Exactly @Calicat…@Midlife you wrote above about that exact thing happening which is why I asked. Of course, I was planning on disconnecting the battery but was just wondering if that in and of itself would prevent the shorting???
Do you have a pic of the back of a cluster so I can see what you are referring to (below?)?
Thanks in advance!
Joe V.
I understand now. No problem with it shorting, as the CVR acts as a circuit breaker and that’s the device that shorts. Still, I stand by my recommendation that you should disconnect the battery when adding/removing any electrical device as a safety precaution.
Oh absolutely…I was planning on it…thanks!
On the pic above where are the bulbs and diffusers (under that pink/red back panel)???
Joe V.
As I understand it, the shorting problem can happen when you remove the nuts from the gauge posts to remove the printed circuit or the gauge. The short can happen under the printed circuit when the threaded gauge post touches the metal housing. Do I have that right, Midlife? You can’t see it in that picture because it’s under the printed circuit and the nuts that secure the gauge.
The bulbs plug into those circular black sockets. Access them by gently pushing in and rotating the socket to unlock.
OK got it…and that screw next to each bulb/socket is how/where the diffusers are held in place???
Also, it looks like I need about 10 or 11 bulbs??? I thought I only needed 4 or 5…
Thanks!
Joe V, the bulbs are in the round black bulb holders you can see in various locations in the picture. There is a tab on each one that is helpful for installing/removing them (1/4 turn). The red/pink component is the printed circuit for the cluster. Harness connector plugs into the diagonal rectangular hole. The diffusers are on the other side of the metal back piece of the cluster, accessible by removing the face of the cluster.
Awesome…thank you! Going to be a fun weekend project…as long as I don’t blow anything up!
Looking to change out the gauge lenses, bulbs (although mine are honestly pretty bright) and diffusers from blue to red…should be interesting! Also, the turn signal flasher unit as my back lights work but not in exact sequence like they should.
Joe V.
Good luck and we’ll look forward to seeing how it looks when done!
Keep in mind that some of those bulbs are for turn signals, warning lights, and high beam indicator and are different brightness.
Honestly…my lights are pretty bright (strangely, the clock was replaced and that one is slightly dimmer than the main gauges). I may just change out the diffusers and the gauge lenses. I have no problem seeing them at night and mostly drive during the day anyway. I think the bulbs were changed out at some point before I obtained the car last September.
Oh wow - that’s a beautiful Cougar! I run those same tires on mine. My daily driver has red backlighting and I like it a lot better.
Thanks!
BlockquoteAs I understand it, the shorting problem can happen when you remove the nuts from the gauge posts to remove the printed circuit or the gauge. The short can happen under the printed circuit when the threaded gauge post touches the metal housing. Do I have that right, Midlife? You can’t see it in that picture because it’s under the printed circuit and the nuts that secure the gauge.
The bulbs plug into those circular black sockets. Access them by gently pushing in and rotating the socket to unlock.
You are correct
As bright and green as those gauges are, I suspect they are greenish LEDs perhaps with filters. If you want to change the color, you’ll need to change the filter color. If the lights are LEDs, you need to get some close to the filter color or you won’t see much light come through. Incandescent bulbs have a fairly broad light spectrum. LEDs tend to be a narrow light spectrum.
Thanks! I was told the factory bulbs give off a Yellow hue and when mixed with Blue factory diffusers results in the green colors. But I don’t know for sure what is in there now…will find out this weekend.
I purchased standard replacement bulbs and red diffusers from WCCC…guessing it will look something like this:
@PonyCarMan if they are indeed LEDs and I am going to replace them it seems like I should get White LEDs and use the red diffusers I have…was reading that colored/filtered LEDs run really hot??? BTW that pic above is actually with LEDs.
Thanks!
@bmwhd1 did you use white LEDs with colored diffusers or the filtered/colored LEDs themselves? Was told the latter run really hot and it is better to use the diffusers???
Thanks!
