Normally the instrument lighting is pretty bright. I have a couple questions:

• Any chance the instrument lighting has been turned down, dimmed?
• Is this during the day or at night?

Bobby...

['07 FSXT MODding Journal] ['03 X MODding Journal]

 

Well, mostly during the day is the worst- dusk. And yes dimmer turned up all the way. Maybe im just not used to the 03 Subaru guage lights?

 

I kind of thought it was during the day & I'm going to guess your headlights or marking lights are turned on. When either of those are switched on, the integrated module will dim the instrument lighting... for night mode. You can verify this by switching off the headlights or marking lights off to see if the instrument lighting brightens.

Bobby...

['07 FSXT MODding Journal] ['03 X MODding Journal]

 

Going to chime in on this too... Mine aren't dim, but they are tough to see during the day when I wear sunglasses. I have to look at the cluster for a second or two before I can make out the dial. I can see them fine at night, but they aren't as bright as the ones on new cars

 

I have the same complaint about my 04. The lack of bright plastics (really nothing on the dash is any color other than black) and the fact that the gauges sit inside little tunnels in the cluster makes them VERY hard to read in a hurry. I have found the problem worst at dawn and dusk, when isn't really dark, or bright, enough to justify switching on the lights. I tried without success to get a company to make me white gauge faces, but other than that, your only hope is to replace all your cluster bulbs with LEDs. I consider it one problem with driving an eight year old car.

 

Yes that is what i was wondering about, i was curious if anyone on here has replaced the bulbs with LEDs and if there was a write-up. 2.5xsleeper, the module does work by dimming the lights when they are turned on but they are Ok at night. Its just dusk/dawn which i can barely tell they are on.

 

Tuned in. Doesn't seem like replacing them is all too hard

 

LEDs won't work because they cannot be dimmed the same way that light bulbs are.

 

You can use LEDs and in my experience they will dim with the standard rheostat. I replaced the pair behind my odometer about a year ago with white LEDs from SuperBrightLEDs.com. They work really, really well, but because of the green tint on the cluster, the color is sort of aqua, not white, or bright green. I haven't replaced the rest of the cluster with LED yet, but will soon. I was trying a paint project out first...

 

Do you have a write up on this or the led part #s you used? It would be much appreciated. Thx

 

Hey Everyone, I replaced ALL my dashlights with LEDs from SuperBright and what I used is covered in this post, complete with links to the website. I did mine in Blue, but unless you don't like seeing your needles I suggest not using blue. I don't mind, and the blue was more important to me. The LEDs are definitely dimmable and very bright, I'm sure the white are even brighter. To get away from the aqua color, use a warm white, instead of cool white bulb.

http://www.subaruforester.org/vbull...ulletin/f77/replacing-instrument-dash-lights-help-41326/index7.html#post1340950

fully replaced
http://www.subaruforester.org/vbull...ulletin/f77/replacing-instrument-dash-lights-help-41326/index8.html#post1343410

 

Going from 2000s to 2004 I was disappointed with the brightness also.

I replaced my bulbs with the largest bulbs that fit the sockets, basically (no leds, didn't want to spend more $). It was just sufficient to see with sunglasses and running lights.

I also have beige interior and used Krylon fusion spraypaint to paint the cluster surround a matching color. This made a very noticeable effect also, so much that I turn on lights less since the lighter color reflects ambient light more and makes the gauges easier to see. There will be certain times and light angles you can get a glare easier, but overall the visibility is much more improved over stock. You could also try grey or silver if you have other interior colors (silver might be too much, at least get a matte finish perhaps?!).

 

Do you recall which bulbs you used so i can follow suit? thx

 

I've been running nearly all of my interior lights with LED bulbs for over a year now but it is important to get the correct ones. For the speedo and tacho you need a 180deg bulb as in the link. This is important because the light has to be spread laterally as well as forward to light up the entire clock. If you use the forward firing type, as indeed a good few sellers are recommending as the correct type, you will get a bright light at 4 and 8 o clock and nothing else. Do not be tempted to buy the longer model, it won't fit. If you have canbus issues, the T10 is widely available in the style of the second link.

10 T10 W5W 168 194 Bright White 5 SMD LED Side Wedge Light Bulb Lamp | eBay

2 CANBUS T10 W5W 194 5 SMD LED Car Side Light Bulb Lamp | eBay

For the smaller warning lights in the instrument binnacle, a forward firing T5 bulb is the one to use. If you can get the type with the diode flat mounted on top, as below, they work best. Sorting out the polarity is a bit of a pain but it is just possible, if a little tight, to connect one of the plugs with the binnacle out. I have replaced all my switches and the seat heaters with blue LEDs but the speedo and tacho were done with bright white (pale green), because I like that. Many of the T5 bulbs are available as a warm white if you prefer but I replaced my high beam with a blue LED because I found I wasn't aware it was on, too often. Although it doesn't distract me now, I am aware from the resulting halo that I have the mains on.

2X T5 286 5050 SMD LED Car Wedge Speedo Dashboard Side Light Bulb White DC 12V | eBay

Despite repeated attempts, because of the construction of the cluster of switches down by the drivers knee, I was unable to convert these and so they remain green. I also did a nifty mod to the window switches where the "auto" is lit in blue but I have blue LED dots, around 3mm diameter, in the middle of the other three buttons.

The cabin light was converted to a 6x3 LED board and I have an array in the rear cargo area that can be switched in or out but when on, you can do any kind of work you like.

The auto timed dimming works on the cabin light and the dashboard dimmer works fine. As Backpacker said, the blue is funky but makes it hard to see the needles so from a safety point of view, maybe not the best choice. I have T10 1.5 watt LEDS in the front parking lights, which pass the law ok, and while I experimented with rear stop/brake LEDs, I found them to be lacking in definition between tail and stop brightness and so abandoned them. Having travelled behind the newer high end German and Japanese cars with the LED arrays in the rear lights, I find them blinding to the point of excluding your vision beyond the car in front so I expect I will not be going this route at all. LED turn indicators are cool in the day time but personally, I think they are dangerous to other road users at night and especially in dark and rainy weather as they can "starburst" in the other drivers windows, so I left the incandescents in place.

I have been mucking around with LEDs for years and spent a while trying out lots of different types before settling where I am and IMO, the Ebay ones coming out of China/Hong Kong are absolutely fine and way less expensive than domestically sourced parts. Often the local item costing ten times as much probably came from the same factory. Your choice but if you are experimenting, this might be the more cost effective option. My only 'solid' advice is the particular type for each application.

 

Thanks for the info! Im going to give the T10 LEDs a shot. Im only really concerned with the speedo/tach etc. Ill report back with the outcome.

 

LOL, just noticed there is a "Doom Light" in the manual ... maybe that's for whenever the next end of the world is. :biggrin:

edit: maybe it should really be for headgaskets or the like

 

Thx Woody, i ordered some LEDs so if those dont work out i will definitely go back to the reg bulbs. Havent had the subee for awhile as i just got the damn Headgaskets done on it...