Timm Posted 9April, 2019 Report Share Posted 9April, 2019 15 minutes ago, OzJustin said: That's a great idea Timm! I did read some people have tried LED strips but I didn't see any evidence that the dimmer would still function. In most cases they were suggesting the dimmer wouldn't work with LEDs due to the reduced voltage. How long have you had your LED strip installed? So the strip doesn't rely on the reflective coating at all and sits on the outside of the window/tunnel? I'm sure this will make more sense once I've pulled out my cluster. Yep that's it. Unfortunately I didn't take any pics during the installation, but here's a pic off google showing were to place the LED strip. You can see that the two mirrors on the right have already been rubbed off leaving clear windows which the LED stip gets stuck over. I did this mod back in 2015 and have had no issues whatsoever with it since. The only notes I have is that the LEDS are very white, so don't match the rest of the incandescent bulbs in the rest of the interior. If I did it again I'd try to find a warmer colour if possible, or perhaps put a translucent yellowish film over the windows under the LED strip. @OzJustin and @Jason E happy to show you boys mine first if you wanna see how it looks in person. Allan C and OzJustin 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzJustin Posted 9April, 2019 Report Share Posted 9April, 2019 35 minutes ago, Jason E said: Justin, I've recently purchased a spare instrument cluster to practice this & a few other little jobs on before addressing mine. Good plan. What else do you have in store for your cluster? Integrated Racepak dash...😜 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timm Posted 9April, 2019 Report Share Posted 9April, 2019 Just now, OzJustin said: Good plan. What else do you have in store for your cluster? Integrated Racepak dash...😜 Haha, maybe one day I have been tempted to set up a double din head unit with VEMS display, but I already have an analog oil temp and boost gauge down there so no real need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzJustin Posted 3October, 2019 Report Share Posted 3October, 2019 Digging up this thread as I’m in the middle of refurbishing my dash cluster. What silver paint or aluminium foil tape is everyone using for the three prisms that reflect the light onto the dash? i have aluminium foil tape for foil insulation but it is only single sided so will be upside down/not shiny if sticking to the back of the prisms.. I wonder if kitchen al foil stuck down with electrical tape would hold? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason E Posted 3October, 2019 Report Share Posted 3October, 2019 7 minutes ago, OzJustin said: Digging up this thread as I’m in the middle of refurbishing my dash cluster. What silver paint or aluminium foil tape is everyone using for the three prisms that reflect the light onto the dash? i have aluminium foil tape for foil insulation but it is only single sided so will be upside down/not shiny if sticking to the back of the prisms.. I wonder if kitchen al foil stuck down with electrical tape would hold? What happens after X amount of heat cycles & the tape starts drying out? Would be a pain to have to do over! I know @TINGY996 did his at some stage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzJustin Posted 3October, 2019 Report Share Posted 3October, 2019 26 minutes ago, Jason E said: What happens after X amount of heat cycles & the tape starts drying out? Would be a pain to have to do over! I know @TINGY996 did his at some stage. Yeah I wasn’t too keen to go with tape for that reason. Not sure how others are doing it. Clarks Garage seem to be suggesting al foil stuck down with masking tape. http://www.clarks-garage.com/shop-manual/elect-08.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian in buddina Posted 3October, 2019 Author Report Share Posted 3October, 2019 @OzJustin I went a sign maker & they gave me some chrome foil scap with self adhesive backing. The backside, under the adhesive was chrome as well. Worked out well & no cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzJustin Posted 4October, 2019 Report Share Posted 4October, 2019 13 hours ago, brian in buddina said: @OzJustin I went a sign maker & they gave me some chrome foil scap with self adhesive backing. The backside, under the adhesive was chrome as well. Worked out well & no cost. Good idea Brian. I tried a sign shop today but they didn’t have anything suitable. Ended up getting some chrome spray paint similar to what would have been on the cluster when new. Will see how it turns out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
944s2cab Posted 4October, 2019 Report Share Posted 4October, 2019 I used aluminium tape, I think it's sold to stop interference in electric guitar pickups Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason E Posted 4October, 2019 Report Share Posted 4October, 2019 6 hours ago, 944s2cab said: I used aluminium tape, I think it's sold to stop interference in electric guitar pickups Where'd you get it from? Did it perform well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzJustin Posted 15October, 2019 Report Share Posted 15October, 2019 Quick update to this thread. I ended up going with the Clarks Garage suggestion (al foil and masking tape). It stuck down surprisingly well so only time will tell if it lasts long term. In terms of performance, the al foil made a massive difference to brightness. I could barely see my dash gauges at night before the refurb (not surprising given the heavily worn silver paint on the prisms). Now I can see all my gauges perfectly at night and the dimming control is quite effective. Final point - I discovered I only had 2w bulbs installed when I removed the cluster. I upgraded to 3w Narva bulbs (below the 3.7w max recommended by Clarks Garage) and feel no need to pursue brighter LEDs. The warm white bulbs are a better match for the rest of the stock dash bulbs too. Highly recommended refurb! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason E Posted 15October, 2019 Report Share Posted 15October, 2019 Righto mate, when we get some time we need to do this to my machine. Sounds great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
