New diy idea: Vehicular once did a retrofit of the variable rpm gauge off the E9x M3. That's just soldering the cruise control motor of a spare cluster and doing the coding. There's tools for that and all values are known and easy to program.
Good job, a pain in the bum hole to change them, and I feel your pain - once went to the effort of changing every single light in an E36 to a blue light - not just the gauge cluster, but the climate controls, every single window switch, the OBC etc. The OBC and climate control screens were the hardest to try and get to work with blue writing. Personally, the white looks great, just at the end when it was dark there might've been a bit too much reflection off the needle, so perhaps painting the needles black (just on the underside that faces the fascia) would cut that down? Also, just a tip. When removing needles from a gauge, remove the pin that they rest on, then measure where they come to rest, as you can't guarantee you've got them back in the correct position with no reference point. It looked like you fuel gauge dropped one marking point when you reinstalled it, and your speedo and tacho may be out, so check them to be safe.
nice job andrew hope the solder iron is ok easy way to remove the solder is use a solder wick it is a fine woven mesh strap about 5mm wide you place it on the solder you want to remove and then place the iron on it when the solder melts it is drawn onto the wick no mess cheers glenn
Absolutely this, underrated bit of kit the old solder wick. Especially useful if you accidentally solder some small pads together which can be incredibly difficult to seperate the solder otherwise.
For andrew or anyone curious, the yellow part on the LED chip is phosphor which tunes the colour of the LED since they don't naturally emit white light. The yellow phosphor is crucial for the white LED to appear white instead of blue. This is precisely why people say not to mix LED brands, since they may have different colour temperatures due to the differences in this phosphor coating.
Great effort on the DIY mate. The blob of solder you added to help desolder is a good trick, it acts as a thermal bridge for the soldering iron to the old solder and is something we commonly do when soldering or desoldering. Speeds up the heat transfer substantially and avoids heating nearby components for a much longer period of time. For any soldering rookies attempting this, make sure you're using 60/40 leaded Rosin core solder. It's the preferred solder for this kind of work since it has flux built in and - Lead free takes LOTS of heat and is tricky to work with. Most solder kits unfortunately ship with lead free solder in the box.
Solder suckers are ok, I prefer Solder Wick if I don't have access to a de soldering station, also try thin flux core solder, using the thick solder feels a but like plumbing to me.
Very nice. The best way to do this, is to buy an adjustable electronics headgun. It' s the fastes way to do this job. And the special flux to solder them again. Every computer repair shop has one of these. Dutch regards, Nico.
The orange/amber light supposedly used to reduce eye fatigue/improve night time vision and all that, are myths that have been debunked many, many times before. The brightness of the night is actually more critical than the colour. Colour purely comes down to manufacturers choice.
@@geordiegibson1210 red light is proven not to impair night vision and I have experience with this BUT I do agree that in normal night driving etc with oncoming lights it kinds of defeats the purpose. Driving on country roads in pitch black it does make a difference though and one of the things I like about BMWs but obviously I don’t own an m spec car!
I saw a magnifier in the care pack. With such fine soldering I would be pulling that out to help. Also get a damp cloth or sponge to wipe the solder tip regularly. Solder requires heat for it to work so if your tip is gunked up with dry solder then heat transfer is more difficult, making the solder not the correct temp. Hope that helps?
I don't know why but my comment disappeared lol In short I said - if you paint the back rings silver they will reflect light better making the cluster look better(like M3) As suggested by other you can also retrofit the variable red line like an M3. I personally have modified the centre screen as well and have N54 logo instead of 335is which would also suit you better since you are team N54 :) Feel free to contact me if you need any help or guidance with any of the above. I've done quite a few clusters in the UK.
@@ZeroTo60Tube I use the same white leds that I use for the dials and due to the technology of the display it turns out with blueish background with white text/numbers. Depending on the viewing angle the background goes as dark as black or very rich deep sky blue.
I was also considering such a mod to bring the E92 to modern days. However! There is a reason BMW goes with orange color cluster. Orange is much better for Your vision. It does not stress Your eyes as much as white/blue light does.
The orange/amber light supposedly used to reduce eye fatigue/improve night time vision and all that, are myths that have been debunked many, many times before. The brightness of the night is actually more critical than the colour. Colour purely comes down to manufacturers choice.
Hi Ken, I got them on Aliexpress. Infinite options available it seems. But getting the right brightness is the tricky part. www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003178631710.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.5d3b4c4dDNGpA2
You have embarked on a very torturous journey my friend 😩 Regarding the toil you are having with the desoldering of the LED, it is an SMD (Surface Mount Device) sometimes they have a glue to keep them on the board which could explain the breaking of the LED. There are specialist tools to desolder these devices and SMD chips etc. in order to do them properly.
