Converting an XD2 gauge cluster to LEDs

[PSUsouthpaw]

Its not too hard. for the XD2, you will need (2) #78 bulbs, and either (4) #194 bulbs or (2) #194 bulbs and (2) more ultra brite/multiple led #194 bulbs, as those disperse the light better.

Time frames:
1. To remove dash fascia <10 minute
2. To remove gauge cluster <10 minutes
3. to install bulbs 10-15 minutes, depending on how good your are with tiny items
4. To reinstall-however long it took you to take it apart. Should be less than an hour total, most likely less than a half an hour.

Tools needed:
Phillips screwdriver
one small pliers for removing #74 bulbs
Bigger pliers just in case
Patience and coordination

1. Disconnect the Battery, just for safetys sake.
2. Remove dash fascia.
3. unscrew the 4 screws holding the gauge cluster in place. It should pop right out.
4. Remove the 3 connectors/wiring harness
5. take the gauge cluster out of the dash entirely.
6. there are 4 slots for 194 bulbs, and than you need #74 bulbs for the fuel gauge and water temp gauge. Be warned, you may ended up breaking the original bulbs trying to get them out of the holders. Buying new holders may help, but I'm not sure what part number they are.
7. for the #74 bulbs, you may have to sand the holders down a little bit, as the bulbs i bought made the holders too large to properly fit back in the gauge cluster
8. Put your finished Gauge cluster back in the car and repeat steps 1-5 in reverse order.
9. Wait until its dark and enjoy!

p.s. the bulb behind the odometer appears to be a 74, but i did not change it, because i was not sure how it would end up looking, and didn't want to mess with it.

pics: as soon as I get them transferred from the old computer to the new.

[optimoprime]

pics? tools needed? time frame? the basic DIY stuff that makes its a good DIY

[2002 GLS]

:worthless

other wise good write up..

[04 elantra cvvt]

Here is what it looks like when you install the Matrix style LED's. BTW, the Odometer bulb does change the color of the LCD screen.

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p13/camaro_thunder92/gauges03.jpg

[Munky]

Here is what it looks like when you install the Matrix style LED's. BTW, the Odometer bulb does change the color of the LCD screen.

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p13/camaro_thunder92/gauges03.jpg

Wow..that gauge cluster looks real good.

[Codenomics]

Here is what it looks like when you install the Matrix style LED's. BTW, the Odometer bulb does change the color of the LCD screen.

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p13/camaro_thunder92/gauges03.jpg

What did you use behind the fuel and temp gauges. I used reg LEDs but they are dim. And My needles dont show up for ****!

[04 elantra cvvt]

I bought all of mine from autolumination.com. I got 4 of the Matrix 194 LED's, and 3 of the 74's. Installed them, and that's it. I wouldn't buy them from anywhere else though, the rest just suck.

[nohbahdi]

Does the dimming feature still work with the LEDs? It looks pretty harsh for night driving, no?

[PSUsouthpaw]

it does work, although some of the originasl 194s I purchased go from dim to dark. I plan on getting new ones soon.

[04 elantra cvvt]

Yes, the dim does still work. My camera does not do a very good job of representing the final output.

I would still recommend you getting the Matrix style LED's. autolumination also has some new types of 194's that are supposed to be better for gauges. In the end, don't waste money on the store-bought 194 LED's. They just don't do the job like the good ones.

[Silentwolf]

Here is what it looks like when you install the Matrix style LED's. BTW, the Odometer bulb does change the color of the LCD screen.

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p13/camaro_thunder92/gauges03.jpg

DUDE those look awsome!
Where and what bulbs do i get for that?
NM i see now, but are those 74s LED as well?
Whats the actual site addy?

[Cypher]

I bought all of mine from autolumination.com. I got 4 of the Matrix 194 LED's, and 3 of the 74's. Installed them, and that's it. I wouldn't buy them from anywhere else though, the rest just suck.

read much?

[Silentwolf]

Crap i was putting in an I before the l. Its late cut me some slack :tongue:

[Cypher]

not a problem :) I do it all the time.

[04 elantra cvvt]

read much?

:abovelol:

Thanks Jim.

[Silentwolf]

Well, just ordered 4 matrix 194s led and 3 unknown #78s led at low cost of 40 bucks. "shrugs"

[04 elantra cvvt]

That's about right as far as price. I hope the 3 you ordered were # 74's though.

[Silentwolf]

Scared me for a moment there. Looked at my invoice and it says 74 so ya. All came in yesterday along with new headlights for the Buick and Elantra. So might tackle it tonight.

