Led swap done! Hvac, gauge cluster - Toyota 4Runner Forum

dnbprofessor · 07-12-2014, 06:35 PM

Finished up the led swap for gauge cluster and HVAC. Kind of tedious soldering those tiny leds, but happy with the result. Also, for some reason the parking brake light is on all the time now. Any suggestions why? I couldnt be from the swap could it? Fyi, the brake fluid level is at the max line.

HokieRunner · 07-12-2014, 07:37 PM

Looks good. This is still my favorite mod...getting rid of the orange.

Was the parking brake light on all the time before? If not, I'd wager something happened when you did the swap. Brake fluid level won't impact that.

hearno · 07-12-2014, 07:40 PM

Not sure about the 4runners but I know my camry had a sensor on the fluid reservoir that would set off the parking brake light once the fluid level dropped.
I would agree that the light being on is probably related to what you just did tho.

dnbprofessor · 07-12-2014, 08:35 PM

We'll, I tapped on the gauge cluster and it turned off. Not sure what it was I would have done but hopefully that fixed it for good.

Slowgoat · 07-12-2014, 11:23 PM

Looks good.

Very good!

jsmith21 · 07-12-2014, 11:59 PM

How did you get the needles white? Looks great. How did your hvac screen turn out?

dnbprofessor · 07-13-2014, 12:22 AM

The needles are actually still orange.

jsmith21 · 07-13-2014, 01:02 AM

Hvac stuff looks sweet too. I would do this but I want to figure out how to make the hvac screen look factory. Everyone's I've seen has dark spots in it.

CookieRoe · 07-13-2014, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsmith21

How did you get the needles white? Looks great. How did your hvac screen turn out?

Apparently it's easy to make your needles white. You have to scrape off the paint off of your "needle" (all 4 of them) with a hobby knife. The LEDs that light the needles, make sure they are white one (duh) and your set. I think. I'm not sure if you have to put nail polish on them to "better distribute" the light.

zopperman · 07-13-2014, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CookieRoe

Apparently it's easy to make your needles white. You have to scrape off the paint off of your "needle" (all 4 of them) with a hobby knife. The LEDs that light the needles, make sure they are white one (duh) and your set. I think. I'm not sure if you have to put nail polish on them to "better distribute" the light.

Yeah - I used 2000 grit sandpaper to get the paint off. The needles are very fragile. They also make special needle paint that like glows or something, I can post a link later. Also to get the needle part out of the housing you have to Dremel out some plastic rivets and glue the needle back together.

Cisco Kid · 07-13-2014, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zopperman

Yeah - I used 2000 grit sandpaper to get the paint off. The needles are very fragile. They also make special needle paint that like glows or something, I can post a link later. Also to get the needle part out of the housing you have to Dremel out some plastic rivets and glue the needle back together.

I think the needles in the Limited cluster are the only ones that need to be taken apart to change the color. Also, after you sand the orange paint off, you'll need to use some white paint on the back of the needle to get good visibility again. If you leave them clear with no paint, they will not be very visible.

Ashtonguyton · 07-13-2014, 04:44 PM

I've been wanting to do this mod for so long but I'm not the best with electronics yet. is there anyone in houston or near that could help me with this that knows how?

Site Navigation