Bright Gauges Step by Step

[Diablotin]

they even ship internationally
the 74-xhp3 seems to be more bright and provide a 360 degree light. Did you notice a difference ?

 

[Dreamster66]

So I read up on Cop Runner?s light mod and decided it was a great idea. The install was easy, but somewhat more complicated than I anticipated, so I thought I?d add a step-by-step with pics just in case anyone has had this on the backburner. It takes less than half an hour and is totally worth doing.
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First things first: the bulbs. I guess several varieties have been used but, at the suggestion and recommendation of several others on the original thread, I ordered LED?s online here
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They were $1.19 each.
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I got the ?[FONT=&quot]74-x Wedge Base LED bulb? [/FONT][FONT=&quot]([/FONT]about half way down the page). They seem to be working well. The only thing is that the temp gauge is considerably dimmer than the tach and the speedo. They sell 74-xHP and 74-xHP3 bulbs as well which are brighter, and I wonder if it wouldn?t work better to place one of those in the temp gauge. If anyone else has tried these, let us know.<o></o>
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You will need a total of 4 bulbs, but they are cheap enough (and shipping is the same anyway) that it?s probably a good idea to get a few replacements, or a few in a different color in case you feel like trying something else.<o></o>
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I take it that #74 LED bulbs are all the same and will work; also #24 or #37 standard bulbs also seem to work.<o></o>
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Ok, so to get at the bulbs you need to dismantle both the instrument gauge and the speedometer. I started with the instrument gauge. Remove the faux tank and you will see this:<o></o>
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Remove all of the red marked bolts to take the air box cover off (you may also need to remove the green marked screws to take the hoses off in order to get at all the bolts). One the air box cover is removed you have access to these nuts/washers. Take em off.<o></o>
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You can replace the bulbs without disconnecting the power to the instrument panel, which is fortunate because the wires are tucked away pretty good. Flip the unit over and remove the bracket. The bulbs you want to replace are marked in red (tachometer) and green (temp gauge). The bulb holders pull right out, but they may need a little GENTLE persuasion. With the holder out you can pull the bulbs straight out, and then push your new ones into place.<o>
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The bulbs I got are polarized, so they only work if they are put in the right way. BEFORE DOING ANYTHING ELSE, turn your key on and make sure the bulbs light up. If they don?t, remove them and fit them in the other way. Everything goes back together in reverse order.<o>
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Now for the speedometer. You have to remove the headlight assembly in order to get at the bolts holding the speedo on. Start by taking the front of the headlight off by removing this bolt:<o></o>
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And this one:<o></o>
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Note that there is also a tab on top of the headlight holding it into the bucket. Once the bolts are out slide it down and out.<o></o>
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You can remove the plug holding the headlight on and place it to the side if you want, or I suppose you could let it dangle. You do need to unplug the speedometer wire connection (the one with the hard plastic connector). Remove the nut and washer in the back of the bucket, and also the two Allen bolts holding on the ?YAMAHA? bracket just under the bucket. <o></o>
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This should displace it enough for you to access the two bolts holding on the speedometer, as well as the speedo cable:<o></o>
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OK, now your speedometer should come out. There is one screw on the back holding it into the outer housing:<o>

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You?ll need to remove the two nuts holding on the bracket in order to get at the bulbs. The bulbs are marked in green, and you can replace them in the same way as the others:<o>

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Here?s a pic of the bulbs (new one on the left and old one on the right) just for reference:<o>

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Again, MAKE SURE they light up before putting everything back together; they only work if they are put in the right way. Reassemble everything in reverse.<o>

</o> Here is the final product: I think they are pretty slick. Great idea Cop Runner!<o>

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this is mine (went with the brightest ones for the tach and temp lights....MUCH brighter!)

 

[06VMAXIMUS]

Great mod! I did mine tonight in red. Turned out AWESOME!! I used a 74HP for the tach, 74HP3 for the temp, and 74x for both lights in the speedo. My daughter borrowed my camera, so I will post the pics later.

 

[06VMAXIMUS]

Got pics!! Thanks guys for the mod tip.

 

[dnrncnl]

finally got my lights been wanting these since i seen this post installed in about 30 min all is good I did mine in blue

 

[RaWarrior]

I just ordered up 3 of the 74-x bulbs, 1 of the HP and 1 of the HP3, all in red. That way I'll be able to try a couple combinations in the tach/temp gauges and see which ones work best. Was under $15 shipped....a bargain to placate the mod monkey for a while.

I'll post pictures next weekend when I'm home again and can install them.

 

[Diablotin]

Got pics!! Thanks guys for the mod tip.

I loved blue, but this red is hell gorgeous too.

 

[06VMAXIMUS]

They are awesome at night!!

 

[vmax2extreme]

I loved blue, but this red is hell gorgeous too.

