Changing instrumentation colour on the NA6

doogle · Postby **doogle** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 11:47 pm

Hey all,

2 of my interior lights have stopped working, one on the heater panel and one behind the speedo. Since I have to replace them and the uni break is coming up I thought it might be a good opportunity to mod :lol:

I saw the other topic about NB cars, searched for one for NA cars but doesn't seem to be one, so I thought I might start one for NA cars. Please link if this topic exists already. I'm kinda new to the forum.

Ideally the goal is to get rid of the 1990s green and put in a colour that suits my head unit, white (or as close to white) if possible.

Has anyone done it? Pics, tips, cost are helpful.
Is there is a green filter making the colour?

lil_mike · Postby **lil_mike** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 8:48 am

i'm also interested in this. would be good to change it from that boring green.

Dweezle · Postby **Dweezle** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 11:44 am

Yeh me too.. My head unit is a Bright blue.. and that with the green isnt real pretty..
would love to know if its coloured globes or a coloured screen of some sort. i get 2 weeks off soon so, need things to do

Ajay · Postby **Ajay** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 3:16 pm

i used blue LED's in mine.. simple to get them from AutoBahn..

or you can use the coloured covers.. (NOTE: Blue will still make them green!) to get rid of this buy WHITE globes and put blue or red covers on

Cheers
Ajay

Gazbo · Postby **Gazbo** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 8:11 pm

I'm sure the colour is determined by what are commonly called \"little coloured condoms\" that fit over the bulbs.

Different coloured ones are available from a few suppliers in Japan, I don't know of anyone selling them locally.

Maybe the coloured heat-shrink used to cover electrical cables would do the trick?

MxJadeMonkey · Postby **MxJadeMonkey** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 9:53 pm

I also wanna do this,
I want blue to match my interior.

RG.net · Postby **RG.net** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 11:26 pm

unsure if the na's also have a green film on the gauge, to check put it over a light and see if it lights up green. if it does and you want them to light up white start sanding. i explained it better in the nb gauge thread.

Ajay · Postby **Ajay** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 10:50 am

Gazbo wrote:I'm sure the colour is determined by what are commonly called "little coloured condoms" that fit over the bulbs.

Different coloured ones are available from a few suppliers in Japan, I don't know of anyone selling them locally.

Maybe the coloured heat-shrink used to cover electrical cables would do the trick?

however green globes with blue 'condoms' will still make green..
get white globes.. it works.. its easy

Robbo · Postby **Robbo** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 12:16 pm

Saw that a few of you are changing the lighting from standard to BLUE. I thought I would give it a go. Have had the dash out 4 times trying different globes, LED etc. None of these globes gave me good lighting of the instruments, so I have put the original GREEN back. I might think about changing to WHITE globes to see what effect that gives. One thing has come out of this exercise is that I can complete the job in a world record time of under 9 minutes. :idea:

Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 2:35 pm

There is no such thing as a white bulb for automotive application as far as I am aware. The standard bulb is clear glass. If it does not sit behind a coloured lense or sheath the light it will transmit is the same as you would get from any clear incandescent bulb. In the early days your bulbs often barely lit your instruments and more often than not the colour was neutral ie not even working through a sub lense. Now we have nice colours and adjustable brightness. Personally I have never been vexed with the pressing issue of considering whether the colour is boring and not the topic of conversation. There are posts showing how to do it and then there is the consideration of whether everything matches and if the light distribution is not adversely effected ( refer Robbo) .

Robbo · Postby **Robbo** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 4:44 pm

Sorry Mr.Morlock I stand corrected as I should have referred to the globes as clear NOT white. I am still going to try CLEAR globes soon to see how they go. :frown:

MxJadeMonkey · Postby **MxJadeMonkey** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 6:04 pm

I beg to differ, you can buy a white light LED blade globe for automotive use, and yes it is very different to a clear globe.

by the way, i just finished doing this conversion from Green to Blue, looks great and only cost $19 in globes and 30mins.

Fatty · Postby **Fatty** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 6:15 pm

Mr Morlock wrote: Personally I have never been vexed with the pressing issue of considering whether the colour is boring and not the topic of conversation..

Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 7:02 pm

McJade is correct, my first sentence was flawed,there are led lamps described as white, warm white, etc however incandescent globes which are still by far the most common are not so described. Auto Incandescent and halogen envelopes are generally made from clear glass. Amber bulbs are generally coated and it is not uncommon for these coatings to degenerate over time. Red incandescent stop lights are clear bulbs sitting behind red lenses. LED's whilst fitted on some cars are a still a more expensive option for OE manufacturers and for end users.

Robbo · Postby **Robbo** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 10:16 am

MxJade I am glad to hear you have completed a globe change. I would like some details as to what type/brand of globe you used and where purchased. It would be nice to see a photo of the new effect using these globes if that is possible. The only thing remaining is changing the lighting for the heater controls etc, and that I am not looking forward too!!!