WARNING! THIS MAY VOID YOUR WARRANTRY! DON'T SUE ME IF YOU MESS UP! These gauges are not cheap to replace if you make an error, only do this if you are completely sure of what you're doing, or if you have spare gauges from a junkyard.

I've had numerous people ask me how to do this... so, here goes.

First of all, the photos won't cover the actual full dissassembly of the gauges, as resetting the needles, etc. is a real pain in the ****.

Things to do before you start:

1. Fill your gas tank up to the brim. This makes the gas needle easier to reset - you just set it on full! (A bit above the "F" line)

2. Let the car cool down completely, so the coolant needle is at the bottom. This makes the coolant needle easier to reset.

You can do this with the gauges at any point as well, its just tricker. Take some masking tape and line it up EXACTLY with the bottom of the needles with the ignition OFF, when they're at their fully retracted position. Then pry them off. Do not put them back on until you have reconnected the gauge wiring clips. (You'll see later)

Things you'll need
1. A soldering iron with a pencil-tip sized tip
2. Coil of thin solder
3. Medium flathead screwdriver
4. Medium Phillips screwdriver
5. Tiny flathead screwdriver
6. 1/4" ratchet
7. Longest extention you have for said 1/4" ratchet (one of the 8" Snapon ones with a black spin-top is what I use)
8. #20 1/4" Torx bit
9. Fingers
10. Possible Band-Aids
11. LOTS of patience and at least 5 hours of your time, or less if you're fast at soldering
12. Cimoceps/forceps/needlenose pliers and a helper to grip the LEDs with

As for the LEDs themselves...

Go to www.alliedelec.com and order at least 40 of their SMD Blue LEDs - they are 470 nm. Stock # is 505-3015, part # is AND6BB. They are $1.84 per light. Order about 40 in case you mess up (they melt easily).

Okay, here we go! :smile:

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Step 1:

Open the driver-side door. Pry off the cover in the door jamb as shown:



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Step 2:

With a #20 torx, remove the two screws that secure the dashboard cover



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Step 3:

Repeat on the passenger side



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Step 4:

Remove the dashboard cover by lifting the front first, then the back and up and off. If you remove the tach (see steps 5-7) first, it lifts off really easily. The tach gets in the way.



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Step 5:

Look down behind the tach. See those two #20 Torx screws...?



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Step 6:

Remove 'em! This is when a long adapter comes in really handy



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Step 7:

Remove the green harness clip by pressing on the tab with your thumb and pulling it gently off.



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Step 8:

On the back of the tach, remove the two Phillips screws. When they're off, CAREFULLY pry the tachometer apart with a flathead screwdriver. This plastic is VERY soft, and chips easily. If you want proof just come look at mine close-up sometime. You can sorta see it in step 5. Next push the black tab on the bottom down and pull it apart. It takes some fudging, but it'll come apart (I don't think MINI intended us to do this).



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Step 9:

Remove the silver bezel by pushing off the silver tabs (see arrows)



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Step 10:

This is where you will insert the small flathead driver. Just set the tach aside for now, we'll now move onto the speedometer.



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Step 11:

Pop the black bezels off of the hazard and gauge backlight dimmer buttons. They come off easily with just your fingers. Set them aside.



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Step 12:

Open up the glovebox. Look down under the dashboard, right under the seam between the speedometer gauge cover and the airbag cover. You should see a silver and a black screw nearby each other. Remove them with a #20 torx bit. Don't bother removing the screw that I don't have an arrow pointing at.



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Step 13:

Here's a front view of removing those screws:



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Step 14:

Pull off the left side of the speedo cover...



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Step 15:

And then the right. It doesn't want to come easily, so you'll have to give it a good yank. It shouldn't break unless you really wail on it.



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Step 16:

With a #20 torx bit and a long adapter, remove the screws right above the dimmer button and hazard button (the ones that you popped the black bezels off of earlier).



