wonkey eyed barmaid Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 standard black-faced Caterham logo guages; fuel, temp, oil pressure, tacho and speedo. what type and size of bulbs do these each take, and how easy is it to change them? i presume the whole guage has to come out - what then? what wattage should i upgrade too, to help stop condensation forming, but without causing any other side effects? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave H Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 Changing the bulbs won't help the condensation problem - the solution to that is to allow air to circulate freely inside the gauge. This has been covered before, but the idea is to CAREFULLY remove a small section of the casing of each gauge. You will need to remove the guage from the car for this. I think the bulb holders pull out to allow the bulbs to be changed without removing the guage. Dave H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Russell Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 The guages have different sized bulbs fitted depending upon their vintage. Only sure fire way of telling what you've got is to take out the holder, which is just a push fit, and check. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-B Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 so where other than caterham can one secure the bulbs? any chance you can replace them with red ones 🤔 red is closer to purple that the eyes can see better at night Steve Metalic Black SV-VHPD click here to see our pictures.... Edited by - w1scb on 29 Jan 2003 16:15:31 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Dixon Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 I recently changed my bulbs to slightly brighter ones. Basically I took old bulbs out, (easy as they are a push fit in the back of the guages) took them down to Halfords and got some of the same size but slightly brighter. Still get condensation but at least I can now read the guages at night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Russell Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 I seem to recall that the green tint on the standard bulbs was achieved by a plastic, coloured sleeve......perhaps you might be able to use a red sleeve? Or obtain some glass paint from a craft/art shop and colour the bulb.....will need to be a very dark red to have any effect. Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-B Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 interesting suggestions andrew, i'll pop around the local arts & cr*p store and see if they have any glass paint. we tried a red marker to little avail at all.... other idea is to go to a bmw or porsche garage and see if they have bulbs. Steve Metalic Black SV-VHPD click here to see our pictures.... Edited by - w1scb on 29 Jan 2003 17:11:53 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHRIS CLARK Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 The old VDO gauges with the lovely green glow have indeed got green 'condoms' over the bulbs. When I needed some more I found Merlin Motorsport at Castle Coombe had them (& red covers too). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Russell Posted January 30, 2003 Share Posted January 30, 2003 Yes I know you can get the coloured 'condoms' but they only fit the smaller bulbs fitted to the earlier guages, as far as I know. That is why I tried the glass paint method as I had to replace a guage with a new style one and couldn't locate a big enough condom!!!! Ooh 'er, missus!! Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klaus Loske Posted January 30, 2003 Share Posted January 30, 2003 To change the color, you have to check if the color comes from the bulb, i.e. condom approach. It may also be that the color comes from an internal color filter, then you can try if you can break the color filter with a screw driver through the bulb hole and then use the condom approach to get a different color. You can also try to fit color LED´s. The are available at different brightnesses and colors, including cool blue... but it needs a bit more fiddling around with. Klaus 1700+ X-flow Combustion is not a secret Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-B Posted January 30, 2003 Share Posted January 30, 2003 klaus if i go the LED route don't i have to deal with circuitry, etc that just painting the bulb with glass paint would alleviate? i'm really not wanting to touch the innards of the instruments, for fear of w*nking them up. now however if there's LED's that work on 12VDC and I can fasten in place of the bulbs, I could be interested Steve Metalic Black SV-VHPD click here to see our pictures.