Cluster Upgrade: Plasma Gauge dial + Illuminated Lexan Needles
 

Got a bit bored of my led upgrade from 3 years ago. Finally broke down & decided to upgrade my cluster with plasma gauge dials + illuminated lexan needles.

Decided to also use a wireless IR controller + remote to control dimming & on/off functions wirelessly.

Just sitting on work bench waiting to be installed.....

More pics....

The last pic shown has been dimmed with remote.
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That is extremely good looking. Wow! The gauges really come to life with a modern look when backlit like that!

Looks pretty nice. I'm not familiar with these lighting mods, so what did you do and how much did it cost? I think that would look great in my 190d

This gets my vote for the coolest mod of 2013.

Thanks guys. :)

Plasma gauges:
Mercedes

1) Plasma gauge dial install is straight forward, you just use double sided tape to adhere the overlays over your existing gauge dials.

2) But problem is, the odometers & needles are not lit.

3) You can add leds to illuminate the odometers.

4) You can paint the needles with fluorescent paint & use UV led from up top to illuminate the needles.....OR you can install illuminated Lexan needles.

Lexan needles:
Gauge Glow Needles Kits | LED Lexan Needles

1) These Lexan needles are NOT meant/design for our clusters. A lot of custom work/mods to the cluster required, all lexan needles had to be modded/custom made, a lot of hiccups along the way had to be resolved.

2) The Lexan needles are NOT a plug & play install!!! It's ALL custom....

This is a pretty slick mod. I do like the back lit gauges, very cool.

I am curious about the lexan needles, I wonder about the weight difference and the effects on accuracy. I doubt its substantial, still curious though.

High Five - very good Mod

Both, the original needles & lexan needles....the needle itself is very very light! All the weight (even this is nothing really) is on the base & is balanced at the pivot. So because of this, weight shouldn't be an issue on accuracy.

What is important is when installing the needles, the needles are pointed at the EXACT same spots as before.....especially the ones with the backstop.

But with that said, the true test will be after I install the cluster back into the car & test it.

Illuminated Ignition Trim Ring
 

Add some EL wire, illuminated ignition trim ring....
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More pics, trim ring installed....
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Good call!

The speedo is accurate, BUT the RPM is NOT...it's NOT idling at 750 like it should.

To solve this hurdle, I had to add counter weight & adjust the RPM sensitive pot.

Man that looks fantastic! I might have to pick a set of these up. The pricing seems quite reasonable.

-J

Final post..... ;)

Installed, BUT if you noticed...I'll need to pull cluster out once more to re-seat the needle for gas & oil pressure. :o

The 1st 3 pics, full brightness (7/7 - 7 step dimming)
The 4th pic, dimmed (3/7 - 7 step dimming)
The 5th pic, dimmest (1/7 - 7 step dimming)