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Step 17:

Now you can remove the speedo cover!



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Step 18:

Next, remove the four #20 torx screws holding the speedometer in place.



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Step 19:

Flip the speedo over. Remove the two harness clips. You'll be popping these on and off later on as well while testing the lights.



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Step 20:

Press out the clear tabs like you did on the tachometer to remove the clear faceplate. Set it aside.



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Step 21:

Lift up on the black tabs and push the black faceplate off. You may need a flathead screwdriver. You can also cut yourself doing this, so keep the Band-aids handy.



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Step 22:

Here's where you get REALLY careful. Don't forget to mark the position of the needles as I explained above. Take the small flathead driver and insert it under the needles. Gently twist the screwdriver to make the needle lift up off its setting a bit. Then VERY CAREFULLY wiggle the needles off. Set them somewhere safe. I've done this about 20 times without hurting anything. Be warned though, before you put them back on when you're done, be sure to plug the gauges back in (tach and speedo) and turn the key to make sure they reset themselves. You'll hear little gears grinding.



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Step 23:

Next, flip the speedo back over and push the white tabs through with a screwdriver. They're near where the clear ones were.



Remove the white back plate and you're all set to start replacing lights!

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This is what the back of the speedo looks like. You can see the female wire harness clips at the bottom left and right. At the top is the speaker that makes the "ding ding ding" for the key. The three white things are the motors. In the center of the trangle of motors you can see 5 silver tabs. These hold on the computer face. You'll have to pop it off before you can remove the face of the speedo and the tach (they both have 'em)...




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Here is a closeup of the LEDs you will be replacing. This is one that has already be replace. Ignore my horrible soldering job (hey, it was my first time ever using a soldering iron, gimme a break! ) As the picture states, not the orientation of the LED. It is a rectangular light, and the top has a little diagonal wedge cut out of it. This goes on the "K" side. You have to pay close attention to this when you mount them, as if you reverse the "K" and "A" sides, the light won't work!



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Now for the how-to on replacing the lights themselves.

Again, I didn't want to open the gauges all the way up again, so you're on your own now.

Heat your soldering iron up, and wet down a small towel. Set it next to the iron. You'll use this to wipe off the iron's tip after every time you apply solder.

Set the speedo and tach down on a secure table, and find a comfortable seating position, you'll be here awhile!

Carefully touch the hot iron to the side of one of the bulbs you plan on replacing (make sure its the right one! You don't want to replace the bulbs for the hazard lights with a blue one, as it won't show up. I did by accident and had to buy a white one. Was a pain in the ****). Take your needlenose pliers, or your cimoceps, or forceps, or whatever you plan on using, and hold onto the LED with them as you melt the old solder off with the iron to help you remove the lights a bit easier. Or you could do what I did and simply pry them off with the tool you're using. I liked my way better, goes really fast.

Next, hold a new LED with your pliers or whatever tool... making sure it is oriented the correct way as explained above. Carefully apply solder to both sides until it stays put.

Take the gauge back into the car and plug it in. Turn on your headlights to see if the light is working. If not, try adding more solder. Wiggle it around a bit to see if it lights, they're kinda finnicky. If you're testing the tach, you have to have the speedo plugged in first, otherwise it won't work.

Just repeat this process until you're done, then carefully reassemble the gauges. Remember to let the gauges reset themselves by plugging them in first before you set the needles. When you do set the needles, just set them on about half way. Turn the key and fine tune them for accuracy.

Then just repeat the steps above in reverse order, and get that dashboard back together!

With practice you can have the tach off and apart in about 2 minutes, and the dashboard off, and speedo apart in 5. You can see how many times I've done this, lol. Soldering goes really fast once you get the hang of it. An expert solderer could get the entire project done in an hour or two. A novice will, like myself, be up all night cussing and screaming, heehee.

