I think I got it now. You spin the needle gently (counter clockwise) until you reach the stopping point of the motor that moves it, take a pic of where its at. Then, after its pulled apart and you go to put it back togather, put the needle on the shaft and spin it gently again (counter clockwise) until you feel it stop, and then press harder spinning it around the shaft until it gets to where it was when you took the pic.

 

Yeah, now you've got the idea.... I think I have the same engine and gearing as you, can you get some accurate speeds and corresponding RPM for me, say in 5th gear? I should have done this before I took everything apart, I know.

 

Loooks Effin Awesome!!!!

 

I didnt think of it until I was almost home, so I only got one. Around 60mph im inbetween 2000-2500 rpms (2250) in 5th gear. I also have 31" tires, but they didnt change it much from my stock tires. Maybe like .5mph.

 

I still have the stock wheels and tires. Your idle 750 when its warmed up?

 

I do

 

Maybe look into a scanguage

 

fas2.jpg?t=1221368280

Haha, my new avatar (too bad it wont fit!!!!)

I just did the HVAC with the same LED's... used 8 of them.. so she matches PERFECT!!

I have some extra bulbs for the few people who were asking for them, I was going to return them, but since they are brand new (0 miles on them) I thought I'd ask who still wanted them, they are the same ones as my very first cluster pics in this thread.

 

I got mine today, they should be going in tomorrow!

 

use that foil tape!
if you need help taking things apart, or putting the lights in don't hesitate to get a hold of me.

 

Will do, I'm gonna work on it slowly over the next week, make sure I get it done right the first time.

 

I would say this mod is complete, it only took me 4 weeks.

Here is how I laid out my lighting for the final version.









Here are some pics of daytime interior...









Here are some nightime pics... I played with the exposure so I could get more detail, and less glaring light.










Now the important part. When you convert your "running lights" circuit into LED, the turnsignals interact differently with the running lights. I know what your are thinking... "how the hell are the turnsignals tied to the running lights", just read on.

I measured .12 amps of current that was trying to go back into the running lights circuit when I turned on my turnsignals. As a result my entire running light setup would barely turn on by itself when my turnsignals were on (only daytime, running lights off mode)

The trick to getting around this is to hid an incandescent bulb (or a resistor of appropriate power rating and resistance) - it needs to be in parallel with the running lights circuit.

If you think about it you will realize that the front lighting, rear lighting and cluster backlighting is all the same circuit. Since my front, rear have been LED for a long time, the only thing left to mod was the cluster. This is why I finally saw this problem, LED's are a 1-way street for current, and it was bleeding into the running lights when I used the turnsignals.

Anyways, this is where I hid my bulb (yes I have a 2 door, extended cab)

 

Great job, Turb'z. Interior paint looks great! Interior period looks great!! I'm still bouncing between going all led outside though...i kinda dig amber incadesants...

 

Do you have the product number for the LEDs you used and do you have any pictures of how you wired the LEDs to the circuit board, or how did you connect power to them?

 

It can be wired to any source that gives 12V when the parking light switch is on.

I chose to use the stock connections on the back of the cluster.

 

question for you, on the HVAC panel, where did you put your lights? im just buying some LED bulbs now, and want to start off with my HVAC panel, it seems fairly easy...I just want it to be as even as possible

 

I used 8 LEDs in my HVAC. I unfortunately did not take a picture. The LEDs I used were 360 degree lightup LEDs, and these offer a much much more even glow than any other LED I have been able to find. There are 2 'stock spots' for bulbs inside the HVAC, I used 2 LED's each that basically fit in these spots. Everything was hot glued to the back of the clear plastic piece that sits inside the HVAC. I scuffed up the plastic to give the hot glue a surface to adhere too. The rest of them were wired in locations that looked not as bright when I tested it.

The easiest way to do this is to go to radioshack and buy a 120Vac-12Vdc converter. You can take the HVAC into the house, wire up some LEDs and temporarily connect them with wires with alligator clips. (you should buy some wires on with alligator clips if your serious about modding with LEDs, they are EXTREMELY useful.) Radio shack carries all of this stuff. The LEDs I used are 3.0V nominal, so i used 4 of them in series, and then I put a 100 ohm resistor in series with that. This is because the truck can be at 14.4 volts when the alternator is pumping. (just use a meter and check yourself) In total, I had 2 strings like this in parallel inside of the HVAC. This means its a total of 8 LEDs, with a 100ohm'er on each string. You can connect each end of the strings in parallel and wire them to the power from either bulbs screw in socket. Be careful about which one is positive and negative. If you hook LEDs in backwards on your running lights circuit the truck will freak out. TEST to see which one of the 2 prongs in the harness is ground and power (the black one is ground)

If you buy the transformer you can bring it inside the house like I said, and use that with the alligator clips to test different plans of locations to make it work. You probably want to get the green off the little stripe on the dials, to do this I first removed the dials from the HVAC, there are 3 of them. (DUH) - if you turn them over you can see the little clear piece inside, that transmits the light. There is green paint on the tip of those, you need to sand them off. They come out as they are just pressed in there, be careful and pull them out with needle nose but don't shatter them. I used a baby-flathead screwdriver to help them out. Once you sand off the green you will want to take a bit of paint and paint the end. The smartest thing to use is one of those oil based permanent markers, but I didn't figure this out yet so I bought ladies white nail polish at the supermarket and just used that. (yes it was embarrasing shopping for makeup) To test the layout of the LEDs the alligator clip wires can just be scotch-taped wherever you might want them, and just hook it to the transformer to turn it on. This is basically the process I used to do my cluster too. Don't forget to use foil tape to make it shine back. I used this everywhere I could, but you have to be careful because the foil tape conducts. Inside of the HVAC there is alot of opportunity to short out too! I put some hot-glue over these areas to insulate it.

Liquid brush on insulation works like a wonder on the LED cathode and anode wires - I bought that at home depot.

I hope this helps. If you decide you want yours done for you, I would be happy to do it if you want to pay me $ for it. ( I do good work and take a my time)

 

well what do you charge? haha i think there is a lot more electrical involved than i initially thought...I can probably pull it off but just to keep my options open

 

Message me with what you are looking to have done to the cluster. I did new needles, paint & LEDs....

 

My friend that was going to help me with this project has some issues he has to deal with and I probably won't see him anymore for a while, so if you could maybe send me a quote to what you would charge for the same thing you did, minus the paint. I might be intrested in this soon...

 

the pictures you have in your first post, are those the plug in LEDs? I'm debating with just going with those, they seem much easier to work with...

 

Yes, they are plug in LEDs, and I have them sitting on my shelf about at hands reach. They are brand spankin new. If you want those exact same ones in the exact picture I am selling them now because I have no use for them. The results are exactly what you see, and that was the only time I used them (so they really are brand new)

I have enough for you to do your cluster and your HVAC to match, plus an extra incase you lose one. I'll also throw in the bases that give you a deeper pull so they shine into the disperser plastic better than the stock bases. I would love to get rid of these, they are just sitting around here.

 

I have a set if you want them

 

you have the wider ones, the first picture ones are the smt smaller ones.

 

Whats the difference?