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How To: Change SVT Gauge Color

71K views 97 replies 34 participants last post by  WCI-Mike 
#1 ·
I did this write up to help any svt owners who hate the stock green color of their gauges and odometer. I went with red but any color could easily be used. Materials used are 1 white sheet of printer paper size 8.5 X 14 inch and 1 colored transparency sheet of equal length. Tools needed are Phillips screwdriver, flat head screwdriver, 7mm socket wrench, T-10 socket,razor blade, scanner, photoshop(or equivalent photo editing software), and a printer. I am not responsible for any damage to your vehicle. This how to covers the steps for the main instrument cluster. The same steps apply towards the small gauges on the right.

1. Remove the 3 screws holding the trim piece covering your gauges.


2. Push in the two tabs on either side of the steering column. This releases the trim piece connected to the gauge cover.


3. Disconnect the hatch release button.


4. Use the 7mm socket to remove the four bolts holding the instrument cluster in place.


5. Remove the clip on top of the instrument cluster(this is the power source that lights up the gauges.) Separate that piece from the gauges by pushing a flat head under the plug and sliding to the right


6. Remove the main harness located on the back of the cluster. Slide the black bar all the way to the left and pull out.


7. Separate the black cover piece from the white gauge housing by lifting up on the four tabs(two on top and two on bottom)


8. Remove the 3 black plastic tabs that hold the tach needle and speedometer needle in place when the vehicle is turned off. These pieces pull straight off. Also remove the needles by pulling directly up.


9. Remove the 3 torx bolts holding the gauges in place. Once these are removed the gauges lift straight out.


10. Remove the plastic piece that interacts with the odometer from the underside by squeezing it together and pushing it out.


11.You then separate the gauge face from the back white part that actually lights up.


12. The gauge face is what you scan. Using a photo editing software edit the gauges to whatever you want them to look like. I enlarged the svt logo and deleted the kph. Also you need to delete the background(the gray part of the gauges) so when it is printed all that prints out are the numbers and lines. The gauge is larger than a normal piece of paper so use 8.5x14 inch paper.

13. Using the stock gauges as a template cut the new printed gauges out including all holes and the rectangle where the odometer is seen.

14. Use the stock gauges again to trace out that same shape onto the transparency sheet of your color choice (I went with red to match my seat inserts.)


15. You will have to cut your stock gauges to install the High beam light, abs light and traction control light. Once cut from your stock gauges install them directly on the white part of your gauges that light up. You will also have to cut away these sections from your new gauges and transparency sheet.


16. Install the new gauges on top of the transparency sheet and then those two pieces go on top of the white part of you gauges that light up.

17. Now you can put everything back together in reverse order.

18. to calibrate your needles use this. http://www.focusfanatics.com/howtos/needlecalibration/

Thanks, I hope everything goes well. Soon to follow will be how i did my odometer.
 
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#2 ·
How to on how i changed the color of my odometer. This will go between steps 15 and 16 on the previous how to.

1. Remove the black plastic clip surrounding the odometer. Be extremely careful because the odometer is very fragile and can crack easily!!


2. The actual odometer is made up of three layers. There are two layers of glass and under that there is a piece of paper that has a green tint on the back. By sliding a razor blade between the bottom glass and the white paper remove the paper from the odometer.


3. This is what it will look like.


4. Using the paper you removed trace that shape to a white piece of printer paper and the same transparency sheet you used earlier.


5. Now install those sheets back into the odometer with the white paper on top of the colored transparency sheet.

6. Install the black plastic clip.

Done
 
#10 ·
great write up.. i will be doing this to my car once i get done with school and have the time.. also i still am trying to figure out how to hook up the indiglo section of the svt gauges to a speed hut inverter so i can get them to glow.. mods please sticky this..
 
#20 ·
Awesome write up, it's super helpful!


You can scan and print at kinkos. Shouldn't be too much

You said something about there being a gray color showing up on the scan, can they get rid of that at Kinkos as well? I'm pretty content with the way the gauges look (minus the color) so I wouldn't be doing anything to the scan in photoshop.

Rep added :)
 
#28 ·
This is a really good write up, though you might want to add some pic's of when you had to separate the old face from the clear glass, and what to do if you want to use the stock one and have color show through?

I say add that part cause at first in some of the old threads I did not know what people where saying when they were saying it has to be sanded for the green tint to come off, so a good pic of that would go far I think with people doing this for the first time.
 
#29 ·
I wish I had more pics but i took them after I did the mod. When seperating the old gauge face from the plastic part it is just held on with some adhesive. On top is the gauge face under that is the EL film then under that is a plastic part. You can not use the stock gauge face and change the color.
 
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