Hey,

I'm planning this weekend to take apart my instrumentation on my TH to have a look at how I can go about changing the colour of the lighting on all the a/c controls and also the instument cluster.

If anyone has seen the instruments in the 380, they're an "Ice-blue" colour, which looks sweet, so I'm trying to go after a similar look. The colour of them at the moment is, well, not ugly, but pretty boring and old looking (theat sort of dull yellow/white).

Basically I'm wondering if anybody has done anything like this? I'm wondering if it's best to change the actual LED's in there to blue ones (I'm assuming that it is lit up by LED's, like I said, haven't taken it apart to have a look yet) or to put a blue film over the back of the bits between them and the LED's. Apparently, to get the red instrument cluster in the newer VRX's, all that was done was a red film placed over the back of the speedo's.

Looks like Mightymag has done it in the gallery, if you're not sure what I'm talking about - http://www.fastmagna.com/gallery/Mightymags-TJ/m_005

Anyways, yeah, any advice from people?

I can't help you with how.. But when the solution comes up I'm keen to do this also!

Especially that little Mitsu logo in the steering wheel. I want that red... lol

Mightymag... The stage it yours.....

the right pic:
http://www.fastmagna.com/gallery/albums/Mightymags-TJ/m_006.jpg

have a read of this:
http://www.thegalantcenter.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=20236

so we can use the same type blub on ours also?

Parklamps: with the park lamps just remove the parkblubs and put in colour ones, Becareful not to put red in the front cause the poilce dont like that cause it may resemble as a rear tail lights and can cause a smash.

remove your windscreen washer bottle and pull the plug that is attched to the Main headlamp globe and the remove the parker globe. To put back in just do the reverse order.

Heater controls / AC: This is the same way as installing you cd player remove center console, then pull out your ashtray and then un-clip the top air vents and remove two screws and pop out the heater controls, and remove the little lamps and take off the blue rubber casing, This globes are 3mm. Replace the globe cover with your choice of colour.

Same if you want to paint them just pop them out.

Steering wheel: Simply choose your colour and paint the diamonds with a small paint brush.

Instument cluster: remove the cluster by 2 screws at the top of the surround, And the remove it. Unscrew 4 screws and the remove cluster, then remove globes, Note TJ Series 2 has leds inside and cant be done.

I hope this helps.

Cheers Brett..:cool:

and so far as the instrument lighting goes, i reckon u should have a read of the thread i posted above...end result looks pretty awesome :)

Cheers, good help from all, thanks. So Brett, you reckon just change the globe covers?

I haven't actually gotten around to doing it yet this weekend, instead I got rid of the ashtray and cigarette lighter and put in the compartment from a TW, but that has same globes in it I'm assuming. I had a look at them, and I didn't think you could take the colour off them... looked like you just had to replace the globe.

Anyways, I'm off to take the instrument cluster out now and have a look at that also.

PS, thanks for the link Spackbace, and sorry about the wrong pic, thanks for correcting that too...

I changed my instrument Globe covers to blue... now at night it has a Peppermint color to the Dash display...

Repco / Autobarn and super cheap should have these i know repco does cause thats where i got mine from. Cheers any more help i can help you guys with just pm me.

Argh! magnat, you're right... I have a peppermint instrument cluster!!! Haven't tried the centre console yet, but if anyone has the idea of changing the cluster to blue with the blue covers, don't do it... it goes peppermint.

Not sure what I'll try and do now... It's different for TJ onwards as they have a redesigned cluster with LED's rather than globes.

Anybody else got any ideas for TE - TH cluster to change the colours? I really think to get a true colour change for this cluster, you would have to change the light conducting plastic that lights up... I'll have another look this weekend, see what else I can do...

i went down to auto barn and got some blue cap things and they turned out **** so i went and got blue LED's and they look awsome but not bright enough. so has ne one found out if the 380 lighs can fit the TH and other 3rd gens???

It's a big conversion just swapping a TJ series 2 onwards cluster into a TH and prior third gen... as like I said before, they redesigned them using LED's and actually put the trip computer into the cluster instead of centre console. If you're expecting a plug-and-play swap with a 380 cluster... well, you're dreamin'. I mean, it would be possible, but really anything is possible given enough time, money and expertise. The end result wouldn't be worth the trouble. At the moment I'm thinking the best solution will be some EL gauges...

It's a big conversion just swapping a TJ series 2 onwards cluster into a TH and prior third gen... as like I said before, they redesigned them using LED's and actually put the trip computer into the cluster instead of centre console. If you're expecting a plug-and-play swap with a 380 cluster... well, you're dreamin'. I mean, it would be possible, but really anything is possible given enough time, money and expertise. The end result wouldn't be worth the trouble. At the moment I'm thinking the best solution will be some EL gauges...


ye i wouldnt mind the EL gauges but to much work to get it connected. wat i meant in my previous post was that at the moment the lights are in a socket lke thing which is screwed onto the cluster. so i was thinking if it would be the sam for the 380 which i think it will.

ye i wouldnt mind the EL gauges but to much work to get it connected. wat i meant in my previous post was that at the moment the lights are in a socket lke thing which is screwed onto the cluster. so i was thinking if it would be the sam for the 380 which i think it will.

Well I can't say for sure, because the person that told me wasn't 100% sure (somebody that works in R&D at Mitsu), but the 380 supposedly uses some type of neon lighting to get the true electric/ice blue lighting. This is different from both TJ series 1 and prior that use the little socket globes and the post TJ series 2 which uses LED's. Liek I said, i think the problem with the lighting in our clusters is the conductive plastic. It has a yellowish tinge to it that doesn't seem to transmit colours besides white very well.

have u guys thought about using the cluster from the verada? just a thought, i have thought about it, as white dials are cool in my sports, but red at night is a bit "BMW" can i just change the leds to blue ones?

have u guys thought about using the cluster from the verada? just a thought, i have thought about it, as white dials are cool in my sports, but red at night is a bit "BMW" can i just change the leds to blue ones?

So you have a sports... what model? I'm not exactly sure if you can just change the LED's as it may be that yours has globes... I'd actually be interested to see how your cluster works if it is working on globes... it may be that the plastic in your cluster is red, so will only show up red, putting blue globes in will probably not light up.

have u guys thought about using the cluster from the verada? just a thought, i have thought about it, as white dials are cool in my sports, but red at night is a bit "BMW" can i just change the leds to blue ones?


i belive ur dash will be the same as a TH. u can change the globes but it wont be as bright. i went and bought blue led wedge types (same as ur park lights) and they wernt bright at all. it had a nice blue glow to it but ye wasnt brights so i went and bought white leds and they are bright as.