TH1RT3EN
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posted January 22, 2011 05:11 AM
Gauge Cluster Mod Question...
I am looking to change things up a bit,
Has anyone here changed their gauge cluster looks?
there is a LED swap kit you can pick up on e-bay to change the color of all the led's inside the gauge cluster. I am fairly competent that i would be able to unsolder and resolder led's.
What i dont know is exactly how many are inside the cluster. And if anyone else has done it and what the outcome was.
What is your opinion?
Patrick
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/KAWASAKI-CONCOURS-14-ZX-ZX14-ZX-14-LED-KIT-GAUGE-GREEN-/390282529029?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item5adea6c905
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dakota9498
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posted January 22, 2011 08:44 AM
You just have to be careful not to burn up the board or the leds and be mindful of polarity on the led's. The led's are tiny so I didn't trust myself or the equipment I have. But I am an Aviation Electronics Tech in the Navy and I have friends that work in the Micro-Miniature Repair shop and had them do it.
The only thing I don't like about them is that they are a little too bright. When it is really dark (no street lights or headlights) you will have a little washout. I can try to get a pic, but I am not sure how it will turn out. Some of the other led's might not be as bad, blue is usually a little bit brighter than the others.
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Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference. ~Mark Twain
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TH1RT3EN
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posted January 22, 2011 10:00 AM
Did you have to remove paint or repaint anything inside the cluster? it mentions doing that in the description but im not for sure. I am thinking about taking my cluster out and apart to see whats inside exactly before i order the kit.
Patrick
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dogg24
Expert Class
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posted January 22, 2011 10:48 AM
I found a few videos on youtube that might help you some.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9t-8lqYBvk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lkXqfj-SBY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnYdBcupybs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TjLog6LZzw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXtIsyYMFu4
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2012 ZX14R SE, Streetmeg, PCV
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dakota9498
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posted January 22, 2011 12:10 PM
I didn't paint anything, but it is probably talking about that in order to limit the bleed from the brighter led's
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2008 ZX14
Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference. ~Mark Twain
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TH1RT3EN
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posted January 22, 2011 12:59 PM
Thanks for the vid links! i didnt even think about checking youtube.
Thanks dakota i will check around here and see if i can find someone who works with micro electronics to do the soldering for me. It should be easy work for them if i take everything apart.
Patrick
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TH1RT3EN
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posted January 22, 2011 01:49 PM
Dakota9498,
How was your friend able to tell the polarity of the led's or the led spots on the mother board?
I have made quite a few phone calls checking into tv/vcr repair places and apparently none of them speak English around here. I think i am going to just give this a shot myself.
Any help is appreciated....
Patrick
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Obba
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posted January 22, 2011 02:22 PM
 Edited By: Obba on 22 Jan 2011 22:25
Why not got he whole hog eh 
Just an idea; How about these (forward voltage 9-14v), and pre wired.
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/10-x-Flashing-Rainbow-7-colours-LED-Pre-Wired-lights-/130475896370?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Components_Supplies_ET&hash=item1e60f82e32
You can get 3 colour and the flashing time depends on the led i think.
YouTube has various clips on flashing / colour cycling leds. Gets a bit confusing, but the above link is for 7 colour, prewired and works straight off 12v.
EDIT: Don't worry to much about polarity. If it deosn't light up, it's wrong and you can't damage them if it is wrong.
The PCB should have some form of polarity marking anyway.
The longer leg is POS.
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TH1RT3EN
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posted January 22, 2011 06:00 PM
i have thought about the prewired led's. i have used them in many other mods i have done in the past.
My main fear is i have burnt up a few of the led's in the past by hooking up the polarity backwards on accident. Also the led's that are on the mother board are the small square design and not the round ball point type. I would like to go with the same style of led so there is no interference with any other things inside the cluster.
Patrick
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Hellmutt
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posted January 22, 2011 06:39 PM
No more than the kit costs, i say go for it man - may get one for mine too, loox like a trick mod for cheap
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dakota9498
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posted January 22, 2011 06:55 PM
Edited By: dakota9498 on 23 Jan 2011 02:56
quote:
Why not got he whole hog eh
Just an idea; How about these (forward voltage 9-14v), and pre wired.
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/10-x-Flashing-Rainbow-7-colours-LED-Pre-Wired-lights-/130475896370?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Components_Supplies_ET&hash=item1e60f82e32
You can get 3 colour and the flashing time depends on the led i think.
YouTube has various clips on flashing / colour cycling leds. Gets a bit confusing, but the above link is for 7 colour, prewired and works straight off 12v.
EDIT: Don't worry to much about polarity. If it deosn't light up, it's wrong and you can't damage them if it is wrong.
The PCB should have some form of polarity marking anyway.
The longer leg is POS.
The led's don't have legs, they are pad type led's. They have a really small mark marking the positive side. And you have to worry about polarity because if you solder them in and they don't work you have to desolder them and try again and you are increasing the chance that you damage them or the board with too much heat.
And there are a lot of topics in a lot of forums about the particular led's used in the gauges, I will try to find a few.
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2008 ZX14
Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference. ~Mark Twain
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dakota9498
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posted January 22, 2011 07:00 PM
Edited By: dakota9498 on 23 Jan 2011 03:01
http://www.zx-10r.net/forum/showthread.php?t=72270
http://www.zxforums.com/forums/zx-6r-forum/30167-diy-gauge-cluster-led-mod.html
These are the same type that are used in our bikes. There are tons of posts on these led swaps.
But like I said, I didn't trust my equipment (my soldering iron doesn't have adjustable temp), or my skills, because even a used gauge cluster is ridiculously expensive.
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2008 ZX14
Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference. ~Mark Twain
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TH1RT3EN
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posted January 23, 2011 06:54 AM
Awesome!
Thanks for the input Dakota!
i'm reading up on everything currently....
Patrick
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There is a fine line between Fear and Respect
When I was a kid i used to........... Wait I Still Do That!
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