antonio

okay, a member just emailed me and told me that IT IS POSSIBLE to change the instrument cluster colour. he said the cluster contains about ten 168 wedge bulbs. hopefully i can get some pics/diagrams soon. pleeeeaaassee let it be true. everyone's car can now be even more custom as different people like different colours. i will definately put in blue like the new VW's. any input..............?

merc-it

i would really like to change mine out as well. IMO the amber is just plain ugly. let me know if you hear anything. that would be awesome!

Apollo

But what about the rest of the dash, will it not look odd with blue and orange

antonio

you're right. i forgot about the stupid "on board computer". i doubt you can change that colour cause i don't think its any sort of bulb. damn.

tifosiv122

My dash will be apart next week. I will look at the cluster (and take pics) and see if the bulbs are removable.

Erik

CitronC230K_03

thats what i think i will miss the most from my VW is the indigo dash lights. though the turboS NB has the white clusters like the Audi's. i like the white like the S class and wouldnt mind that but i dont think i would change out the color of the cluster lights unless i could change the onboard comp and im sure its possible, but very, very $$$$$$$$$!!

x15jq

IT is possible to change all the backlit gauges on the W203. Remove the cluster and there are about 8 1.2 v lites and 2 1.5 v.

They are little wedge bulbs, i read about this on benzsport

http://www.benzsport.com/forums/show...t=dash+removal

I just got a new cluster for my clk since its a 99, the 02 has a look similar to the C. It is out of my car rite now and I did take the bulbs out. Its totally possible but the amber display is yours to keep no matter what im aftraid

CitronC230K_03

what about amber lettering for the on board computer. if you replace the wedge bulbs with a new color, whatever color it may be, will this change the color of the on board computer display as well?!?!?!?

antonio

thats exactly what he means. there is no way to change the amber on board computer colour. does anyone know what kind of display it is anyways (LCD)????

tifosiv122

I'm sure its a custom LCD, nothing you can buy over the counter. Most LCD displays are either Orange or Green, and for good reason, its easy to see in any light.

Erik

mdp c230k

It is a form of LCD. It is actually illuminated by white light and it itself is a translucent orange material. I've got a bunch of this type of display in equipment I work with/on. The scariest part is earlier versions of this type of display faded away with time and exposure to light! They had and organic component that aged poorly, they say that they changed the formula to fix this in the future. We'll see in about 3 years!

xcfisher

I dont think it's as simple as just "changing the bulbs". Every gauge comes with a film that has the color code on it. the bulbs are white, not amber. You can change the bulb to blue, but when it shines on the orange, you'll get a mixed color. I own a company that makes white faced gauges, so I know a little about it.

Outland

You could place custom cut photographic gel filter over the LCD, and acheive nearly any color you wanted. Of course, there would be some resultant drop off in brightness, but due the nature of gel filters, you would only get the color light you wanted passing thru. Gel filters are designed for use with photostrobes, so they likely would be unfazed by any heat generated on the LCD panel.

A No. 25 Red would make for a really cool look at night(this is a very deep vivid red), and IIRC the VW's have a mix of red and blue, so to the original posters question, you would have achieved the desired result.

I think with the deep blue/purple color on the rest that would look pretty neat. Don't forget you'd have to change ALL the illumintation on the center console as well...this could take considerable time to do it right and not scuff up your console and bezels in the process. I used painters tape(it peels off easy and leaves no residue) on the center console and ash tray door to protect it from those two latches that drop down from the aluminum trim when you access the HU.

BTW, anyone know how it accomplishes the color changing act it does when you unlock the steering wheel while moving? Different bulbs?

Moser

How do you remove the center console trim toaccess the COMAND or head unit?

Thanks

CitronC230K_03

look for Audio 10 install in the search and it will be bound to pop up. plus i posted a zip file on a thread today, i think it was a thread named audio 10 not impressd or something like that.

bagwell

anybody tried this ....


the LCD turns RED from its normal orange if you open your door while in motion...so I bet there is a way to make it stay red all the time.

Outland

mdp c230k

The problem with this is the light has already been filtered and the wavelength of light coming through will have very little of the new filters frequency left so it will be very, very dim unless it is close to the original spectra of light put out by the display.

R4ND0M_AX3

I thought for sure that the MFD was lit by some surface mount LED's that are amber. Then Red LEDs turn on for the warnings. This is how the LCD on my old Sony car stereo worked.

If this is the case then just unsolder the LED's and drop in new ones. This is how I changed my old Nokia to blue display.

I haven't taken a MFD appart yet but I won't believe it's not SMT LED's until someone posts a pic or I get in there myself. I'm sure it's the same for the display on the factory MB radios too.


-Dan

antonio

i know that i won't try to get in there. but hopefully you will and save us all al ot of heartaches as you know what you're talking about. anyone else be willing to do this????