Hi, I currently own a 130i Sport and was wondering where did you get your LED interior lights from? I’ve found I’m not a fan of the yellow lights in mine, which age the car, dramatically
I got these on eBay, but they are hit and miss. You may notice if we use them a lot like at Roll Racing the car thinks the bulbs have died and stops turning them on. Need to get some better ones that are compatible with the bmw circuit
@@ZeroTo60Tube had the same problem, returned to yellow ones, please do make a video if you find some that don't do that, I have tried many different aliexpress ones, all of them turn off
@@ZeroTo60Tube Oh, that’s not good. I heard there’s a kit you can get from BMW, but I’ve yet to hear anything about it. Have you checked out a channel called, mr-fix? He might be able to lead you in the right direction
I tried this and made and could not get it to work. Some would work but others wouldn't. I made a mess of my cluster to point. After about 3days of working on it I gave up and returned the To the originals Led. I'm fortunate that I got all my LEDs to work bc the board is a laughable mess. I will never put myself thru that again. God bless 🙏
@@ZeroTo60Tube it's such a nice mod. No could not get it to work. You made it look easy, it's not. It's a nightmare. It's okay living vicariously thru you now. Keep the good work God bless 🙏
Haha... I love/hate this. It definitely looks good... BUT it no longer looks BMW! The amber is kind of a signature BMW thing... are you going to remove the logos next? 😜
Don’t forget same generation m3 and m5 have white LED. It’s an old BMW thing. But I do get where you are coming from. When I had the black dials I didn’t like the idea white but I think it’s a much have with the silver is dials
Guys I followed every step of this video, an everything is working appart the RPM Gauge ( it is on 0 and not moving at all) ... i tought maybe the fuse gone but it's ok so i tried to disconnect the battery for 10 min and nothing changed, can somebody help me pls ((
Hi There, Sorry for the delay in getting back to you, i missed this comment the other day. www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003178631710.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.5d3b4c4dDNGpA2
@@ZeroTo60Tube Heck ya, Sweet Thank You! Btw, thanks for always replying to your subs brotha or at least trying to! We Appreciate it, well at least I know I do!
@@k3rupt_ hey man no worries. I always make time for the comments on here even if it takes a few days to catch up. Dont really get a chance to keep up with the private messages on insta and facebook, but the youtube comments will always get answered, its what we are here for...... youtube.
A lot of people say that, unaware that all m cars from this generation had white LEDs. Not to mention pretty much all current BMWs with full colour screen dash boards (could use any colour) use white for the instruments.
The orange/amber light supposedly used to reduce eye fatigue/improve night time vision and all that, are myths that have been debunked many, many times before. The brightness of the night is actually more critical than the colour. Colour purely comes down to manufacturers choice.
Please give Ben a follow and let me know what you think of his fully pimped cluster ua-cam.com/video/khQYdmuXq4g/v-deo.html
Thanks, Andrew.
New diy idea: Vehicular once did a retrofit of the variable rpm gauge off the E9x M3. That's just soldering the cruise control motor of a spare cluster and doing the coding. There's tools for that and all values are known and easy to program.
I did a custom cluster and was the best thing I ever did. Looks more modern but keeps the analog which is pure to the enthusiast in me.
I did the same to my E82 135i a year ago. Best interior mod so far IMO. Good work dood!
Good job, a pain in the bum hole to change them, and I feel your pain - once went to the effort of changing every single light in an E36 to a blue light - not just the gauge cluster, but the climate controls, every single window switch, the OBC etc. The OBC and climate control screens were the hardest to try and get to work with blue writing. Personally, the white looks great, just at the end when it was dark there might've been a bit too much reflection off the needle, so perhaps painting the needles black (just on the underside that faces the fascia) would cut that down?
Also, just a tip. When removing needles from a gauge, remove the pin that they rest on, then measure where they come to rest, as you can't guarantee you've got them back in the correct position with no reference point. It looked like you fuel gauge dropped one marking point when you reinstalled it, and your speedo and tacho may be out, so check them to be safe.
nice job andrew hope the solder iron is ok easy way to remove the solder is use a solder wick it is a fine woven mesh strap about 5mm wide you place it on the solder you want to remove and then place the iron on it when the solder melts it is drawn onto the wick no mess cheers glenn
Absolutely this, underrated bit of kit the old solder wick. Especially useful if you accidentally solder some small pads together which can be incredibly difficult to seperate the solder otherwise.
Ohhhhhhhh gonna have to get some to add to my pretty sweet soldering setup
For andrew or anyone curious, the yellow part on the LED chip is phosphor which tunes the colour of the LED since they don't naturally emit white light.
The yellow phosphor is crucial for the white LED to appear white instead of blue. This is precisely why people say not to mix LED brands, since they may have different colour temperatures due to the differences in this phosphor coating.