[04 elantra cvvt]

I know for a fact that the Elantra won't take any time at all. I can swap out the cluster lights in 15-20 min.

[Silentwolf]

Looks down right cool!
Full bright
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k177/ryesherm2/Fullblue.jpg

Full dim
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k177/ryesherm2/Dimblue.jpg

ODO
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k177/ryesherm2/BlueODO.jpg

(Note: Yes thats the real mileage and i've had the car for 14 months now :D)

[04 elantra cvvt]

Looks just like mine used to. I now have the blue LED's in the gas and temp, and Amber in the speedo and tach. I'll take some pics. I think it actually looks pretty good.

[mlumz]

too bad it isn't this easy to change out the odometer on the gt

[Silentwolf]

How so??

[mlumz]

the odometer on the gt has flat mount leds which are difficult to change (requires skilled soldering)

[04 elantra cvvt]

The XD2 GT has SMT LED's for all of the lights in the cluster.

[Silentwolf]

Wish the clock was as easy :(

[04 elantra cvvt]

Ilan can tell you how to do it. He is the master at the XD2 clock.

[ilanpro]

There is that way and the right way. lol

http://www.babomall.com/rd/index.html?pg=comm&url=diy&mode=view&view=&page=2&no=746&find=xd&choose=sub&cate=b

http://www.babomall.com/rd/index.html?pg=comm&url=diy&mode=view&view=&page=2&no=2028&find=xd&choose=sub&cate=b

[04 elantra cvvt]

Wow... I can't read anything on that site, but that's the exact kit that I need to match the rest of the gauges in my car. Do they actually make that kit, or is it something that someone just made as a one-off?

[themarin8r]

instead of starting a whole new thread about a topic already discussed, i figured id add my question here.
in the pics, it looks like the red part of the tach is pretty much blacked out. Is it the pics, or does the red not show up as well? if i did this i would want the red to show up still, or is the plastic red and the white or pea green light show through it to make it glow?

[krodammi]

these look so pretty and exactly what i want. anyone have an answer to the above question? also does this require ANY soldering??

40 bucks isn't bad at all

[cbogg]

these look so pretty and exactly what i want. anyone have an answer to the above question? also does this require ANY soldering??

40 bucks isn't bad at all

No soldering. It's just replacing bulbs. Unless you have a GT, which you don't.

[jamina1]

Here's a question, since my car is still under warranty do you think they'd get mad if I changed the bulbs behind my cluster?
And I'd love to have blue LED all around the car, window buttons, clock, HVAC, etc.
Are there any DIY tutorials on how to change the LEDs in the clock console?

[krodammi]

buy the clock from ilanpro! its plug and play and works great!!

[Vampyrate]

i bought all of mine from autolumination.com. I got 4 of the matrix 194 led's, and 3 of the 74's. Installed them, and that's it. I wouldn't buy them from anywhere else though, the rest just suck.

qfmft!!!!

[themarin8r]

so my question wasnt answered really
is the red part of the speedo tinted red plastic so it glows red?
i want to change the colors, but want to keep the red

[ilanpro]

so my question wasnt answered really
is the red part of the speedo tinted red plastic so it glows red?
i want to change the colors, but want to keep the red

It wont glow red, for that you will need to use red or orange flourecent paint behind the red also the best bulbs for this would be this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2-BLUE-HIGH-PWR-SMT-5-LED-LIGHT-BULBS-194-168-158-VS_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33713QQihZ016QQitemZ 260259633404QQtcZphoto

http://a763.g.akamai.net/7/763/1644/8/app.infopia.com/img/image/fp/VPID/4481018/img8/img.jpg/size/260

[cbogg]

Is there another bulb behind the red part Ilan? Also, I was thinking about changing out more of the little bulbs behind the cluster, like the ones for the blinkers and stuff, do you think that would affect the operation of it?

[themarin8r]

thanks for the info ilan

[ilanpro]

So after some research here is the deal The bulbs I posted above, will look like this

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o144/ilanpro/P8030420.jpg

the 194 From auto illumination is the LED one
http://superlumination.com/images/auto_bulbs/194smt_b_wm.jpg


for the 74 you will need this

http://superlumination.com/images/auto_bulbs/74_matrix_b_wm.jpg


that should pur your gauges nice and blue, If you want to keep the red very vivid you need to get White bulbs and put Stagging gel behind the gauges,

see this for reference

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1124644

[themarin8r]

hmmmm i might actually have staging gels left over from a previous project somewhere

[cbogg]

Yeah, I think I could make that happen, but I'd DEFINITELY need a spare cluster. Ilan, does nail polish remover work on our guages to take the greenish-yellow tint off?

[ilanpro]

Yeah, I think I could make that happen, but I'd DEFINITELY need a spare cluster. Ilan, does nail polish remover work on our guages to take the greenish-yellow tint off?

That tint is embedded on the cluster, you can use it to remove the matrix pattern of it.

[04GTboySC]

i wish i was good at stuff like this id change my cluster in a heart beat

[Silentwolf]

That tint is embedded on the cluster, you can use it to remove the matrix pattern of it.

And then use a clear model paint right?

[celicabai]

does the same bulbs work for the 2001 guage cluster?

[Fox]

does the same bulbs work for the 2001 guage cluster?

No, as far as i know, it wont work.

[ilanpro]

does the same bulbs work for the 2001 guage cluster?

Yes:D

[cbogg]

That tint is embedded on the cluster, you can use it to remove the matrix pattern of it.

Okay, so nail polish remover isn't doing **** to this. Any suggestions?

[Vampyrate]

put on superglue and wipe it off before it dries... it should eat right through it

[cbogg]

with? cyanoacrylate can react with cotton, so q-tips are out. also, where would be a good place to tap power for the leds? I was looking for adapters to plug into the bulb adapters, but nobody seems to know where I could get them.

[smileymattj]

Yeah, I think I could make that happen, but I'd DEFINITELY need a spare cluster. Ilan, does nail polish remover work on our guages to take the greenish-yellow tint off?

mine isn't tinted, it has covers over the bulbs that is removable. anyone else have the covers?

[cbogg]

you mean the little rubber things? Mine has that. But on the back of the cluster, it also has this green (think mint chip ice cream) lookin stuff on the back.

[smileymattj]

oh, never looked that far into it, yea I was talking about the rubber things. Thought maybe that the rubbers where only used for a short period, but guess not.

[cbogg]

ALRIGHT. So update, contemplating some fine sandpaper. Bottle of superglue later, and it's really not doing **** other than making things sticky. That's about all. For w/e reason, the assertion that it "eats right through it" does not apply to this particular cluster. Apparently, I got the only indestructible green tinted cluster ever installed on a hyundai. So, being that I knew this project wasn't gonna be a 15 min thing, I'm putting it away for the night, and picking up some nice fine sandpaper tomorrow after work.

[smileymattj]

maybe the superglue you are using is differant from what other people used?

[cbogg]

super glue is cyanoacrylate. that's what in the stuff I have, that's what "krazy glue" "super glue" all that ****. for w/e reason, it's not working, and I don't think a different brand will help.

MAN! you guys really know how to jump in with awesome suggestions for a member in need! amazing! I'm just glad I don't need a kidney or something, of I'd be f'd

Okay, UPDATE! The super glue, didn't work at all. I'm guessing this trick just works on XD's. For those of you with XD2's, 180 grit sandpaper and some wet sanding, works WONDERS! It still has a little yellowish tint (probably just from the plastic) but the green is gone. And, it makes it a lot brighter, so if you're using something for a diffuser, it won't make everything appear so dark. If you're worried about the 180, 220 or even 300 would probably work, just takes longer. The 180 is working fine for me.

[ilanpro]

For GLS LED convertions this will rock

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2-Blue-13-SMD-LED-Light-Bulbs-194-5307-W5W-5304-W3W-168_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ72Q3a1234Q7c39Q3a1 Q7c66Q3a2Q7c65Q3a12Q7c240Q3a1318QQ_trksidZp3286Q2e c0Q2em14QQhashZitem160284653817QQitemZ160284653817

http://www.sixity.com/images/006000009gallery.jpg


and this foe the 74

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/8-Pc-FLUX-LED-T5-18-27-74-85-WHITE-BLUE-AMBER-GREEN-RED_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp3286Q2em20Q2el1116Q QitemZ320304621607


and this for the odometer

http://cgi.ebay.com/2-pcs-T5-74-37-70-Super-BLUE-Wedge-Base-LED-Bulbs-12V_W0QQitemZ190245772318QQcmdZViewItem?_trksid=p3 286.m20.l1116

[falconflyer04]

What would put out a better lightning output for the xd2 gauge... The diode dynamics led, autolumination or ebay leds??? Did someone try fitting the Diode Dynamics Led in the xd2 gauge cluster?

Thanks