curious to see how to change the blue to red background, like oversea fits.

LED? filament? unchangable?

 

I'm in just to see the replies. I'd like to know if the Red cluster would just plug in...

-Ray

 

I am interested in this as well.

 

There was a fairly decent sized thread about this last spring, I think... I don't recall the exact thread's title.

The JDM and other red clusters seem to be laid out exactly as our blue USDM clusters. The only difference I know of is the information display on some models is operated from the bottom, right-hand corner of the steering wheel... just below where the cruise control buttons are, opposite from the voice control navi button on the navigation models.

No, we don't get those luxuries in the U.S... we have to reach over the steering wheel and push a common button multiple times for our info!

Anyone please correct me if there are other differences. I investigated the same thing back in the summer and the above was all I came up with. Someone may want to ask the forum member '555sexydrive' about this... he's American but lives in Japan right now, and has a kickin' Fit... he's pretty knowledgeable.

Also, if the lights behind the cluster would accept LEDs (I think they're just standard bulbs) I don't see why they wouldn't work. Problem is, I think some of the red letters/etc. on the red clusters are actually painted red or have red colored plastic behind them. I could be wrong about this too.

You can check out quite a few of the red clusters on YouTube. People have done vids at night showing their dashes.

If anyone finds anything else, please post it... I will do the same. Personally, I'm not thrilled about the red cluster... I think our blue USDM clusters look great... but the red may be nice for an occasional change.

BTW, I don't remember the exact price, but I do remember replacing the cluster is almost astronomical... considering it is just a cluster.

 

Oh, I almost forgot... the red cluster speedo reads in kilometers, of course, instead of miles per hour/kilometers. That's kind of a huge thing to conveniently forget!

 

i'm not looking to swap, i'm just curious to see what lights up the instrument panel.

 

everything does

 

Like I said, it would be kinda' cool for a change in dash scenery every now and then.

 

Gauges are back lit by LEDs that are attached to a circuit board, like in the pics below. Swapping them will require taking apart the cluster and re-soldering on replacement LEDS.



You can see a freshly changed one (yellow square) in this swap on a BMW:


It's doable!

 

Are you sure about that? I was told by a dealer that there are some standard, changeable (sockets) small bulbs back there for lighting the cluster in certain places. Man, I hope you're wrong... every cluster I've ever taken apart when dash lights were burned out were in fact the standard style mini dash bulbs. I've replaced bulbs in my friend's ride (his wife's) twice now.

I mean, I can see the above two examples are definitely LEDs... and that sucks for maintenance reasons. BTW, isn't that first image from a Scion? Now you have my curiosity up about the Fit cluster.

Man, what does Honda expect if a dash light burns out? Hire an electronics tech or replace the entire flippin' cluster? At the price of techs and replacing the cluster that's an absolutely ridiculous option.

 

I just took my cluster out on Sunday. I can confirm that, at least on the 2010, it's all LED. There are no standard blub sockets back there.

 

^ was it easy to come out? i wanted to do the tpms light fix aka: electrical tape. lol.

 

Yeah, it's really easy. The hardest part was just properly aligning the cover to the dash. I took it out to cover my tpms light. Easily the most stress-relieving mod to date.

First drop the steering wheel all the way down and away from the dash. Then pry apart the cover where it meets the dash, near the bottom of of the dash. Once it's apart then lift the entire cover up and away, just be sure to unplug the mirror switch before you fully pull the cover away. Then there's just 4 phillips-head screws to remove, 2 at the bottom edges of the cluster and 2 at the top. Once those are out pull the cluster out and unplug the 1 plug near the top of the cluster. The clear plastic is then removed by carefully unclipping it from the assembly.

Replace the cluster in the reverse order, and having a magnetic-tip screwdriver REALLY comes in handy. Trust me on that one.

 

Oh man, that really sucks! I know technology marches forward. Yet, considering cluster bulbs/lights DO go bad, what the hell are automakers thinking? I probably answered my own question in the former post... they want some unsuspecting Fit owner to simply replace the entire cluster!

Again... that sucks! On top of that, I now know at least one Honda tech at the dealership I purchased mine from who doesn't know what he's talking about!

 

drats. don't want to bother changing something that's labor sensitive...

 

Hey, check this out... lots of vids from modders who've swapped out their cluster LEDs for different colors.

BMW cluster changed from red to blue... looks kinds' nice, actually.

YouTube - BMW E46 blue led cluster

At least you know it can be done.

Check out some of the other vids while you're at it.

 

oh def can be done, but i don't have the know how to tinker with leds, nor do i feel like breaking the cluster apart.

not sure why the bimmer dude wanted blue, i rather dig the red dash. to each their own.

 

I'm in the exact same boat.. I really want the red interior like the JDM fit or just the Civic Si's.. Especially since I have a red Fit. I just don't want to eff things up. Might end up with purple...