mtc R32 0 Posted August 6, 2006 Thought I'd show you my new clocks..... 8) Well..... I'm gonna get them so still counts!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: Anyhow.... Has anyone done this to their C :?: :?: :?: If so I think a step through is in aid of.... I really want to get these... so whats entailed and where do i start ???? Oh yeh... Has anyone else got something weird and wonderful pics please..... :D Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andi 2,147,483,647 Posted August 6, 2006 Use the search - there was a group buy a while ago (more than a year) and lots of us have 'em now ;) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phil K 0 Posted August 6, 2006 Well I have the rings but not the backlitness... rings are straight forward but make sure you get the DDI ones as the imitations don't fit too well and look naff IMHO... (pre-leather goodness pic ;) ) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_Monkey 0 Posted August 6, 2006 If you contact Zarman on here, he can sort you out with some (being the main DDI man!) I've got a set in mine and they look mint and match my boost gauge! Only thing is I still haven't got the needles to light up at night! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bristolbaron 10 Posted August 6, 2006 I need to get round to buying these! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mtc R32 0 Posted August 6, 2006 Phil K, Very flash mate..... looks lovely, I bet even more still with leathers.. Whats that little mod you have in your cubyhole???? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mtc R32 0 Posted August 6, 2006 _Monkey, Was it hard to change it to be back lit instead ???? Whats the problem with the needles ???? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bristolbaron 10 Posted August 6, 2006 Phil K, Very flash mate..... looks lovely, I bet even more still with leathers.. Whats that little mod you have in your cubyhole???? the guages or the headunit case?! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_Monkey 0 Posted August 6, 2006 The cubbyhole mod is standard on some Corrados, DDI even do gauges to fit them too! It was pretty easy to fit them, DDI supplies the instructions to do it all, you just gotta be brave and have the dash apart. The problem with the needles is they don't light up, whereas the old setup shone light onto them, the backlight setup doesn't so it's a little tricky at night, but it's still easy to see the needle against the numbers. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CoxyLaad 0 Posted August 6, 2006 you cant see the needles? are they not supposed to light up? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andi 2,147,483,647 Posted August 6, 2006 I pretty much solved the needles problem on mine by not removing the front lighting, and putting dark red filters in the strip across the top. Doesn't affect anything else as the amount of light is quite low in comparison to the black light, but the needles then glow red... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_Monkey 0 Posted August 6, 2006 Andi, have you gotta pic mate? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phil K 0 Posted August 6, 2006 Cubby hole is just the standard (but optional) VDO gauges... hard to get hold of tbh but there was a group buy on here a while ago organised by Stan24V... don't know if there are any left but you might be lucky - worth a PM to Stan ;) As for the look now with leather - yes mate it's the Penthouse of C interiors :D Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andi 2,147,483,647 Posted August 6, 2006 Andi, have you gotta pic mate? I can't find any night shots, or even a good day one, sorry! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_Monkey 0 Posted August 6, 2006 No worries mate, I'll just have to get on and have a go myself! Cheers for the idea though! :wink: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andi 2,147,483,647 Posted August 8, 2006 Ah-ha, I lied! ;) Found this... With the red illumination, you can't see any red flare anywhere or anything, you just get the needles visible again :) It's really hard to capture it on a camera, but is was a visible difference and was worth doing. And the screens where blue, but come out a bit purpley in the photos. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dinkus 10 Posted August 8, 2006 I've got some DDI gauges that I've had for months (years?) that I'm still waiting to fit. I've also got red filters for the LCD screens and polarising film to invert the letters. So far, all I (well, er gradeAfailure) have done is fit the bezels. The issues you have are Wiring in, hiding and sound-proofing the inverter for the gauges You need to wire the inverter for the gauges (wee black box the size of a matchbox) into the lights-live, put it somewhere and ideally wrap in something so you can't hear the quiet, high-pitched "wheeeeee" noise it makes. I'm gonna try wrapping mine in dynamat which should do the trick. Illuminating the needles The original suggestion zarman made was to put a UV tube in the top of the cluster in place of the normal bulbs - this makes the late red needles glow. It doesn't work if you've got white needles and although I was going to do this, I'm not a big fan of having UV in my line of sight all the time. The only other option is to change the filter in the top of the cluster. From the factory you have 3 clear bulbs and a green filter along the top of the pod that puts green light on the gauges. So if you swap that for some white or red diffuser instead, then you can probably get that to look ok (probably what I'm gonna try). Illuminating the LCD screens if you invert them If you want the illuminated letters on dark backgrounds, as per the pic on the DDI website, then you need to have them illuminated all the time. If you just leave them as they are, then they're really hard to read in daylight. It's not an issue in Canada as they have running-lights (sidelights are always on when the engine is), so the dash is always illuminated and thus the LCDs are always lit up. The solution for the rest of us is to wire the LEDs that illuminate the LCD screens up to igntion live, so they're always on with the ignition. Quite a few people have done this by running wires into the back of the gauge pod, but I think it's a bit messy and want to try it in a more OE way... I've got a mostly-dead gauge pod that I need to sit down with and find an ignition-live track on it. When I've found that, I can bridge that track to the ones that the LCD lights are on and hey presto - illuminated LCDs all the time. Problem is, I've been saying I'll do that for months and just haven't got round to it... :lol: So yeah, other than that, it's easy :) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites