Gauge cluster yellowish light

[Brique]

I know this thread is 2 years old but wondering how your blue underlays worked out. I'm in the process of finding an even 'blue' look in my '02 4R Limited gauge cluster.

I purchased 3 #24 1SMD 10 Lumen blue LED's from SuperBrightLeds.com a few weeks ago. While I liked the shade of blue, I was experiencing 3 hot spots, uneven radial dispersion of light across the cluster and a washout of all the red in the cluster. I wasn't happy with the results. I've read thru Ripcord's LED write-up about using wax paper to better disperse light and prevent hot spots.

After reading this thread, I've ordered 3 #74 3SMD 25 Lumen cool white LED's from SuperBrightLeds.com to replace the #24's. I'm hoping for brighter overall light and better radial light dispersion. I'll scrape the base of the #74's to fit the twist sockets and look for some blue film to make underlays for the white lettering in the cluster.

Worked out perfectly. I ultimately had to take the needles off to get them right, tho. I used scotch tape to affix the underlay, and be advised that the tape will cause a slight shadow if it's in the path of the light, so be careful where you put it. It won't be noticeable to anyone but you, but it will drive you batshit.

To put the needles back on, I had to reinstall the gauge cluster with the cover off, and if I remember correctly, I put the tach needle on at 0 with the acc on and the engine off, then the speedo needle back on at 0 with the engine on and the truck in P.

 

[Brique]

Oh, and I'll also say those are the right lights, but be advised the cool white will still look pretty blue. I ended up with warm white and it was perfect. Still a clean white light, not yellow at all.

 

[ATX4Yota]

Worked out perfectly. I ultimately had to take the needles off to get them right, tho. I used scotch tape to affix the underlay, and be advised that the tape will cause a slight shadow if it's in the path of the light, so be careful where you put it. It won't be noticeable to anyone but you, but it will drive you batshit.

To put the needles back on, I had to reinstall the gauge cluster with the cover off, and if I remember correctly, I put the tach needle on at 0 with the acc on and the engine off, then the speedo needle back on at 0 with the engine on and the truck in P.

This project is already driving me 'batshit'! I'll probably use something a bit stronger than scotch tape and keep it just around the edges. Why did you end up having to take the speedo and tach needles off? Fuel and water temp needles too? Thanks for previous and future input...

 

[Brique]

To get the gauge faces completely off the tach and speedo the needles have to come off. I tried a first pass by cutting the underlay just so and trying to slide it under, but ultimately the only way to do it right was to take them off. Fuel and temp faces can slide out from under the needles, no need to the those needles off. To get the right color and thickness for the underlay I used an office depot clear blue plastic folder.

This project was a complete and utter *****, but I'm really happy with the outcome. I need to make a video showing all this probably.