Enjoy your new lights! Hope this How-To was helpful. Remember the golden rule: BE CAREFUL! If you mess up, its your own fault, not mine! This process has worked fine for me several times. Don't be discouraged if they burn out on you, it just means the solder has weakened. You'll have to open the gauges back up and fix them. It took a couple months until mine stopped going on the fritz all the time.

Here's what it should look like when you're done. Your results may vary, depending on how many lights you change. I left the computers and needles orange, but you don't have to.

 

Very Cool.


Way beyond my abilities

 

I highly doubt that, I had never done anything remotely like it before and got it the first try. Just have to be patient!

 

No kidding. This has to be the best "how to" I've seen so far, but waaaay beyond my capabilities as well.

 

Ohhhh! You are so brave!
Thank you for posting this how to. I may get brave enough to try this.

Shelly

 

Very kewl and definitely worth a try. Great how-to and pics! Just a few questions...
- You say to buy 40 LED's, how many did you actually replace on the boards to get the look you went for?
- Is it easy enough to tell which LED's light which part of the dials? And the needles if you want?
- Do you have plans to do the A/C board and toggles next?

Looks great! Very inspriring! :smile:

_________________
Silver and Black Cooper with a Silver Union Jack and an awesome MCS on the way! Thank you Julie @ Classic MINI!

SCMM.ORG

 

WOW! I love the new BLUE instument look. And my spouse says I spend too much time on Mini related stuff...You put me to shame!!!!!

 

What would be cool is to also take out the red LEDs indicating redline for those who have a ECU upgrade giving a redline of 7250.

 

the blue lights look awesome... a lot like the current vw interior lighting.
i'd be terrified to do this myself!

 

>>Very kewl and definitely worth a try. Great how-to and pics! Just a few questions...
>>- You say to buy 40 LED's, how many did you actually replace on the boards to get the look you went for?
>>- Is it easy enough to tell which LED's light which part of the dials? And the needles if you want?
>>- Do you have plans to do the A/C board and toggles next?
>>

CMINIGO -

1. I've gone through about 45 bulbs including several that I had to replace or that I melted,

2. Its very easy... all you have to do is plug it back into the car and see which ones you want to replace. You can put the dial faces back on for reference.

3. As for the A/C board, I hear that the covers themselves are orange... I still need to tear them apart and look into it, but I think I'm gonna leave it orange, I like the daul-colour look.

 

How is your night vision affected? Blue is close to the worst color for ruining your night vision....does it affect it a lot?

 

Its easier on my eyes than the orange was.

 

I'm totally impressed with the job you did!!

It looks unbelievably cool!

I may have to try this myself, oh well, here goes another Saturday!

Well done!

M.

 

Awesome write-up Sarcux! Two Thumbs up for very helpful directions :smile:

 

Danke. I think I was the only one dumb enough to do a write-up on it.

 

EXCELLENT write-up!

 

WOW!!! What an amazing write-up with step-by-step instruction!

Another thing to add to my mod list!

_________________

 

OK -- those blue lights look AWESOME. I don't know if I'll have the guts to void the ole warranty though....still, so sweet looking....

 

thats great... And you would charge how much to do this????

 

I dunno if I'd do it again for someone... unless they sent me some spare gauges they found. I'd reccommend taking it to a computer shop and having them solder them on more professionally than I could.

 

All I can say is Wow!
Great Write up!!!!
Nice Work!!!!! :smile:

 

Very nice! I can't wait to do this to my MCS! I just got my car on Friday, so I probably should wait a while, but the first thing I said when I turned the lights on was "I wish I could make them blue". Thank you very much for the guide! Excellent work!

 

excellent work!

you have motivated me to take the gauges to the next level.

excellent detail!

 

Good luck and be careful! Keep those soldering irons on low heat.

 

Beautiful right up. Thanks.

Does it matter if it's a US MINI or not? I don't recall seeing those access panels on the side of the dash....but then again, I don't often look there. Guess i will now!