Porsche Gauge illumination upgrade/modification.
For this write up I’ve used a 914 Tachometer, but the method is similar for other Porsche VDO gauges.



Pointers appear dim, but this is a short coming of my camera.
In real life pointers are easy to see.



Tools you will need:
Small flat screwdriver
Scissors
Soldering Iron
Wire stripper
Crimp tool

Parts you will need:
2 wire connectors
wire
Small diameter heat shrink tubing
Clear packaging plastic(saved from trash)
Scotch tape
solder
5 feet of Electro Luminesent wire
12v inverter for above wire



Gauge Dis-assembly:

First thing is to open up the gauge. This is done by prying at the bezel with a small screwdriver. Work around ¾ of the circumference of the gauge. It should be possible to remove the front trim bezel holding the lens in place. Beneath the lens is one or two additional bezel trim pieces (depending upon year of gauge).


Examine the rear of the gauge and you should notice 3 or 4 small flat head screws. These hold the gauge mechanism in place. CAREFULLY remove the mechanism by loosening the screws, and set the mechanism aside.

Material Preparation:



Cut the clear packing plastic into small rectangular strips roughly 3”x2”. Fit to the empty gauge housing and cut to length. Notch one end of the plastic strip to support EL wire. Set aside plastic supports.

Soldering EL wire:

Strip EL wire. There is a coated core,, and 1 or 2 very small wires. Remove the coating on the core by scratching/stripping/sanding.

Connect wires from connector to EL wire, one wire to bare core, and other wire to the 1 or 2 very small wires.
After assembling inverter outputs, check assembled wire to make sure things light up as expected.

We only need one inverter for any number of gauges. This inverter gets it’s power from the original lighting circuit off the dimmer. Yes the dimmer works too!! It’s a simple 2 wire installation. This inverter’s output needs to be split as many times as there are gauges. I chose to use a quick connect to make service/installation easier.

Installation into Gauge:

Route EL wire thru the socket originally used for gauge illumination. Position the un-lit
regular wire portion to either top or bottom of the gauge face. Position the EL wire by gently bending it along circumference of gauge. Test fit trim bezel from beneath the lens on the gauge housing. Trim off any overlapping EL wire.

Secure in place by taping wire to plastic support. Use 3 or 4 along the circumference of the gauge. Test fit gauge mechanism back into gauge housing. Insure that no wires interfere with the action of the gauge mechanism.

Hold lens in place over trim bezels and look for EL wire. It should be tucked up nice and tight beneath trim bezel, and should NOT be visible from the side of an assembled gauge

Hold lens in place over trim bezels and look for EL wire. It should be tucked up nice and tight beneath trim bezel, and should NOT be visible from the side of an assembled gauge.

If all things look good, go ahead and re-assemble the gauge, by snapping the outer trim bezel on. Don’t re bend the bezel yet,, we need to test the gauge lighting. After gauge passes lighting test, seal it back up the best you can, by bending over the back of the outer bezel.

Repeat above procedure for as many gauges as you have in your car. If you also want to illuminate your glove box,, 2 small holes is all you need. Please remember to be tasteful in the application of accent lighting.

Installation of modded gauges into car:

Disconnect all gauge illumination wires. Black with a Blue tracer in my case. Bundle up all loose ends and leave the very last one free. Insulate the bundled loose ends with black tape. Connect lone free illumination connector to the positive lead of the 12V inverter.

Piggy back the ground connector of the 12V inverter to the ground point of the gauge.
From the 12V inverter there should be a connector wired up for each of the gauges, as well as any additional points that need illumination. Connect each gauge to each connector.

Congratulations, you are done. Flick on the lights and admire your hard work. The gauges illuminates just like a new car.

And if you found the above a little too daunting,, I would be happy to offer a service of fitting these nifty light rings in. Drop me an email with your needs.

Can anybody give me any information on a "professional" gauge trim ring crimper? I'd love to crimp the trim rings back on in a professional manner.

