New Civic owner from TX w/ a few questions

[LongbowFoSho]

Bought a 97 DX hatch yesterday with 136k on it in EXCELLENT condition (no dings, cracks, rust, AC works, etc) and just have a couple of small problems to fix before its "perfect".

1. Gauge needles are invisible at night. Would one of those "drop-in" LED bulb replacement kits from eBay take care of that? Is there a better way to fix it?

2. There is no tach. I don't want one of those huge ricer tachs with a shift light on the dash, so whats the best way to fix this without getting an entirely new cluster with inaccurate mileage? Can I switch out the individual gauges themselves within the cluster? Its so stupid that they didn't put a tach with the 5 speed in this model.

3. Previous owner put some smoked Spyder projector lights on the car, but didn't change out the bulbs, so visibility at night is unsafe at best (they also wired the low/hi beams backwards, but I can fix that easy). I've been looking at a Raptor HID kit from DDM, but do I need the adaptor cables? I already plan on getting the harness as a precaution, but I don't know about the adaptors.

Thanks!

 

[~XhAuSt~]

As for the Tach question I have seen on ebay a bezel for the cluster that is pre-made with 2 gauge pods that just fits in place of the old bezel. Think it holds 2-55mm gauges which then you could find whatever gauges you want. http://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=99+honda+civic+gauge+cluster+bezel&_sacat=See-All-Categories
That is the link for it I think I am going to go that route as well then you don't have the A pillar pods cause half the time they look stupid. Check it out and hope that helps with that question

 

[~XhAuSt~]

sorry 2 52 mm gauges not a huge gauge for a tach but atleast you could have one.

 

[LongbowFoSho]

Yeah I've seen those and not sure that would do me much good at that size. I'd buy a new whole cluster if it wasnt for the odometer conflict.


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[CHILD]

For your first issue, simply replace the factory Light bulbs with new ones from AutoZone or another automotive store and it will be plenty bright.

The tach issue, buy an ex model gauge cluster with a tach, and them swap your speedometer into the newly bought gauge cluster so you have your original accurate mileage.

References to both of these issues can be found early on in my build thread.

I don't know about your pnp hid kit so I can't help there. More than likely, the headlights you have are using the original halogen bulbs which lose their intensity over time. I'm almost certain a fresh set of headlight bulbs would be sufficient