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevefoster Posted January 30, 2003 Share Posted January 30, 2003 I found the standard Caterham guages lamps too dim. The bulbs were 2W. 4W ones improved the sitution greatly. I would expect that colouring them would reduce the lux somewhat so you may want to start with brighter ones. All the bulbs can be popped out with the gauge in place. They are of standard automotive type PhilW did his bulbs red... spooky! My racing pics, 7 DIY, race prep. Updated often here Photo's of the year here Hants (North) and Berkshire Area club site here Edited by - stevefoster on 30 Jan 2003 11:12:35 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klaus Loske Posted January 30, 2003 Share Posted January 30, 2003 Steve, I am not shure if there are direct 12V LED bulbs available. I would assume that this is quit expensive. So it would require some fiddling... basically it is the LED and a resistor to drop the voltage from 12V to the LED voltage. Depending on the bulb you currently have it could be quite easy though. If it is a old style bulb, with a metal body, you can simply break the bulb and re-use the metal body wher you solder in the LED and resistor. For glass body bulbs, I have to think a bit more... Klaus 1700+ X-flow Combustion is not a secret Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevefoster Posted January 30, 2003 Share Posted January 30, 2003 I am not sure LED's will give enough ambient light. The ones I know of are fairly focused. I used a row of high intensity ones as an oil pressure warning light. They are F'ing bright when pointed at you. see http://mysite.freeserve.com/Caterham_DIY/ under Extra bright LED's There's some info on how I adjusted the current/voltage... My racing pics, 7 DIY, race prep. Updated often here Photo's of the year here Hants (North) and Berkshire Area club site here Edited by - stevefoster on 30 Jan 2003 15:06:07 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philwaters Posted January 30, 2003 Share Posted January 30, 2003 I did mine with red glass bulb paint... rated up to 40W... I upped the rating to 4W at the same time. A nice red glow is far easier on the eyes at night... much better vision. I got a few small pots from here Phil Waters You mean you can drive these? I thought it was just there to polish 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-B Posted January 30, 2003 Share Posted January 30, 2003 thanks phil, i just ordered blue, red and violet. got to go to caterham later so will try to get some 4W bulbs whilst there. i presume you dipped the bulbs in, and hung them off tape, etc until they dried... 🤔 then i can have lights that don't conflict with driving at night. philw, you're the best ❗ Steve Metalic Black SV-VHPD click here to see our pictures.... Edited by - w1scb on 30 Jan 2003 15:36:30 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philwaters Posted January 31, 2003 Share Posted January 31, 2003 I think my technique was to get a bit of card board and cut 'X' 's in it that the bulbs would sit in and stay still. I then used a very fine brush to paint them. You can clean the paint off with nail varnish remover if you don't like it. One coat is more than enough to give a glow. Phil Waters You mean you can drive these? I thought it was just there to polish 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-B Posted January 31, 2003 Share Posted January 31, 2003 thanks very much for that phil, i'll be waiting for my paint to arrive in the post Steve Metalic Black SV-VHPD click here to see our pictures.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-B Posted February 5, 2003 Share Posted February 5, 2003 phil my paint pots have arrived in the post this AM. can't wait to get the bulbs later today and then have some fun. i got red, violet, and blue. decisions decisions 😬 😬 Steve Metalic Black SV-VHPD click here to see our pictures.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philwaters Posted February 5, 2003 Share Posted February 5, 2003 ok, that is sad - getting excited about painting small little light bulbs! I think I tried the Violet and it was a little dark. I bought some clear as well and could have thinned it down, but I just tried the red and liked that Have fun and don't get caught painting in the living room 😬 Phil Waters You mean you can drive these? I thought it was just there to polish 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-B Posted February 5, 2003 Share Posted February 5, 2003 tis sad until i can see at night better....now just to not get caught sniffing the fumes Steve Metalic Black SV-VHPD click here to see our pictures.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alias Posted February 5, 2003 Share Posted February 5, 2003 How are the bulbs secured, are mine very tight and require a bit of force, or do they need to be clipped off? One car - 1400 Supersport with 6 gears and clamshell wings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-B Posted February 5, 2003 Share Posted February 5, 2003 i'll let you know after i attempt to remove them thursday Steve Metalic Black SV-VHPD click here to see our pictures.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philwaters Posted February 6, 2003 Share Posted February 6, 2003 Rob, The bulb holder should just pull out of the back of the gauge. The bulbs are then a simple/easy fit into these. The bulb holder on mine are held in by means of a tube that has a slot cut down in. If yours are hard to get out, you may need to open the slot slightly with a screw driver... Phil Waters You mean you can drive these? I thought it was just there to polish 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alias Posted February 7, 2003 Share Posted February 7, 2003 Have fitted said bulb. Had to twist the holder through 90 degrees (as you would a bayonet bulb). The green covers are like mini condoms but come off the bulbs pretty easily. Just need to get my temperature guage working (at least I can see it!) One car - 1400 Supersport with 6 gears and clamshell wings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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