Mazda 323F GT

Dashboard LED lights

Thought about changing the boring green dashboard light to something more exciting.

After reviewing the contents of the dashboard there were two choices on how to install LEDs there.

1. Mount them all around instruments simply glueing and then pointing to correct parts of the panel.

2. Create a special lightning kit to distribute the lights all around the instruments.

Decided to mix both solutions, do a distribution thingy and also accompany it with single LEDs to highlight something.

Used an Angel eye technique to create a lightning for dash.

Here are few instructions on how to do this:

1. You will need to find a solid plastic core (preferably a round one with diameter near 5-7mm). The good choice for this is that wee plastic handle on a windows' jalousie which you rotate to close or open them

2. A couple of desirable colour LEDs

3. Resistor : calculate it using Ohm law - R=U/I, where U = 13.5V - Ures, Ures and I you need to take from LED description. Lets say R=570 Ohm.

Now the steps actually:

1. Disassemble dashboard and remove instruments from it. Check how much space do you have.

2. Find something round you can use as a base with the same diameter as instrument. You will bend the pipe around it.

3. Take a plastic pipe, use you cooker plate on a kitchen to melt it a bit so it will not burn but became soft and so can be bended

4. Bend pipe around base from item 2

5. Cut excesses (didn't make a full circle because of a fitment limitations - not enough of free space inside dash)

6. Drill small holes on both faces of a bended pipe for LEDs. I've used two small ones per each side.

7. Take a saw and make small gashes all way round one side of a pipe.

8. Use glue gun to put a bit of a glue inside faces holes and stick LEDs inside. Let them dry.

9. Solder wires, add resistors (I've used one resistor per two LEDs and then connected pairs from both sides parallel).

10. Now Angel eyes are ready :)

11. Use glue gun to fix them under the upper plate of instruments

12. Check how it will works. If there would be not enough light somewhere you can add a separate LED around that place fixing it to the base of a dashboard.

13. You can play with different colours in one block or even made them switchable.

Actually these LED Angel Eyes can be used anywhere - even to simulate BMW like ones… then no need to pay a lot of money for them.

Kira aka Aprilia, 2005