Instrument Cluster Dome Removal

initial_mx5 · Postby **initial_mx5** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 2:16 pm

Hey guys.
A Few questions.
1. How in the hell do i remove my instrument cluster dome? Ive located the 2 screws under it but it doesnt seem to wanna come off after i have removed them?
2. My reason for removing them is that i wanna take a look at the lighting behind it. Is it possible to change it from the green to another colour without buying new gauge faces?

By the way i have a 1990 NA for those who dont remember (ive been out of action on the net for a while

).

Thanks everyone.

Garry · Postby **Garry** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 3:19 pm

After you undo the screws pull it towards you. It's held in place by a few clips. But be careful, the plastic has probably gone brittle and it may crack.

Changing the instrument light colour isn't very easy because the lettering on the gauges has a green backing on the underside.

Lucky_Luke · Postby **Lucky_Luke** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 5:15 pm

Yeah i learnt that the hard way and cracked a piece off the back of mine.. :cry:

oh well wasnt too hard to fix..
But after taking it out i squashed the clips with a pair of pliers so they didnt retain their vice-like grip on my dash, now it pops out nicely with a little pull..

Garry's right about the green backing though as I was looking to do the same thing... the only thing i was able to do was change it so all of my gauge needles glowed bright white.. which looks pretty cool anyway on the green backing IMO, well something different at least..

Moggy · Postby **Moggy** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 10:08 pm

I swear it isn't possible to pull those three clips out without cracking the mounts. Everytime I have done it no matter how careful and aware I am I always break something... :roll:

Garry · Postby **Garry** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 10:19 am

I managed to get mine out without braking anything

sharyl · Postby **sharyl** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 10:22 am

How hard is the backing to get off, i'd love to change mine to blue but have sorta been to lazy to try it :oops:

RaYmO · Postby **RaYmO** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 12:49 pm

sharyl wrote:How hard is the backing to get off, i'd love to change mine to blue but have sorta been to lazy to try it

I remember reading a most on miata.net from a member who had used acetone and a cotton bud to wipe away the green at the back of the lights...

Im a bit hesitant to try that... acetone on plastic spells trouble for me...

RaYmO · Postby **RaYmO** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 12:50 pm

Found the link:

http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=182986&highlight=acetone

sharyl · Postby **sharyl** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 4:07 pm

thanks raymo.... acetone sounds a little scary so i'll have to think about it

shelleriffic · Postby **shelleriffic** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 10:23 am

Yeah I'd love to change the horrible green lighting to a nice red to match my CD player face and my paint

jules · Postby **jules** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 10:49 am

I love the green with black dials. It's kinda, late 80's....funny that.
I changed the tuner to suit the globes

Jules

RaYmO · Postby **RaYmO** » Fri Aug 04, 2006 4:21 pm

sharyl wrote:thanks raymo.... acetone sounds a little scary so i'll have to think about it

I just came across this site that recommends a product called "goof-off"

Its a great site and also shows a step by step guide on how to remove the instrument dome / gauges.

http://www2s.biglobe.ne.jp/~AWD/teoutline.html

Hope it helps

tcoo7399 · Postby **tcoo7399** » Tue Jun 02, 2009 7:16 pm

Just tried the acetone removal of the green on the back of the guages. Works the treat. Although it took a bit of stuffing around to get the needles right while putting back together.

Hammer · Postby **Hammer** » Tue Jun 02, 2009 11:34 pm

initial_mx5 wrote:...1. How in the hell do i remove my instrument cluster dome? Ive located the 2 screws under it but it doesnt seem to wanna come off after i have removed them?

Here's a pictorial step-by-step guide on how to remove the dashboard of an NA, taken from miata.net