And before I get asked,, yes this set up works with the original dimmer.

-Rob

Very good..

Very novel and cool!

Robert, looks very good, so does it come in different colors ? Does it draw too much power to tax the factory wiring or is it wise to run another set of wires for it ?

Thanks for the info.

Great idea and it works very well, I used the 5m orange el wire, it fit in the gauges just fine and can't be seen. I used a 3 way pigtail coming off the inverter and its just a quick disconnect to plug or unplug the gauges.

I'm including a pic of the gauges lite up, the picture doesn't do the lighted gauges any justice. The gauges came out great very happy with the results and it was an easy job. Thanks for the thread on how this is done.

jlkjlkjlk

Do the plastic supports just sorta stand up on the sides and the gauge insides hold them against the sides? Could you use hot glue to glue the strip to the clear plastic as the scotch tape will age and fall apart I would think.

I found this: http://www.vibelights.com/elwiin.html

Did you use the 3.2mm diameter wire? Will the 5mm fit? Does the wire you used go brighter than you would normally want so that it is adjustable?

Nice job good idea!

BTW, painting the inside of the buckets, white, is a big help.....

Guys , WAY COOL job!! Gonna have to try that on my guages.

I didn't use the plastic to hold the wire in place. I used the el wire holders. You can http://cgi.ebay.com/10-pieces-of-adhesive-...p4634.c0.m14get these on ebay. You can get your inverter from them as well.

The wire fits into these and then I just glue these in place, I used elmers glue and then held them with the el wire in the holders in place using clothes pins till the glue dries. I got the 5m orange wire and pigtails from here. http://www.thatscoolwire.com/store/subcate...bCategoryID=105.

I ordered 5' of the orange wire, they cut the wire in equal sections then connected the clip on the end. Made it easy for the install.

I am so happy somebody else decided to give this a try!! Stratplayer,, my hat's off to you.





Hi Mr Z
I'm sure that helps when the bulbs are in the buckets,,,, but these light wires are above the face behind the bezel and shines down on the face.



-Rob

Anybody want a kit or have this done to their gauges? Feel free to PM me or reply here. I have about 5 kits of white EL wire parts lying around.
3 gauge kit $55 shipped.
5 gauge kit $60 shipped.

I had a chance to show how well this set up works at the RRC in moab last weekend. The folks that saw my gauges were impressed and I explained how easy it was to do this to the gauges. Great Idea, Works Great.....

I saw a guy on the bird board selling these kits for the 911 guys and they were all over his kit at $90. I wish I advertised better. BTW the 911 guys pics of his gauges were really good.

-Robert

I just completed a similer installation with some Fiberoptic / LED cable. I did it on my 912E . The guages on the 70's 911's are not bright enough to see and need something to improve the visability . I'm also working with a green LED that I bought at PEP BOYS to use in the green arrows, can't see them in the daylight.

Cool stuff!
Are these still dim-able or just on/off?
(I think I know, but just in case someone asks.)

At night can the gauge lights be turned up brighter than necessary or is the maximum still just barely enough? I know this might be a relative question but I would like to make it brighter than necessary then be able to adjust it down to the desired level. Also I still like the bling of the aftermarket gauges that have changeable colors. Has anyone seen a supplier that has a multicolored strip?

I modified my set with mutiple LED colors

Click to view attachment These are in my '74 and pritty much how they look at night

Click to view attachment Anothr set I did in cool white.

Click to view attachment And another.

In gauges I like bling, that looks good in my opinion. Is that led bulb strips or the wire strips connected together?

The above gauges were all done with LED, flexible strips. The multiple color gauges (top pic) were splice and soldered not easily done and very time consuming.

I would think that a few different colored EL wires can be routed behind the bezel and a simple multi-gate switch would be used to switch between them,, then you can have white,, blue,, green,, I would think 3 selectable colors would be cool. In fact if you hook up an RPM switch you can change the gauge colors orange, red when you get near red line like a shift light. (but you can only tell at nite)

-Robert