mybadd02camaro

Hi,

Many asked for this so I figured that I would just make a new thread with a guide on how to change the stock bulbs with new LED's. Maybe a moderator would "Sticky" this for others to use in the future.

Here you go....

1-You need to disassemble the plastic gauge cluster cover by taking the 2 hex screws/bolts off and CAREFULLY and SLOWLY "shimmy" the plastic cover off.

2-Once the plastic gauge cluster cover is removed you will have the cluster exposed with 4 hex screws/bolts. You need to remove those 4 screws/bolts and now you will fell the cluster somewhat loose but it is NOT ready to remove from the car.

3-THIS IS THE HARDEST PART!!!!! THIS WILL TAKE A WHILE! You need to remove the glass cover of the cluster off to get the entire cluster out to change the bulbs. There are 4 tabs that you need to push out and up at the same time to remove the glass cover. You need to be VERY careful that you do not crack the tabs, like I said this is a very annoying and time consumping task. Too make this a little easier have someone hold the wheel at it's lowest tilt angle so give you more room to work and remove the glass cover.

4- Once the glass cover is removed now you can just pull off the back panel of the cluster. Just be careful and use both hands on each side to guide it out. Don't worry once the cluster is reattached the mileage and "trip" miles will go back EXACTLY the same way they were before.

5- Now you should have the plastic cover off, the glass cover off, and the back odometer cluster each seperate and removed from each other. Turn the back odometer cluster around and you will find that there are "slots that the stock bulbs are in and that is where you simply twist the old ones out and place the new ones in. The LED's are polarized so you will need to test each one to make sure that they are installed the right way BEFORE you put the glass cover back on. Simply just remove all the stock bulbs and replace them with the new LED's and push the back black odometer panel into the computer. DO NOT REATTACH THE GLASS UNTIL YOU MAKE SURE that they are all installed the correct way and work. If some bulbs light up and others don't, just simply remove the LED's and switch the sides, they are polarized and that should do the trick. There are a total of 8 LED's that need to be changed in the odometer cluster panel. Here is the breakdown:
5 Cluster-Main (ANY COLOR YOU LIKE) I chose "Cool White"
2-Signals (Green)
1-Hi-Beam (Blue)

HERE IS THE SLOTS THAT YOU NEED TO REPLACE THE STOCK BULBS WITH THE LED'S. The other 3 places are the signals and the hi-beams. They are also seen in the picture just not checked off but you can see where they are.




6- Once you check that ALL bulbs are connected correctly you can reassemble the cluster. Put the glass cover back on the odometer panel then place the entire cluster back into the hole. Again have somebody push the tilt wheel down as far as it can to give you as much room as possible. Reattach the 4 hex bolts/screws onthe odometer cluster. Then put back the plastic odometer cluster cover back on and reattach the final 2 hex bolts/screws.


COLOR OF LED'S

I chose "Cool White". It is like a flourescent white, so its slightly blue-ish. I have learned that the stock overlays in the 4th Gen Camaro's are actually all blue already, but the stock yellow bulbs make them turn "green-ish".
With these bulbs, I got a really nice blue glow from everything.

I ordered my lights from SuperBightLED's.com there are several places you can get them but they are the cheapest I could find. I would not use ANY eBay ones, they are not the best quality and are a bit expensive.

Here is the breakdown of the color's and the quantity of what lights you need.....

------------------------------------------------------------
CLUSTER-MAIN
5 | WLED-xHP6: Wedge Base Bulb
WLED-CWHP6: Cool White
------------------------------------------------------------
CLUSTER-TURN SIGNAL
2 | WLED-xHP6: Wedge Base Bulb
WLED-GHP6: Green
------------------------------------------------------------
CLUSTER-HIBEAM
1 | WLED-xHP6: Wedge Base Bulb
WLED-BHP6: Blue


You can also elect to change the HVAC Headlight & Shift Plate lights they are easy to do and I will update this thread if people want. They are very simple to change out and I will post the info if people need it.

All of the work that was done to my car was done with the help of a local friend and fellow 4th Gen 2002 Camaro owner. I credit him with some of the information and steps to get these swapped out.

Also, just a note, when you have the cluster out, DONT let any of the needles spin past where the markings are. The 4 small ones at the bottom especially. It'll thrown them off calibration and they wont work right afterwards.

Here is a Pic of upgraded LED's in my cluster. I also have "White Gauge Faces" and that is why it has those "orange glow rings" around the needles. Again I chose "Cool White" and here are the results....

Evolution223

nice, what are the bulb specs or Part numbers for the Shift plate & HVAC Bulbs? Is it easy to change the HVAC bulbs?

you know, when I did the gauges myself i did not remove the glass from the assembly but then ofcourse it was very hard to remove from the dash because it fits so tight, that is a good idea to remove the glass, did that make it easy to get the cluster out?

Evolution223

does the dimmer still let you turn off the Dash lights? In the other post you said the dimmer still works EXACTLY the same as before, does that mean you can still turn the dash lights completely off by turning the dimmer all the way down? If not I may research into adding resistors to the circuit to make-up for the difference in the bulbs in attempt to get the dimmer to work correctly.

Can anyone with knowledge of electronics provide some input on this issue?

Brangeta

Cool write up. PM Jason and ask him to sticky it. That's what I did for my headlamp topic.

rv93

the dimmer *will* work. i havent done this, but theoretically, the LEDs will get dimmer much faster than the stock bulbs did, and most likely be completely out by the time the dimmer is halfway down.

rbaksi

Thank you for posting this. This is just what I was looking for

mybadd02camaro

No Problem man! I figured that people would want to see how this is done. It is pretty simple but I layed it out for all who want to know.


I will do. Thanks man!

I will post more tomorrow to the door lights, HVAC, HL and shift plate. It just takes some time and I will do it tomorrow.

Evolution223

Here's a more complete list of Bulb sizes

Interior:
Gauge Cluster - 5 of the WLEDx5
They come with resistors built in, so they are completely plug and play. To make them distribute light well, you need to grind down the tip of the LEDs until they are flat.

Rear View Mirror - 2 of 4410x9 Festoon LED Bulbs
Direct replacement for stock bulbs. They are a lot easier than trying to rip the mirror apart to fit boards in there.

Dome/Trunk Light/Rear Seat Lights - Fixed Loop Festoon Bulb
These are a direct replacement for the blubs. I made some custom boards that I could make in small amounts for others who are not good w/ soldering. They are a lot cheaper than the festoons. Ill also post up how to make them.

Colored Door Lights - 2 of 74-x or 74-xHP
Either one will work. I went with the HP because they are brighter and they look great.

Shifter Light - 74-x or 74-xHP or 74-xHP3
Either of the first two will work, but do not provide to much light. I would suggest the third to make sure light is distributed evenly.

Glove Light - WLEDx5
I used the WLEDx5, but any of the WLED series will work. This provides great light though so I dont plan to switch.

HVAC - 3 of 74-xHP3
I havent used these, but fbody96rs vouches for them.

TCS/Monsoon/Odometer - Not Available
These need to be soldered into the area. Most LEDs can just use a 470 Ohm 1/4 watt resistor attached to the individual LED. I will post up about doing this as well when I get a chance to make one.

Headlight Switch - NEO3-x
I havent used these either, but fbody96rs vouches that they fit also.

Chris7374

I want to make my stock gauges, hvac, and light switch red. Would I have to get different faces? I have the stock 93 z yellow ones.

33rdBird

Is there any way to change the color of the odometer?

Bhollis

Can the turn signals be changed to a different color?