Gauges are dim?

[thrasher]

Hi everyone, this is my first post, but I've been reading tons of good information here. Quite the community.

Question: Is it just mine or are everyone's red gauges really dim and difficult to see unless it's quite dark outside?

I've got the dimmer turned all the way up, but it doesn't help much.

I've read the thread about replacing the LED's, but I don't think it was ever much of an option due to the orange film on the inside. I would order the MSP gauges from corksport, but I think they only come in MPH. I need KPH.

Any ideas?

(2002 P5)

 

[prix]

i know this may seem dumb, but do you have the dimmer turned in the right direction?

 

[chexmix78]

i just got my P5 and i noticed they are a bit dim as well. i'll douoble check the dimmer.

 

[jmv]

mine seem dim.... so do my freinds gauges in his P5.... thats pretty much just how it goes. Now, i have heard of someone removing the 'condoms' from the lights inside (thats their terminology), which turns it to more of an orange color, and makes it brighter. I'd consider this if it didn't mean my pillar gauges wouldn't match.

 

[thrasher]

i know this may seem dumb, but do you have the dimmer turned in the right direction?

Yes. One way = dimmer, other way = brighter.

 

[chexmix78]

mine seem dim.... so do my freinds gauges in his P5.... thats pretty much just how it goes. Now, i have heard of someone removing the 'condoms' from the lights inside (thats their terminology), which turns it to more of an orange color, and makes it brighter. I'd consider this if it didn't mean my pillar gauges wouldn't match.

is there a right up for this...maybe i can look into this

 

[FunkyBuddha]

red is just naturally harder to see depending on the daylight outside.

 

[Jack Daniels]

For me, they are always hard to read at dusk.

 

[prix]

if they seem bright enough when it is pitch black out, then i don' think there is a problem with the dash, i think it's just the red light is hard to see in medium-lower light situations

 

[BadKarma]

^ Sounds right to me! When I first purchased my P5 about a month ago, I noticed pretty quickly that the guage lights were dimmer than my last car. At night, it's not a problem at all, even under streetlamps and such.

I've grown used to it, and actually prefer it now. Only mild difficulties come a dawn and dusk...

 

[clicknext]

If it's not all that dark outside, isn't it pretty easy to read without them lighting up?

 

[RedKatanax9]

Mine got a lot dimmer all of a sudden like a year ago, still couldn't figure out why. It's really hard to see at dusk, I often had to double check if I'd turned on my lights.

 

[Kansei]

yeah you can take the bulb condoms off but it just makes it kinda orangey.

I like that it isn't obnoxiously bright. Red has been found to be the best color for interior illumination because it affects your night vision the least or something like that.

 

[clicknext]

yeah you can take the bulb condoms off but it just makes it kinda orangey.

I like that it isn't obnoxiously bright. Red has been found to be the best color for interior illumination because it affects your night vision the least or something like that.

Maybe because it is the lowest frequency color, it requires less intensity to be just as visible?

 

[Tasty]

I just tried the condom mod tonight, and it's not worth the effort. The bulb condoms prevent hot spots right behind the needles and such. It doesn't really make things brighter when you remove them, it just results in annoying areas of brightness where they shouldn't be. I do wish the main gauge pod was brighter though. It is annoyingly dim from the factory. I had a 2003 Accord that had a gauge pod that would burn your eyes out. I loved it because even in the middle of the day everything was so easily readable.

I'm interested in modding some of the indicator lights to LEDs though. That looks pretty cool.

 

[jeg0024]

yeah you can take the bulb condoms off but it just makes it kinda orangey.

I like that it isn't obnoxiously bright. Red has been found to be the best color for interior illumination because it affects your night vision the least or something like that.

mines are green(first)

 

[redpr5]

red is the best color for reading at night, it preserves your night vision because it has the lowest frequency. (part of the reason why they use red map lights in the army, the other is because red doesnt transmit very far) personally i think the gauges are dim, but oh well if i can see them during the day and at night idc.
green on the other hand. not so good for night vision lol. so all you dx owners out there, thats for you.
but yea i wish i could crank up the brightness of my guages as well, but oh well. ive gotten used to it.

 

[jeg0024]

red is the best color for reading at night, it preserves your night vision because it has the lowest frequency. (part of the reason why they use red map lights in the army, the other is because red doesnt transmit very far) personally i think the gauges are dim, but oh well if i can see them during the day and at night idc.
green on the other hand. not so good for night vision lol. so all you dx owners out there, thats for you.
but yea i wish i could crank up the brightness of my guages as well, but oh well. ive gotten used to it.

mine do get quite bright, I acually keep mine dimmed a bit. Why would mazda do this though? Wouldnt it make sence to put one color in every car?

 

[redpr5]

yea my moms tribute has green gauges that are WAY too bright. i hate them, i like my red gauges lol.
you would think they would just do one color, but i guess they wanted to change their style up for the p5. and im pretty sure the rx-8 has blue gauges if im not mistaken.

 

[jeg0024]

but the P5 and protege are almost identical in the dash aspect of the car...but the DX doesnt have a tach, just a huge temp gauge, wouldnt be a reason for the color change though. Maybe older people buy the un-loaded models and need brighter lights?