Does anyone know of a company that can change the color of the speedo/tach/other lights? I have seen a company that does it in the UK. However, they cannot do it to cars outside of the UK because they need to car there to do it. Anyone know of any local places or kits to do something like this?

 

Since they're LEDs, anyone with very good soldering skillz can do it. Of course, while they're out, you can't really drive your MINI.

I did mine myself, and am now working on the needles and air handler control..

If you wish, I can do it for you, but would need a little time to compute the costs, depending on what all you would want. (i.e. Choices: 1. Do you want the LCD readouts changed (tach, speedo, clock), 2. Do you want the switch panel done? 3. What color? 4. Needles done as well? (Note that I'm still working on the needles. At this time I don't feel comfortable working on anyone else's guages at this time. Once I finish mine, we'll see..

 

I think after all the soldering I have done in my robotics class this year, I am going to be brave enough to try this on my own. I really want to get some red LEDs to go with my current interior theme .

 

Then you shouldn't have an issue at all - RED is probably the best color to shift to for the following reasons:

1. The LCD readouts have an orange filter behind them. Since the LEDs are always on when the car's on, they'll always show up as red.
2. The needles are painted orange, but with the red LEDs, should light up red when the lights are on. Off, they'd still show up orange, however.
3. The overheat/low fuel indicators will show up nicely.
4. The manual air handler controls will show up nicely as well. These are colored and powered by a light bulb. Putting a RED LED in place of the bulb, or a red bulb in place of the standard bulb will work fine.

Good luck! I LOVE the look of my dash, you won't be dissapointed. If you need pointers to which LEDs to get, lemme know...

Cheers,
Mike.

 

I think I rather leave it up to a pro! I dont want to mess anything up! haha

 

If you want me to handle it, lemme know. Be wary of any kits - more than likely all you will get are the LEDs, which would then be WAY overpriced.

In either case, be sure to show us the final result!!

Mike.

 

Do you live near me? If so how much would you do it for?

 

No, I just noticed you're on the other side of the country. I'm on the east cost.
I do LED work on other items, and charge $5 / LED + whatever the cost per LED is. (So it'd vary by color.)

The speedo has:

• 8 LEDs for the needles,
• 9 LEDs for the face,
• 6 LEDs for the LCD

I don't remember the tach offhand, but by memory:

• 5 LEDs for the LCD,
• 4 LEDs for the needle,
• 5 LEDs for the face.

The clock (for '02 models?) has four LEDs. The switch panel has 6 (or 5, or however many switches you have) + 2 LEDs.

I have no idea what 'industry' pricing is for replacing LEDs, I do this for a custom HU for folks, and haven't had any real complaints, so..

Anyways, if you get it done, regardless of by whom, show us pics!
Mike.

 

Mike,


Where do you get your LEDs from? Maybe I will give this a shot here in a few weeks.


Do you need a heatsink for the LEDs so you don't burn them out with the solder? Any suggestions for that?

 

I get them from digikey.com - they are 2.8mm by 3.2mm size.

For removing them, I use a set of heated tweezers (an accessory for my soldering station, they're /useful/!) and lift off. To place, I put a small touch of glue down, put the new LED in place. By the time all LEDs are in place the glue's dry, I pop around and add a touch of solder. It IS kinda easy, once you know just how much heat to use. Too much, and the LED won't work, or will discolor. Too little, and it won't make a good connection and die after you reassemble it.

 

Thanks for the info. What wavelength and voltage rating do you order?

 

If someone does this any time, a really good write up with pictures would be awsome and greatly appreciated. And Foxtrot, coud we get some pics of your gauges please? I would really like to do this over the summer, or Jtrem if you find a relatively cheap place in So Cal let us know.
Here is a site that a lot of NAMers use for LED's: http://www.oznium.com/leds

 

I have a few pics in my gallery here. They were quick ones, so the color/quality ain't the best.

For my gauges, I used:
Face: Green, 523NM, 3.4V. Digikey Link.
LCD displays: Blue, 468NM, 3.4V. Digikey Link.