Great effort on the DIY mate. The blob of solder you added to help desolder is a good trick, it acts as a thermal bridge for the soldering iron to the old solder and is something we commonly do when soldering or desoldering. Speeds up the heat transfer substantially and avoids heating nearby components for a much longer period of time.
For any soldering rookies attempting this, make sure you're using 60/40 leaded Rosin core solder. It's the preferred solder for this kind of work since it has flux built in and -
Lead free takes LOTS of heat and is tricky to work with. Most solder kits unfortunately ship with lead free solder in the box.
Thanks for the knowledge there man!!
Solder suckers are ok, I prefer Solder Wick if I don't have access to a de soldering station, also try thin flux core solder, using the thick solder feels a but like plumbing to me.
Very nice. The best way to do this, is to buy an adjustable electronics headgun. It' s the fastes way to do this job. And the special flux to solder them again. Every computer repair shop has one of these. Dutch regards, Nico.
You should preheat PCB. Makes it a lot easier. But keeping LCD shielded that is.
Nice job looks much better. Can you add the link for LEDs in description. Thanks
That looks so much nicer than the amber.. 😎. I'd consider doing the bottom panel if it were mine. I don't love the amber.
Nice attention to detail to go to the trouble of changing the LEDs on the cluster 👌🏻
Oh it looks mint by the way. Might look cool with some coloured needles?
Looks great! Keep the center screen orange, but red needles would be cool!
Way easier job with solder wick and thinner gauge solder. Flux too! Solid effort.
Where was this info 2 days ago.......
I did this mod on my then new mk2 Ford Focus back in 2006. SMD leds were too expensive so I used regular 2mm LEDs with the heads filed down 😯
That sounds like something I would do lol
Wow you've got some serious tenacity when you want to do something. LOL. Looks great! IMHO.
Thanks man!
You need a hot air rework station for surface mount components. Makes life so much easier
they look fine as is.. mine is custom everything and I like that too :)
That looks nice, would like the gauge covers blue with 328i on them.
You should apply double soldering iron on both sides of the smd led. So, it comes of very easily.
You know the amber-red lighting is easier to read and helps preserve your night vision right?
Yesssss! But m clusters are white so they must be faster. Lol
The orange/amber light supposedly used to reduce eye fatigue/improve night time vision and all that, are myths that have been debunked many, many times before. The brightness of the night is actually more critical than the colour. Colour purely comes down to manufacturers choice.
@@geordiegibson1210 red light is proven not to impair night vision and I have experience with this BUT I do agree that in normal night driving etc with oncoming lights it kinds of defeats the purpose. Driving on country roads in pitch black it does make a difference though and one of the things I like about BMWs but obviously I don’t own an m spec car!
I saw a magnifier in the care pack. With such fine soldering I would be pulling that out to help. Also get a damp cloth or sponge to wipe the solder tip regularly. Solder requires heat for it to work so if your tip is gunked up with dry solder then heat transfer is more difficult, making the solder not the correct temp. Hope that helps?
Thanks for the tips!
I don't know why but my comment disappeared lol
In short I said - if you paint the back rings silver they will reflect light better making the cluster look better(like M3)
As suggested by other you can also retrofit the variable red line like an M3.
I personally have modified the centre screen as well and have N54 logo instead of 335is which would also suit you better since you are team N54 :)
Feel free to contact me if you need any help or guidance with any of the above. I've done quite a few clusters in the UK.
What colour did you do your centre screen?
@@ZeroTo60Tube I use the same white leds that I use for the dials and due to the technology of the display it turns out with blueish background with white text/numbers. Depending on the viewing angle the background goes as dark as black or very rich deep sky blue.
Here is a quick video - ua-cam.com/video/02kardtYcsI/v-deo.html
I was also considering such a mod to bring the E92 to modern days. However! There is a reason BMW goes with orange color cluster. Orange is much better for Your vision. It does not stress Your eyes as much as white/blue light does.
That's true but that's for night driving actually the orange doesn't get your vision as tired not that's it's better for your eyes
The orange/amber light supposedly used to reduce eye fatigue/improve night time vision and all that, are myths that have been debunked many, many times before. The brightness of the night is actually more critical than the colour. Colour purely comes down to manufacturers choice.
@@geordiegibson1210 oh, is that so? So why are airplane dials all amber colored? Could you point to source of information?
The white led lights look excellent in your instrument cluster Andrew. Where do you buy those led lights from and can you get other colours?
Hi Ken, I got them on Aliexpress. Infinite options available it seems. But getting the right brightness is the tricky part. www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003178631710.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.5d3b4c4dDNGpA2
That's brilliant mate, nice clean look.
A desoldering station would make removal easier i think with less chance for damaging the board.
Thank you for this video 👍
My pleasure
You have embarked on a very torturous journey my friend 😩
Regarding the toil you are having with the desoldering of the LED, it is an SMD (Surface Mount Device) sometimes they have a glue to keep them on the board which could explain the breaking of the LED. There are specialist tools to desolder these devices and SMD chips etc. in order to do them properly.
