I modded my '05 gauge cluster

[Electrickian]

https://flic.kr/p/2rPKYYX

I modded my '05 Tahoe Z71 cluster. I'm going all out on this one. Gonna be my flagship model. This is my first theme for it: New Years Fireworks. It's of course "not for use while vehicle is in motion". More videos to come soon...

 

[Fless]

Might cause seizures.

 

[SpareParts]

IMHO, That is one of the 10 worst things i have ever seen.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Welcome to the Forum from NH.

Lots of knowledgeable folks here who freely share their knowledge, experiences, and perspectives. Knowledge is power.

I hope that you will become a participating member in the Forum's discussions.

Pics of the truck, please.

Well, I will say that it is unique.

 

[Electrickian]

Might cause seizures.

Possibly... I'll admit this is by far the most extreme theme I've come up with. I was excited New Years Eve and made it real quick

 

[Electrickian]

IMHO, That is one of the 10 worst things i have ever seen.

It is. Almost as bad as those long Escalade tail lights at night. Looks like 2 broken light sabers trying to fight

 

[Doubeleive]

cool mod, but that would annoy me to no end
I initially had one done in blue/blue with a white background which looked nice in the daytime but at night the gauges were washed out, so I had it changed to red indicators

7

 

[Electrickian]

Looks nice bud. Good work. I have two '02 clusters as well. 1 from my '02 Tahoe and also an Escalade cluster I ordered so I could have trans temp. I'll try and get some more pics later today. I modded it too. I used to be on this site a while back before my Tahoe was smashed in an accident. My screen name was MagicianElectrician

 

[Electrickian]

Here's a more normal pic. No background lights yet.

 

[Doubeleive]

Here's a not complete more normal picView attachment 475813

the local guy that does clusters say's the issue with using some backgrounds is that they are not shaded properly for use with led's so you get hot-spots

 

[Electrickian]

Shaded. Do you mean the white translucent paint or the turquoise colored paint?

 

[strutaeng]

I would get pulled over and probably get deported if I installed that in my truck around here...

I'm kidding...

 

[Doubeleive]

Shaded. Do you mean the white translucent paint or the turquoise colored paint?

when you hold up the oem backgrounds to a light, parts of it are shaded, on aftermarket backgrounds they are typically not shaded this causes light to bleed thru and create hot spots. He said he has asked some of the popular cluster background makers that sell them online to do it but has never got a response

 

[Electrickian]

Ah yes. I gotcha. Im not a big fan of it personally. You can buy diffusing film/paper really cheap. Just cut to fit right under the overlay. 2 layers if you want. LEDs by nature are very directional/focused lights compared to an incandescent bulb, which is about the equivalent of a tiny fire burning, so although very hot compared to LED, the light goes in every direction. And our clusters were designed with incandescent bulbs. '03 was a little better by adding more to help even out the light better, but still by far a bare minimum amount of light in my opinion. And that's because if they had added more, heat woulda made short lives of our clusters. If only GM had foreseen the fact that LEDs are abundant nowadays and being used everywhere.

 

[Electrickian]

I'm just playing around and grabbed some old stock GM needles out and tried em. These things kinda pop

 

[Rocket Man]

View attachment 475881
I'm just playing around and grabbed some old stock GM needles out and tried em. These things kinda pop

I can’t read the gauges in either of your ‘normal” pictures. maybe wait until they’re finished?

 

[Electrickian]

"More normal". No backlights yet. Ive been busy upgrading a cluster for a buddy of mine for his '99 Z71 Silverado. That and changing every light on the truck front to back to LED. I mean climate control buttons, headlight controls, 4wd/2wd switch, all of it. Lights just came in this evening so fun time tomorrow! And the next day lol

 

[Electrickian]

I can’t read the gauges in either of your ‘normal” pictures. maybe wait until they’re finished?

Actually I do have backlights, but they're not ready to my liking yet. Fighting color bleed

 

[Electrickian]

I finished turning everything to LED on my buddy's '99 Z71. Inside & out. Even all the interior buttons. Did the cluster too. He wanted to still use his stock needles, but wanted em to glow red. So I took the orange paint off, made em white, and gave him LEDs for each one. They can be any color really, just set for red for him. Headlights are 60,000 lumen Sealight LEDs. INSANE difference from stock halogens. Cost just over $200 for everything, including a new cargo/break light and new door panel step lights.

 

[tooleyondeck]

What did you do to get rid of the greenish tint for the AC/Light control switches? I've swapped to white LEDs and the green tint is still there. Did you just remove it from the inside of the switch?