JDM_Pro5's Build Thread

Raining all week. First rain since I swapped hoods. I realized the vents on the hood collect water and drip on the filter while the car is parked. Looked and my options and my best choice is to get a hydroshield for my filter.

Here is my upcoming and more recent To do:

Have fenders pulled in to close gap between hood and fenders
Remove hood latch cable now that hood latch and center crash guard has been removed
Polish 20x9.5 wheels and sell for paint money
Obtain MSP lip and DG grill
Get a quote on paint
 
My Mazdas

2002 Mazda Protege5 2.0L 5-Speed
2004 Mazda3 2.3L 5-speed
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After replacing my A/C low pressure line, I re-routed it to avoid the dipstick and cruise control. Unfortunetly this hit the VTCS vacuum line. I replaced the hose to the VTCS pump today with a longer piece to go under the A/C line. Also replaced the radiator reservoir line.
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Then it was party time!
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On the drive home last night from dinner, I realized the right side of my guages were dim. After installing my DaveB rings it had gone dim on both sides. I smacked it caveman style and it worked that time. I tried going Chris Brown on it this time and nothing budged so I broke out the tools.

Burnt out

Dash out

Back side of dash/bulbs

What lit up

Red-tinted bulb

After realizing that one of the red tinted bulbs was burnt out, I grabbed one of the clear bulbs from the E-Brake light to test in its' place

Clear bulb in

The clear bulb created quite a bit more light. I was happy with this brightness seeing as I wanted my dash a tad brighter. The red tint built into the dash kept the red light without needing a red-tinted bulb. I'm going on my lunch break today to buy 4 clear replacement bulbs. I plan on replacing all red-tinted bulbs and having a nice, bright dash
 
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Done. Turns out those bulbs aren't tinted, just have rubber slips on them. Replace all 4 bulbs for a whopping $10, but oh well, I know they will last a long time now. Would have been better off using Leds just to know they would never burn out but oh well. Here is a daytime pic (in a parking deck) of my lights. new bulbs, no slip for maximum POWA!

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so what your saying is, to get a brighter dash you just have to take the condom off the bulbs? if so, ima have to find the how to on pulling the cluster
 
Pulling it couldn't be easier. Two screws in the top, pop out the plastic surround. One screw in the top and then two on the bottom. Three plugs on top and then it pulls out. Here is a video during a DaveB install. Removing the bracket on top of the cluster is option. I am able to slide the cluster out without removing the bracket

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/PS5OeY2JRG0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
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so what your saying is, to get a brighter dash you just have to take the condom off the bulbs? if so, ima have to find the how to on pulling the cluster


pretty much and yep i watched that same vid that he just posted took me like 10 mins top to change the bad bulbs and then put the rings in and close it back up
 
sweet! ima do it tomorrow. free mods are the best kind!
on an unrelated note, how are your ddm hid's holding up? i just noticed my right light flickering (havnt checked connections, but still want to know if i should even consider the upgrade)
 
Doing great. Have had them for over a year and my neighbor has had his over 2 years. I had to do some special wiring to get mine to work because of earlier issues. I've noticed I can get my passenger light to flicker if I mess with the wiring, but it never has a problem while driving. I have plans to clean up all that wiring and do some sort of heat shrink over the plug and play connect to make sure it stays together and keep water out.

On a side note: My dash is BRIGHT! I love it It's a tad more orange now, but I could care less with my improved visibility.
 
Inspiration. If I wasn't so attached to the p5 bumper and it's options, I would go this route. Big wheels, lowered, gives that VW/Audi feel. love it

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