT)

 

sound,will get some ordered

blue scoob,is the whole dash needed to be removed ie undoing the speedo cable etc or can removing the facia etc gain access to the bulbs,cant remember now

cheers