Gauge Cluster Overhaul

OGMB2K

This is my sad sad gauge cluster .. Is this how they light up? Or am I chasing yet another rabbit down a hole?

As it has been mentioned here before, a very generous member has provided me with donor clusters so I can begin to work on custom face plates. In the meantime, can one of you post pics of your lighted clusters? Or is this as good as it gets .. lol

Thank you

MazdaMitch

You can replace the bulbs with LED lights and it makes it look better and they are still dimmable.

Cluster Led Bulb Replacement.
T10 (194) are the larger ones.
https://amzn.to/3nBAd0n
T5 are the smaller ones.
https://amzn.to/35LVI8z

OGMB2K

MazdaMitch That's a great starting point for me ...

Therefore, either all my bulbs are bad, there is a bad fuse, or I'm down another rabbit hole .. lol
Because from my photo, my gauge almost looks like it lights from the front. Now I am pleading ignorance here, i was just doing a safety check that night and considering all the other rigs I have found so far, I would not put it past the previous owner to have put a cheap LED strip under the face plate to light up the gauge face ..

Thank you for the pics ..

Axel-Breaker-Earl

OGMB2K

That does look like the gauge face has been lit up.

Here is my 4x4 B2600i truck gauges.....

OGMB2K

Mitch, since you have upgraded your bulbs have you noticed any spots that are brighter than others? We are talking about 80's tech here, I'm trying to figure out what effects colored gels or diffused light would have in softening or balancing the lighting so you do not get bright spots in these custom ones I will be designing.

Mrcrowley

OGMB2K I run green bulbs and they seem pretty solid

lizardkingjr

Are there any bulbs that shouldn't be replaced with LED? I remember this being a topic on the old site.

MazdaMitch

lizardkingjr yes the alternator or charger indicator, it has to be the standard bulb or it will affect charging believe it or not.

Also if you replace the high beam with LED it will be awfully bright at night.

OGMB2K

First Haymon78, THANK YOU !!!
Got them today and they are already apart .. lol

Next, here are my thoughts ... They are Metal and solid, so I will be able to make vinyl overlays for them.

Now before you go yanking your clusters out of your trucks .. Let me put together the full DYI, the needles are way too sensitive to remove and the cluster part behind the plates are not straight forward when it comes to removing them. So when I'm done I'll demo a complete set with a write up ..

UPDATE. I for one have never removed the riveted pins that hold the needle assemblies in place. I will confess as a first attempt, I stopped, even though these clusters are donors for this purpose, the damage you WILL do to the gauge face is far beyond the benefit. Therefore I will simply engineer around this so the overlay drops right over and goes around the rivets, making your life easier.

Here is the back of the main gauge, the speedo ..

OGMB2K

OK, UPDATES !!!

Nothing about this is straight forward, and while I have a sample to showcase some possibilities, now the fun begins. Which is making sure my scale and measurements are correct in order not to get caught doing 80 while your speedo is pointing 55mph .. lol

So I have a few trials left before I open the flood gates, but here is a quick sample of what can be done.

Obviously this is the center panel of the no tach version. I will be able to do a three panel wide graphic, three independent panels, just one, etc ..

In this example I deleted the Km/H to give more space for graphics. I used a font very similar to Mazda's OEM font, but any font will work. And I eliminated the 110, feeling that traveling at that speed is Ludicrous .. lol

I'm no graphic artist, but I'm dumb enough tot try. Just wanted to let you all know I am working on this ..

Mitch - cough cough wink wink, let me know your thoughts as to what you'd like to see on one of these.
Email me: ivan.garneff@gmail.com

Excuse the poor quality pic, it looks like drew that with a crayon .. lol

MazdaMitch

I'm excited to see a pic.

Just want to let you know that back in the day and I mean way back like in the late 90s a friend and myself we took the cluster out and took it apart.

We took the needles off and everything and laid the faces on a copier and scanned it in the computer.

Then on Windows 95 using Microsoft paint we changed the colors to white with black numbers so it was easier to see in the daytime.

Painted the needles black.

Then we printed it on 8 x 11 sheets of sticker paper and we printed it with a inkjet printer.

Then affixed the sheet to the gauges, get some trimming and it was amazing for a very long time.

Everybody was like how'd you do that!!

Wish I had pictures but that's how we did it way back then.

OGMB2K

MazdaMitch Necessity is the mother of all invention .. lol

I for one am glad there was no youtube or internet when I was growing up, I do not want half of the shite, recorded for all eternity .. lol

OGMB2K

So today I finished mocking the complete cluster, on paper .. haha, its looks good. Now I need to decide how to proceed, your input is appreciated.

Because these are metal I was thinking to keep costs down just make them as stickers you can drop over your originals. That is certainly the least expensive way to approach this. What are the peanut galleries thoughts on finish? We can either do Gloss or Matte. Considering how they are lit, Matte may be the best way to go.

So the next step is for me to make a bunch and try them on my demo pieces until the size and finish are ready for you guys...

This Sample represents a clean white face, with the KMH delete a splash of color. Honestly once I dial in the size and application method, the rest will up to our imagination.

Also, this cluster is for an Automatic, which compared to other versions has differences in the Fuel and Temp gauges despite being automatic.

So I shall name you No Tach Auto I know this came out of an auto because one of the dummy lights says O/D.

Note the difference, my cluster is manual.

MazdaMitch

Matte is definitely the way to go.

Mazdafreak

Mine

OGMB2K

Mazdafreak That's what I am aiming to be able to do for the group. I have the panels scanned and sized properly, now I am working on the overlay method and material. Yours is awesome.

Was it a vinyl overlay or was it some sort of plastic replacing the original panel?

Thanks for the insight

Mazdafreak

OGMB2K it’s some kinda vinyl/thicker plastic with a sticky back