944s2cab Posted 15October, 2019 Report Share Posted 15October, 2019 On 05/10/2019 at 05:33, Jason E said: Where'd you get it from? Did it perform well? ebay, and yes it worked great, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzJustin Posted 16October, 2019 Report Share Posted 16October, 2019 19 hours ago, Jason E said: Righto mate, when we get some time we need to do this to my machine. Sounds great. Happy to help. It’s a straight-forward job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TINGY Posted 16October, 2019 Report Share Posted 16October, 2019 This is an easy fix, i used the shiny tape with the original globes and it was amazing. The difference really is night and day, see what i did there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OZ930 Posted 16October, 2019 Report Share Posted 16October, 2019 23 hours ago, OzJustin said: Quick update to this thread. I ended up going with the Clarks Garage suggestion (al foil and masking tape). It stuck down surprisingly well so only time will tell if it lasts long term. In terms of performance, the al foil made a massive difference to brightness. I could barely see my dash gauges at night before the refurb (not surprising given the heavily worn silver paint on the prisms). Now I can see all my gauges perfectly at night and the dimming control is quite effective. Final point - I discovered I only had 2w bulbs installed when I removed the cluster. I upgraded to 3w Narva bulbs (below the 3.7w max recommended by Clarks Garage) and feel no need to pursue brighter LEDs. The warm white bulbs are a better match for the rest of the stock dash bulbs too. Highly recommended refurb! A note of caution, higher wattage bulbs produce more heat and may melt some plastic. 911/930 in dash heater control panel is a classic example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason E Posted 16October, 2019 Report Share Posted 16October, 2019 47 minutes ago, OZ930 said: A note of caution, higher wattage bulbs produce more heat and may melt some plastic. 911/930 in dash heater control panel is a classic example. I do remember Bruce Buchanan cautioning against going much higher than standard wattage due to heat/ melt issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OZ930 Posted 16October, 2019 Report Share Posted 16October, 2019 48 minutes ago, Jason E said: I do remember Bruce Buchanan cautioning against going much higher than standard wattage due to heat/ melt issues. This is one advantage of LEDs. Jason E 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzJustin Posted 17October, 2019 Report Share Posted 17October, 2019 On 16/10/2019 at 14:32, TINGY996 said: This is an easy fix, i used the shiny tape with the original globes and it was amazing. The difference really is night and day, see what i did there Good one Tingy On 16/10/2019 at 17:41, OZ930 said: A note of caution, higher wattage bulbs produce more heat and may melt some plastic. 911/930 in dash heater control panel is a classic example. My understanding is that the factory spec bulb is actually a 3w so no issue with what I installed (mine were underrated before). People seem to have problems if installing 4-5w bulbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OZ930 Posted 17October, 2019 Report Share Posted 17October, 2019 14 minutes ago, OzJustin said: My understanding is that the factory spec bulb is actually a 3w so no issue with what I installed (mine were underrated before). People seem to have problems if installing 4-5w bulbs. All good, just a general caution. 👍 OzJustin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyberpunky Posted 24October, 2019 Report Share Posted 24October, 2019 I did this ages ago. There was a guy selling a kit back then, that had silver mylar for tunnels. While I was waiting for kit to arrive I cleaned up tunnels with acetone, then sprayed them with chrome paint. It worked great. When the kit arrived I took paint off and fitted the mylar mostly because I had paid for the kit and it looked like it would be a permanent fix, which it has been. I'm not a fan of LED as too cold and as mentioned above, it doesn't suit rest of dash. I used toothpaste to polish the perspex and it works great and smells minty fresh lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stepo Posted 17August, 2020 Report Share Posted 17August, 2020 I finally got around to pulling my 944 instrument cluster out over the weekend to try and improve the dull lights. The instructions on Clark's Garage worked a treat, pretty easy job which you just take your time with. I tried not taking the wheel off at the start but it does need removing to get the cluster out. My three main globes were 2W, looked like they'd been there for 30 years, I replaced with 3W but I understand up to 3.8W is safe without worrying about too much heat. The original paint on my reflectors didn't look too bad but I did end up removing it with non-acetone nail polish remover. I stuck the shiny side of aluminium foil down and used 50mm blue painters tape to protect the outer surface. A shot of before and after below. The first shot has a little light coming into the garage as I started just after lunch, the last was pitch black by the time I finished, original and updated globes were warm white. After, you can always use the dimmer now if required but a good improvement, worth giving it a go. OzJustin, Scott930, Philbee and 4 others 6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian in buddina Posted 17August, 2020 Author Report Share Posted 17August, 2020 @Stepo does your dashboard dimmer work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stepo Posted 17August, 2020 Report Share Posted 17August, 2020 15 minutes ago, brian in buddina said: @Stepo does your dashboard dimmer work? Yes mate, works a treat, same globes just 1 extra watt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzJustin Posted 17August, 2020 Report Share Posted 17August, 2020 3 hours ago, Stepo said: I finally got around to pulling my 944 instrument cluster out over the weekend to try and improve the dull lights. The instructions on Clark's Garage worked a treat, pretty easy job which you just take your time with. I tried not taking the wheel off at the start but it does need removing to get the cluster out. My three main globes were 2W, looked like they'd been there for 30 years, I replaced with 3W but I understand up to 3.8W is safe without worrying about too much heat. The original paint on my reflectors didn't look too bad but I did end up removing it with non-acetone nail polish remover. I stuck the shiny side of aluminium foil down and used 50mm blue painters tape to protect the outer surface. A shot of before and after below. The first shot has a little light coming into the garage as I started just after lunch, the last was pitch black by the time I finished, original and updated globes were warm white. After, you can always use the dimmer now if required but a good improvement, worth giving it a go. Good job on this Stepo. I did the same thing on my old 944 and it made a massive difference. I bet you're looking forward to driving it more at night now! Stepo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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