whiz944

My odometer is not resetting correctly, and the lights are not that bright. So I removed the cluster and need to address the problems. Namely:

* Odometer gear replacement

* Light guide repair

* LED bulb upgrade? (To also include bulb above the center vent?)

So a few questions:

1.) The brown odometer gear seems intact. No broken teeth or obvious cracks. Looks like a 20 tooth outer, 21 tooth inner version. Is there another possible problem that could cause the odometer not to reset? (When I pull the little shaft, it zeros out just fine.) Should I replace the gear 'while in there' anyway?

2.) What is the best way to resurface the light guides? I read some postings on the forum, and it seems that a number of people strip the old coating off, and just tape some aluminum foil to them. Seems a little hackish, but what do I know?

3.) I notice that four of the lamps behind the oil pressure/voltmeter gauges are missing. Assuming this is normal? (Instrument cluster has not been out of the car since new.) One of the remaining four tested burned out. The bulbs are #2721-MF8. A bit hard to find since most 2721s do not have the MF8 base for PC board use. But I found a local shop that had some.

4.) LED upgrade - does anyone have a 'kit' for just doing all the bulbs in the 944? It would be nice to do at least the three larger bulbs which illuminate the light tunnels.

Walt - '86 944 NA

Cyberpunky

I sprayed mine(light tunnels) with chrome paint, which worked great. I didnt do anything but mask them and spray them(didnt clean them back). I had already ordered the repair kit, so did them again with the kit when it came, and cleaned the tunnels back to clear(using acetone). The repair kit comes with new globes. I think the globes that came with kit are a little brighter than std. Looks fantastic now and should outlast the factory method.

I wouldn't bother with LEDs as the lights work fine with globes once tunnels are fixed, and the LED kits looked a bit dodgy installation wise. If you want to change colour then go LED

peace
Cyberpunky

whiz944

Thanks! Which repair kit did you use for the light guides?

Not interested in changing the colors. Just thinking about heat and old brittle plastic.

hopps

I got a repair kit from 9xauto, and honestly, its a load of crap for the price. It was $35 shipped to me, and it was just cheap side mirror replacement that you can get from walmart or any auto parts store, and some sort of white material which did not let light through, but it came in a big sheet to them, which still had the price from their crafts store. All in all, the total cost of the parts (minus the replacement bulbs) was probably around $7. Mirror was probably $5 and material was $2.

Cyberpunky

I used the 9xauto kit too but was very happy with mine. Sure you could probably get bits cheaper but it didn't send me broke, worked as advertised, and was a lot easier than searching high and low for the materials needed. The mirror stuff, and the sealing material wern't anything I had ever come across before, and worked really well.

As I said in my original reply, the chrome paint worked well too, as I could easily read my gauges, but the 9x kit did work better and should last for years too.

link here
peace

whiz944

I was over at a local hobby store today and found some Strathmore Chromolux 'mirror' paper (part #452-9). Is this the same stuff as comes with the 9xauto kit? It was about $4 for a 19.5x26" sheet.

An on-line site that carries it is: http://www.wyndhamartsupplies.com/is...se&cat_id=1290

J Berk

I had mine done in your State!

North Hollywood Speedometer was not cheap but did a beautiful job....they are pros !

whiz944

Odometer gear received and installed.

Status on the light guides:

1.) Isopropyl alcohol wasn't working for removing the deteriorated finish. Neither were a couple of other paint thinners that I had around the house. Went over to a paint store and they recommended some stuff called TSW9 - which is supposedly safe on plastics. (It is also seriously expensive. A spray bottle is $27...)

The TSW9 took the reflective finish right off, and did not bother the plastic light guides. HOWEVER - it DOES melt the black bezel plastic and the clear plastic gauge front. So one has to be very careful with it. (I had a small "Cooper moment" with it, so will eventually be on the lookout for another frame...)

2.) I tried the Scotch #3311 foil tape. Not only did I use it on the light guides, but if you look at the photo:

http://www.clarks-garage.com/graphic...el_bottom2.jpg

I also lined those three semi-circular holes above the guides - that the bulbs fit into - with the tape. Thought the extra reflective surfaces would help bounce more light into the guides.

Reinstalled the instrument panel last night to test it. But the lights are still pretty dim, so the tape is not reflecting very well. (Note: this is with the stock 25 year old bulbs. Have not tried LEDs yet.)

So obviously the #3311 tape is not reflective enough. But maybe I should also try new bulbs. Incandescent bulbs do dim with age, though there wasn't any obvious darkening on the bulb glass.

Any idea what Hollywood Speedometer uses?

86 951 Driver

I used the shiny side of aluminum foil as the reflector and glued it down with clear RTV. Mine is bright as I would ever want it to be with LED bulbs.

kev951

i took my cluster completely apart, I used a hot razor to cut the plastic rivets that hold in the optical plates. removed them from the housing cleaned them up with prep spray, They became brand new. I then put some CHROME tape on the baksides of the plates and edges, as well as in the tunnels. I am using white 5 way LED's. On my first test with only one led in place in the center. the whole cluster lit up!
I will do a write up on this mod soon. Everyone says not to take apart the optics from the housing, but i did.

pnbell

I actually pulled mine apart this week too. (Removed the Cluster without removing the Steering Wheel for the Record...)

My 20/21 Gear was in fact broken. New one came in the mail today.

This week i removed the old reflective coating (Nail Polish Remover worked amazingly well) and installed Shiny Foil with tape.

I am going to try to upgrade those 3 bulbs to 3watts... need to find them first.

Also removed my "Brake Pad" light, and clean those Football things...

Crimson Nape Racing

I removed the old "reflective" stuff, taped foil backed paper to the tunnels with clear double stick tape, covered that with duct tape (so it would not tear while shoehorning the cluster back in the dash), lined the bulb holes with foil tape, and used the brighter bulbs recommended by Clark's. Could not be happier. IIRC I used my wife's finger nail polish remover to get rid of the old reflective stuff.

docwyte

One of the TEPO (The Evil Previous Owner(s)) decided it'd be good to spray paint the light tunnels with silver paint. So literally no light would come through and the instrument cluster was completely dark.

I stripped off the paint with paint thinner and used the shiny side of the tin foil and clear tape. Works great! Can totally read the instruments now, huge improvement and it cost me nothing.

pnbell

Out of curioustiy; does anyone know anything about these Bulbs? "Victor Auto Bulbs - 194 - Blue"

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/web...ci_sku=6281915

Looks like they would swap right into the bulb holder... They come in at least Red, Clear, and Blue

whiz944

Thanks guys!

Should note that before cutting up the Scotch #3311 tape, I made templates of the various areas so that it would be easy to reproduce them. Three of the templates are for the housing surrounding the bulbs. (Sides, Left+right hole bottoms, center hole bottom) The fourth is for the tops, and to some extent, the sides, of the light guides themselves. So it is now easy to try different techniques.

I did a little bench comparison of the #3311 tape, some aluminum foil, and the above mentioned Strathmore Chromolux 'mirror' paper. From worst to best, it seems to go: dull side of aluminum foil, the #3311 tape, shiny side of aluminum foil, and best is the Strathmore paper.

So my next attempt will be with the Strathmore paper. Think I will leave the #3311 tape in the holes alone, due to heat concerns, and just use the Strathmore paper for the guides.

Also forgot to mention that while my brown odometer gear looked ok, it was brittle enough that when I removed it some teeth started falling off. There was also a lot of play between it and the shaft it was on. VERY fast service from http://www.odometergears.com. The new gear is green, and it does not wobble on the shaft at all. The gear teeth are perfectly aligned with their mates.