Instrument cluster, 2nd gen

[MrPaco]

Thanks for clarifying, everybody. The oscillating thing makes sense, was just wondering because the jeep I mentioned doest do it.
The color of the needles fading also makes sense, but I was curious because on my truck the battery gauge is the only one that decided to fade (out of the four small ones), the other ones are holding the color very well.
I will add the led cluster lighting upgrade to my list. Are the T10 wedges plug and play?

[geezer101]

Thanks for clarifying, everybody. The oscillating thing makes sense, was just wondering because the jeep I mentioned doest do it.
The color of the needles fading also makes sense, but I was curious because on my truck the battery gauge is the only one that decided to fade (out of the four small ones), the other ones are holding the color very well.
I will add the led cluster lighting upgrade to my list. Are the T10 wedges plug and play?

The Jeep will have a big output alternator so it'll handle the current draw (Ram/D-50's are meant to be work horses but Mitsubishi thought the 45 amp alternators were ok )

As for the T10 LED wedges - yes they are plug'n'play...BUT the buggers are polarity sensitive so you need to look at how you're installing them for them to work (don't worry if you install them the wrong way - it won't cook them) I've swapped all of the stock wedge bulbs in my Hung Dog wagon and they tick the boxes all round. Less current draw and are brighter.
I've done the cluster in my Gen 1 as well - now the idiot lights scream at me The instrument night illumination is blue and looks good (there's a pic of it somewhere in my spam posts)

[MrPaco]

The instrument night illumination is blue and looks good (there's a pic of it somewhere in my spam posts)

Will switching to the led's change the color of the cluster? Currently it "glows" green, is that because the bulbs on it are green (sorry, haven't looked back there yet), or is there some type of lens in front of them that gives out that color?
I'd like to get more brightness, but not a big fan of that blue/white LED look. Ideally it would look like it does now, just brighter. I looked for your photo, but couldn't find it.

[geezer101]

Will switching to the led's change the color of the cluster? Currently it "glows" green, is that because the bulbs on it are green (sorry, haven't looked back there yet), or is there some type of lens in front of them that gives out that color?
I'd like to get more brightness, but not a big fan of that blue/white LED look. Ideally it would look like it does now, just brighter. I looked for your photo, but couldn't find it.

There are sheaths over the wedge bulbs that give the backlighting it's colour. You could buy the clear/white LED's and put the sheaths back over them (that'll work). Even swapping all of the old bulbs for new replacements will be a little better as the filaments lose output from use over time. One of the problems with the instrument backlighting on Gen 1's is the lack of reflecting surfaces in the bulb recesses. It's like they've used a candle to light up the display. Add 30 years of dust and they might as well not be working at all...

[WarStryker13]

The little sheaths are made of really thin rubber, and tear pretty easily (at least mine started to tear when I pulled them off the old bulbs).

I was looking on superbrightleds, they've got a pretty decent selection.

[MrPaco]

There are sheaths over the wedge bulbs that give the backlighting it's colour. You could buy the clear/white LED's and put the sheaths back over them (that'll work). Even swapping all of the old bulbs for new replacements will be a little better as the filaments lose output from use over time. One of the problems with the instrument backlighting on Gen 1's is the lack of reflecting surfaces in the bulb recesses. It's like they've used a candle to light up the display. Add 30 years of dust and they might as well not be working at all...

I'll give this a try at some point. Do you know if the LEDs will work with the dimmer for the interior lighting? I never use it now because the lights aren't very bright, but with the brighter lights I might want to use it.