No light's (B2400 gauges)...No problem (Pic's)

[BobbyK]

Not sure if this is a problem isolated to the B1700,B2100 + B2400 but the instrument panel, gauge cluster, dash...whatever you want to call it... does not have any illumination for the gauges.

Now, I use my B2400 primarily for snow removal.
In the winter, the sun is up at approx. 7am and gone by 4:45-5pm.
I work during those hours, so if I need to plow snow, it's usually in the dark.

Having no light's in the dash makes it a little difficult to keep an eye on my tractors vitals.

Enough talk...I added some LED's to my gauge cluster so now I have plenty of light shining down on my gauges.

Here are some pic's on how I did it.

1st I removed the dash from the tractor.
The wire harness unclips from the back of the cluster and the tach drive cable just unscrews from the back of the tach.

I ended up dissembling the whole instrument cluster not knowing how I was going to add these lights.

6 screws on the perimeter will release the gauge frame from the gauge pod. 2 screws fasten a metal plate that covers the circuit board and warning lights

Once the 6 screws are removed the frame comes right off

gently pull these tabs out to release clear plastic lens from gauge pod

Then the plastic lens comes right off, you'll note how cloudy and scratched it is

Next few pic's are just documentation on what the guts of one of these gauge clusters look like on the inside.

back of the hour meter

Back of the Temp + fuel gauge

To be continued....

 

[BobbyK]

Continued.


green turn signals, red glow plug, battery and oil pressure

gauge lens was dirty and badly scratched. I used a buffer drill and foam pad along with this polishing compound to clean and buff out the lens

worked well but some of the scratches in the lens are too deep to buff out. Still looks WAY cleaner and clearer than before.

So on to how I installed the LED'S

This is what I used. Purchased at Princess Auto here in Canada. Bought them on sale for like $3.00

I was able to place them around the perimeter of the frame without interfering with the gauge cluster. A combination of 2 sided tape and hot glue hold them in place.

I also pulled the headlight switch from the tractor

I found out which wire only has power when the headlights are switched on.(yellow with orange tracer)

soldered on a pigtail and used electrical tape and heat shrink to cover the bare wires. I'll use this wire (green) to power the dash lights

I reassembled the gauge cluster and tested it. Lot's of light now!

Continued...

 

[BobbyK]

Continued



Her's crappy pic looking down from the roof of the cab.

Anyway... it was a pretty easy mod, and it sure makes a difference in the cab.






.

 

[Roadworthy]

Fantastic tutorial. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Dave_eng]

Something that might be a long term fix for your plastic lens.

My car is old and, in spite of numerous attempts to buff up the plastic, nothing worked for long.

I was having some rust fixed on the lift gate and the body guy said for $100 he would fix the headlights.

He polished them but then used automotive clear coat paint as the final step.

They are like new.

Dave

 

[mendonsy]

Really great information. This thread probably should be added the fabrication/customization sticky,

 

[ve9aa]

You must be a fellow Canadian. I use those same lights (but in Orange) on the inside of my fairing, near my hands, on the fairing on my Harley Davidson motorcycle. I never was really sure 100% of the time the signal lights were on or off, due to the location of the weak/lethargic excuses for LED's on the "dash" of my bike (which in my case is very low on the gas tank so not normally visible. I like to keep my head up and eyes on the road. Those "Princess Auto" lights are great.

I see you posted in the other thread on dash lights and so, yes, this thread is ~2yrs old and I brought it back to life !

A job well done. I really like this mod.

 

[BobbyK]

Ya, Princess Auto has some good deals from time to time.
For how cheap they were, they've worked great for me.
Thanks.

 

[MEF]

Continued.


green turn signals, red glow plug, battery and oil pressure

gauge lens was dirty and badly scratched. I used a buffer drill and foam pad along with this polishing compound to clean and buff out the lens

worked well but some of the scratches in the lens are too deep to buff out. Still looks WAY cleaner and clearer than before.

So on to how I installed the LED'S

This is what I used. Purchased at Princess Auto here in Canada. Bought them on sale for like $3.00

I was able to place them around the perimeter of the frame without interfering with the gauge cluster. A combination of 2 sided tape and hot glue hold them in place.

I also pulled the headlight switch from the tractor

I found out which wire only has power when the headlights are switched on.(yellow with orange tracer)

soldered on a pigtail and used electrical tape and heat shrink to cover the bare wires. I'll use this wire (green) to power the dash lights

I reassembled the gauge cluster and tested it. Lot's of light now!

Continued...

How do I remove the panel board? Thanks