I did the ruby red LEDs for my speedo and instruments. Damn it compliments my 2005 shift red paint awesomely!!! I rode it the other day for the first time at night and was so impressed with the glow....now for ruby red accents all over......

 

[RaWarrior]

Be careful with adding red accent lights, in a lot of states there's laws against such things. In NY red, blue, and green lights are reserved for cops, fire, and medics respectively. If a red light is visible from the sides or front technically you could be issued a ticket. One of my friends got hassled about blue LED's once, the cop finally settled for him just turning them off.

 

[RaWarrior]

Just did this mod tonight, it was pretty much as easy as it looks. Couple bits of advice:

If you have a flyscreen -make sure you have a long socket extension. One "regular" short extension is just barely long enough to reach the speedo bracket bolts. A longer one would have made that considerably easier/faster.

Definetly use the HP3 bulb for the temp because you can rotate the rubber socket to "aim" one of the side LEDs toward the gauge face. It is also no longer dimmer than the rest.

An HP bulb in the tach also works great. Well lit, easily readable. An interesting effect of using red LEDs is they really make the red zones of the temp and tach pop out, almost like a fiber optic glow.

As for the speedo, you've got a choice to make, likely depending on which color you use. I went with two regular LEDs, which gives a soft but readable glow....could maybe be a tad brighter. I tried two HPs, and that was much brighter, too much so for me. Knew it would bother/distract me. Since red is one of the softer colors, I'd suggest going with two regulars. If you use a dark blue
or purple/UV, you may want HPs.

 

[Diablotin]

I will definitely work on that soon. I guess when I will have decided to do the diode mod for the LED turn signals.

 

[ghostntheshell]

They look fantastic!

I should post my pics. I have had numerous compliments concerning mine.
I went with blue. I simply looks awesome at night!

 

[RaWarrior]

Here's a pic of mine. It's pretty blurry, but the camera just doesn't like low-light pictures. With the flash it totally whited everything out.

I almost went with the blue, but went with the red to go with my red wheels.

 

[headknocker]

Damm, now i got another project on my hands, but i just can't let this one go any longer, gonna order new bulbs tomorrow. Thanks Guys

 

[steven61467]

well,this is my 1st post here(JOY) i was going to order the bulbs i needed,and it turns out,i live literally 2 miles from bright bulbs,so ill be going there tomorrow and pick 4 up,ill post pics when im done

 

[steven61467]

nevermind.. trying to find another source. They recommend I use the 30 dollar shipping method - otherwise they are not responsible in any way shape or form.

Always stickin' it to Canadians.

***found another source, but I couldn't find any high power. On the bright side, I am getting 20 bulbs shipped to me for 20 canadian - all in.

let me know if i can help you get bulbs from super bright.com i live 3 miles from them,and i can pick em up at the door

 

[vmax2extreme]

Just did this mod tonight, it was pretty much as easy as it looks. Couple bits of advice:

If you have a flyscreen -make sure you have a long socket extension. One "regular" short extension is just barely long enough to reach the speedo bracket bolts. A longer one would have made that considerably easier/faster.

Definetly use the HP3 bulb for the temp because you can rotate the rubber socket to "aim" one of the side LEDs toward the gauge face. It is also no longer dimmer than the rest.

An HP bulb in the tach also works great. Well lit, easily readable. An interesting effect of using red LEDs is they really make the red zones of the temp and tach pop out, almost like a fiber optic glow.

As for the speedo, you've got a choice to make, likely depending on which color you use. I went with two regular LEDs, which gives a soft but readable glow....could maybe be a tad brighter. I tried two HPs, and that was much brighter, too much so for me. Knew it would bother/distract me. Since red is one of the softer colors, I'd suggest going with two regulars. If you use a dark blue
or purple/UV, you may want HPs.

I did the red too like yours this past winter. Great look on my 2005 shift red vmax!

 

[tugla]

Here's a pic of mine. It's pretty blurry, but the camera just doesn't like low-light pictures. With the flash it totally whited everything out.

I almost went with the blue, but went with the red to go with my red wheels.

warrior, even though red is softer do you find them much brighter then the stock lighting??? i just wanted a softer look along with the coolness of the red lights, in your photo seemed pretty bright to me or is that just the camera effect?

 

[COP RUNNER]

Great mod! I did mine tonight in red. Turned out AWESOME!! I used a 74HP for the tach, 74HP3 for the temp, and 74x for both lights in the speedo. My daughter borrowed my camera, so I will post the pics later.

I DO NOT SEE THE PART NUMBERS ON SUPERBRIGHTS WEB-SITE WITHOUT AN X AFTER THE 74 , BUT BEFORE THE HP & HP3 ARE THESE THE CORRECT PART NUMBERS ? .. :confused2: .. http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/index.cgi?action=DispPage&Page2Disp=%2Fspecs%2F74-xHP.html