If I was to do it again, I would have chosen a slightly lower wavelength green. It's MUCH BETTER than any of my pictures, however when it's dimmed, it looks a little washed out. (The blue, however, is gorgeous.) I also used a slightly higher than normal voltage, because I don't like bright displays. Should should be able to go down to ~2.5V-rated LEDs safely before the risk of burning them out increases. (Also note, the lower voltage rating, the brighter they'll be..)

I wish I had taken pictures and written something up - I can take my dash apart with my eyes closed, and can probably write something up on that. (But it'd be for 5-piece dashes!) For doing the LEDs, I believe I can take a shot of my backup boards, and point out which LEDs do what, if that'd help ya'll?

Me.

 

:(

Has anyone found a source for LEDs that match the orange found elsewhere in the car? I love that color and wouldn't mind doing some highlights elsewhere in the car (such as the boot).

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ight=BLue+dash

Post #11 has a write-up in Word format...

I'd LOVE to do this some day, but I don't NEARLY have the soldering skillz to try this - I'm quite sure that I'd melt something crucial.

Note: IMHO, I tjhink the dash looks great with just the speedo, tach and other gauges in blue with the needles, stereo and other things still in red...

 

Sorry about those links. Rrrf. The part numbers are (just go to www.digikey.com and type in the part number in the search box):
Green - 516-1463-1
Blue - 516-1464-1
(If you look at that page, you can get the manufacturer's part number, and see other colors that they have, and possibly find them local to you or online at another retailer.)
Since the needles are orange, blue is one of the colors you can get away with that on. (Blue and Orange clash nicely - if that's possible. ) On mine tho, Green and Orange don't look pretty, and I have trouble seeing orange/red anyways.

An idea for anyone wanting to play - the first board I did was my clock in the ceiling. After I put the LEDs on, I connected it up and just hung it down. The blue light from the LEDs shone on the orage face of the speedo. The effect was AMAZINGLY sharp and deep. If I didn't have an issue with orange, I'd look into LEAVING it orange and mounting a few blue LEDs around the perimeter of the dial, lighting in from the top of the face.

 

I'm very interested in this. PM sent.

 

Hey Foxtrot,


Thanks for all the info! Do you have good references for where to get a solder gun? Does any specific tip work best? I know I can get a cheapo one from Radioshack, but if I can find one better...or are they all the same?

 

Pretty much up to you. In the ways of soldering tools, I *HAVE* found that the more expensive, the better the tool. How much you planm on soldering after this one project should be your deciding factor for what kind of iron you get. Keep in mind that SMD (surface-mount) items, like the LEDs on the MINI, use a very low temperature. If you overheat it, you will damage it, and possibly the solder pad on the PCB. DEFINATELY a nono on the Speedo.

If you plan on doing more work afterwards, a big selling point would be the option of having custom and tool tips (like my tweezers). Check out grainer.com, they carry some (or used to, I haven't checked recently)..

Looks like I'll be doing one car already. Once it's done, I'll post pics.

Cheers!
Me.

 

I;l be sure to upload pics once its reinstalled in my car.

 

Foxtrot_Xray, do you not like the blue that you did? I am assuming from your sig. If not, why?

I am interested in doing this and I live in MD.

 

WHatr? Oh, nono. I love the blue! Only my LCDs are blue, however - my faces are green. The green is the color I'd change slightly if I did it again. The hue I picked, at full brightness, is slightly washed out. At least to me.

And all in all, aside from the slight green issue, I LOVE the mod. I would do it again in an instant.

Me.

 

Would you do it for me if I sent out my tach to you? Where do you live? Anywhere near Miami?

 

I am interested in having you do the mod. Just tell me where you are and figure out a price.

 

I'll be doing 1nf3rn0's soon. He's a semi-guina pig becuase it'll be the first that I didn't do on my own car. I'll have a better guess on time frame and price once I'm finished. And I'll be sure to post some pics, and make him post some pics of it all finished.

On the downside, I'm in the southeast, so unless you live 'round here, you'd have to ship them to me. Now, on the PLUS side, your MINI *WILL* run without the tach and speedo. It'll throw errors that the dealer will see, tho.

Cheers,
Mike.