Changing Cluster's backlight

[bofthe951]

Hey guys the other day on my way home I realized that the lights behind my cluster in my 99 civic were very dim. I tried cranking up the brightness control and they were at the highest setting. So I removed the cluster and looked around and tried tugging out some bulbs to figure out which ones are the backlights. I was thinking about either just going brighter with white or like i did in my truck in high school and go red. But I couldn't find the bulbs that you can remove and switch out. I went to autozone and they looked it up and it said it was a 194 and they carried it in red, nowhere on this cluster has a bulb that large. Am I missing something?

 

[CHILD]

There are 2 194's in your cluster....the rest aren't . i believe most are 74's...cant remember off the top of my head.

 

[bofthe951]

Well there all stuck in the sockets. is there a release somewhere? I just don't wana break something For some reason I do that alot. Can you tell with an image, which bulbs I can change to make it light up brighter?

 

[ej_swag]

In the picture, the bulbs that look more red on the back are all the lights that illuminate the gauges. To take then out, you turn them and then pull them out. I just did this for about the 10th time last night and they come out very easily.

do NOT just pull them out, you must twist them counter-clockwise and then they should come out with little effort.

 

[bofthe951]

Oh so basically the three in the middle that form a triangle? I have pulled out the sockets and there are bulbs but they don't just pull out. Is there a method or a small trigger that makes the socket release the bulb?

 

[WBJ]

You could replace them with LEDs as well. If you do the ones I found to work the best are #74. There are a few sites out there to order from or you can shop around eBay like I did.

 

[bofthe951]

You could replace them with LEDs as well. If you do the ones I found to work the best are #74. There are a few sites out there to order from or you can shop around eBay like I did.

I love this idea. I searched around and found this site. http://autolumination.com/ But if I buy three of those #74's will that light up my whole cluster? And will they just fit right in the sockets no problem? Just nervous because I have a 99 civic lx and everything seems to be different between the lx and ex

 

[OTiS133]

superbrightleds.com great site. prices are a little high but good quality products. theres about 8 or 9 #74 bulbs that illuminate your cluster.

 

[WBJ]

Depending on the color I would suggest even going the cheap route like I did. I went with blue LEDs and I bought 10 of them on eBay from a chinese seller for $3 shipped. If you want something like red, then get the good stuff and spend a little more. It will be worth it in the long run.

Yes they will fit, but you will have to remove the bulb from the "cup" - the little twisty cap that houses the bulb / LED. You can buy a set of bulb pliers at Harbor Freight for about $5.

Even though I have a 5th gen Civic, the bulbs are all the same and results will be similiar. You will need more than 3 bulbs though. Like Otis stated it will take about 8 LEDs or so. You have about 6 on the back from what I can tell in that pic and for your car there are 2 at the top that shine down onto the gauges face.

Check this link to see my resutls:
http://www.clubcivic.com/board/showthread.php?t=204858

 

[bofthe951]

For sure. This is exactly what i was looking for. Answers everything. I did a quick search found this on ebay. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/10x-Green-Car-T5-74-37-70-Wedge1210-SMD-LED-Bulb-Light-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem35b18d2e6dQQitemZ230612086381QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories And I've got a harbor freight down the street so looks like I'll get this done by next monday. Thank you so much

 

[WBJ]

No problem.

Those LEDs look nice and cheap! LOL. They should work fine though. Post up some pics after you get everything swapped out.