Nickta. I like you different approach to the dash lighting. A nice idea.

Higgy. Yet another great idea. Be sure to tell us how you get on with it.

as I`ve stated the chrome foil in my case evened out the lighting a bit but it didn`t make anything brighter or so. Modifying the white covers had at least the same effect. I wouldn`t remove them as that creates a bright spot on the top part of the two gauges.

The original bubs are 2W btw not 5W.

I just meant I don't think prismatic tape is a big improvement over what you used G not that it was much more cost wise. One additional note on the prismatic tape, I used 3m and it is the most dastardly sticky stuff I've ever seen. Even the slightest touch of the tape to the cluster and it is stuck for good. Once stuck you destroy it trying to move or remove it. I also only went around the inside of the cluster and did not cover the backside like you did. I lined the white covers but in the end left them off for the time being as it would require them to be shimmed up from their mounts with the taller LEDs. I may revisit the covers but want to get the sender done so I can ride now that the weather is finally breaking here.

Hi G,
I ve done this for the signal lights on the 750 some time ago. But I was not aware, that you can buy LED with sockets. I bought single Leds and still had to ad a resistance. I assume you don’t need to do this, for those ones with sockets?
I still would like to improve the dashboard lights and I would like to the same for the 906.
Can you give me the exact specification for the signal light LED and for the dashboard LED, and let me know where you purchased them?
Same for the Taillight improvement. I did something similar but with aluminium foil which is not optimal. Can you tell me what type of Chrome foil you used?

nowadays the 12V LEDs come plug&play which makes things a lot easier. No soldering required. Just swap the bulb with the LED and you`re done.
I got the ones for the warning lights (T5 socket) from this seller: http://tinyurl.com/ozecjv6
The same seller also has the white T10 LEDs for the dashboard illumination but I got them from another shop as they were cheaper. http://tinyurl.com/nual6oa
The chrome foil I got from this place: http://tinyurl.com/p9gcjud
I guess it doesn`t make sense to order from any of these shops if shipping is to Switzerland. It`s probably cheaper to find something locally.

Riding after sunset this weekend really drove home the point of how valuable all the R&D that has been done by our Grand Pooh-Bah. It will really increase the safety and proficiency of my night time riding when I've done the conversion and I can actually see the see the instruments and be informed by them! No instrument lighting in my experience, other than my old BSA w/ 6V Lucas electrics, has been so dim. I think what y'all have shared is extremely valuable. Thank you so much. I will probably live longer as a result.

I put the LED 5050 SMD T5 bulbs in my '87 Paso dash and they didn't work very well. The turn signals lit up on both sides but do flash when turn signal activated. The warning lights didn't work at all until I pulled the LED bulbs out and bent the wires in opposite side they came on. Now they seem to work but after bolting the dash board into place, the warning lights work but the turn signals stopped working. This is so frustration because I only put the LED lights in because I couldn't see the turn signals in the daytime, ugh!!!

Hi Jeffreyt.

When the original warning lights were in, did the glow about the same (not the actual dash lights) or did they vary? A possible cause of the above could be a dodgy earth. Before you give me a fair old spray, bear with me. The LED's are directional, so they can only go in one way and light up. Put them in backwards and you will get nothing. Looking at the turn signal common (its 0 volts), if this wasn't a good connection back to the battery, then it is possible the 2 lights would flash if one of the LED's was put in backwards.

The easiest way to make sure each LED is in correctly is pretty labour intensive. Its as simple as putting in the globe and turning it on. Once you get it to do what you want it to do, mark where it goes, pull it out, and do the same with the next, and so on with them all. Because there are some globes on the dash which have a common 0 volt and others have a common 12 volt, there may be some odd things going on between them if one or more LED's are in backwards.

So first step, clean and make sure all the 0 volt lines are good, then do the same with the 12 volt lines. Have the battery disconnected or you may blow a fuse or 2!
Then clean the dash membrane with a cleaner. Be careful what you use, as there are cleaners that will damage the plastic. Pay particular attention to the pads where the globes connect to, as these are usually tinned (covered in solder). When Solder oxidises, it does not conduct very well.
Do each globe one at a time.

When I first put them in, it took a little while to get each one doing the right thing. I even managed to find all the washers I dropped from the rubber mounts too!

Cheers.

Nick.

when changing turn signals to LED you will need to get a new flasher of the electronic variety they are cheap.LED bulbswon't have enough load to activate the old relay type flashers.

Has anyone come up with a way to make the instrument needles more visible at night? I've cleaned up the lighting part but when riding at night the speedo and tacho needles are pretty much invisible. Has anyone found back lit needles or played with repainting the needles themselves?

I had thought about that and there are sets of illuminated needles for cars you can buy but it`s quite an effort to install and then not all instruments will have the same needles which I don`t like.
Other options:
http://scootrs.com/moreinfo.cfm?Product_ID=2143
http://www.hiluxsurf.co.uk/showthread.php?t=73732
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-GOLF-MK3-V ... 1217047160
There are also things like fluorescent paint but I have no idea how good they work and if at all or only with UV LEDs like the ones above.

G.

Hi Higgy,

How did you go getting the ST2 fuel gauge sender going? I know you can still buy new 907 fuel senders (or at least i've got one on order, lets see if it arrives) but the design still makes for a bouncy gauge.

the sender I got in the end was bad and I have not had the time to get back to it. Made one up from spare parts for the time being. Current project is putting together an ECU from an Adruino MEGA 2560 R3 board for the 907.

Hi guys, i've kept tinkering away at this and I can comment on the fluorescent paint idea. I repainted my needles (and clock) with red fluorescent paint (apparently it is gun sight paint). At a glance in daylight you can't tell that there is lumpy paint on there even though the close up picture it is quite clear.



Here's a night time pic... i've "charged" the speedo needle using the phone torch so you can see the effect. in real life it makes the needle glow and appear 3D above the instrument face - making it much more visible. compare the speedo versus the tacho needle to get the idea. it's much easier to see in real life than in the pictures (trust me).



and here is a pic with the dash off and you can clearly see the speedo needle glowing.



The problem is that while the needle charges up during the day fine (if exposed to the sun or other natural light) it only lasts an hour or so after the light goes away. So i'm toying with the idea of fitting a small UV light that comes on with the park lights and "charges" the needles.