Thanks for the tips!
It never gets better than that orange
You can change brightness in settings
Nice, been thinking about doing this same thing to my E60....should be the same process...🤷♂️? Same size LEDs?
I believe so. Just having dinner but will get that link up to buy them soon.
@@ZeroTo60Tube What'd you have for dinner?
@@jhncvngh BBQ chicken.....
@@ZeroTo60Tube Y'all are a treat hahaha have a great day!
Hi,
I currently own a 130i Sport and was wondering where did you get your LED interior lights from? I’ve found I’m not a fan of the yellow lights in mine, which age the car, dramatically
I got these on eBay, but they are hit and miss. You may notice if we use them a lot like at Roll Racing the car thinks the bulbs have died and stops turning them on. Need to get some better ones that are compatible with the bmw circuit
@@ZeroTo60Tube had the same problem, returned to yellow ones, please do make a video if you find some that don't do that, I have tried many different aliexpress ones, all of them turn off
@@ZeroTo60Tube Oh, that’s not good. I heard there’s a kit you can get from BMW, but I’ve yet to hear anything about it.
Have you checked out a channel called, mr-fix? He might be able to lead you in the right direction
Are you still able to change the brightness of them in the settings?
I’m sure I would be able to. I will double check tho.
I tried this and made and could not get it to work. Some would work but others wouldn't. I made a mess of my cluster to point. After about 3days of working on it I gave up and returned the To the originals Led. I'm fortunate that I got all my LEDs to work bc the board is a laughable mess. I will never put myself thru that again. God bless 🙏
Ohhh man, what a shame. Did you work out what caused your trouble?
@@ZeroTo60Tube it's such a nice mod. No could not get it to work. You made it look easy, it's not. It's a nightmare. It's okay living vicariously thru you now. Keep the good work God bless 🙏
where did you get the cluster's ,,335is'' paper ?
I ordered from ebay from memory
Where can I get a copy of ISTA
Haha... I love/hate this. It definitely looks good... BUT it no longer looks BMW! The amber is kind of a signature BMW thing... are you going to remove the logos next? 😜
Don’t forget same generation m3 and m5 have white LED. It’s an old BMW thing. But I do get where you are coming from. When I had the black dials I didn’t like the idea white but I think it’s a much have with the silver is dials
flux my dude! it will help quite a bit - might call it tip tinner/cleaner now that I checked :P
Where did you buy those led ?
Im sorry i honestly can't remember.
Guys I followed every step of this video, an everything is working appart the RPM Gauge ( it is on 0 and not moving at all) ... i tought maybe the fuse gone but it's ok so i tried to disconnect the battery for 10 min and nothing changed, can somebody help me pls ((
Im sorry i have not heard of that happening before.
Can you please add where you bought them from
www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003178631710.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.5d3b4c4dDNGpA2
@@ZeroTo60Tube might see if Jaycar can supply. I’m impatient
now do the start button and cic controller ;)
I legit looked at the start button immediately after turning the camera off...... hmmm
@@ZeroTo60Tube haha i tired to do it, but it can be quite hard !
Link to order the LEDs? please
Hi There, Sorry for the delay in getting back to you, i missed this comment the other day. www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003178631710.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.5d3b4c4dDNGpA2
Would love to see red needles!
Hmmmmmm I might see if I can work out the best way to replicate the genuine m3 ones
LED Link? i need them in my life...
www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003178631710.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.5d3b4c4dDNGpA2
@@ZeroTo60Tube Heck ya, Sweet Thank You!
Btw, thanks for always replying to your subs brotha or at least trying to! We Appreciate it, well at least I know I do!
@@k3rupt_ hey man no worries. I always make time for the comments on here even if it takes a few days to catch up. Dont really get a chance to keep up with the private messages on insta and facebook, but the youtube comments will always get answered, its what we are here for...... youtube.
Flux is your friend Amtech Flux Type :NC-559-ASM
Make sure to drink lots of coffee and have no breakfast right before doing this. 👋 👋
Probably the worst mod I have ever seen. BMW intentionally use amber to reduce eye fatigue and improve vision.
A lot of people say that, unaware that all m cars from this generation had white LEDs. Not to mention pretty much all current BMWs with full colour screen dash boards (could use any colour) use white for the instruments.
The orange/amber light supposedly used to reduce eye fatigue/improve night time vision and all that, are myths that have been debunked many, many times before. The brightness of the night is actually more critical than the colour. Colour purely comes down to manufacturers choice.
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥❤️
Seems like a big pain in the ass but would look sick
The soldering is terrible!
Thanks man! Love the support. Luckily 2 years on the cluster is still working.
Ukrainian 👍