- Joined
- Dec 3, 2009
- Messages
- 9,230
- Reaction score
- 261
- Location
- Duncanville, Texas
- My Bike Models
- 1981 GL1100 Innerstate("The Turd")SOLD!!, 1996 GL1500 Innerstate
A lot of folks have commented on how hard it is to see the fuel/temp gauges at night, due to the dimness of the light in them. I had the same issue...couldn't see the gauges at night. I found a solution that worked really well for me. I posted the info in my thread on "The Turd", but I figure it would be good to have it listed here in the "Tips/Tricks" section for easier viewing.
What I did was remove the deflector/bulb shield, and spread it out. This allows the light from the bulb to shine directly on the faces of the two gauges, instead of being shunted to the back side. Since the time change recently, it has been dark enough in the mornings for me to positively state that this mod works. I can see the two gauges with no problem at all. Plenty of light shining on them now. :yes:
I had already re-assembled my cluster before I remembered to take any pics, so I used a spare cluster to show the mod.
Fuel/Temp cluster with deflector
The deflector is held in with some type of glue. Mine came out fairly easily...it almost fell out. There are three sides of the shield folded at 90 deg angles, around the bulb.
My mod was to open the three sides up, and fold them out to almost straight. The very top part doesn't need to be fully straight. In fact, it needs to still be angled slightly toward the gauges, to force the light from the bulb onto the gauge faces. Also...it will not fit back together if the top is fully straightened out. This is what it should look like when finished bending.
Install the shield back onto the cluster, and yer done. You may want to add a dab of glue, or silicon to the base of the shield to keep it in place. I dint, but it is prolly better to glue it back in, just to be safe.
Put the cluster all back together, install it on the bike, and enjoy being able to actually SEE the gauges at night! The end result is a vast improvement over the factory set-up. The gauges can be seen clearly, but there is no glare, or light shining outward from the cluster. Even with my sunshades on, I can see the gauges. I considered adding some tin foil to the shield to make it shinier, but, just left it as it was for now....it really doesn't need it.
Hope this helps others with the same problem of not being able to see those two gauges at night, or when it's dark. :BigGrin:
What I did was remove the deflector/bulb shield, and spread it out. This allows the light from the bulb to shine directly on the faces of the two gauges, instead of being shunted to the back side. Since the time change recently, it has been dark enough in the mornings for me to positively state that this mod works. I can see the two gauges with no problem at all. Plenty of light shining on them now. :yes:
I had already re-assembled my cluster before I remembered to take any pics, so I used a spare cluster to show the mod.
Fuel/Temp cluster with deflector
The deflector is held in with some type of glue. Mine came out fairly easily...it almost fell out. There are three sides of the shield folded at 90 deg angles, around the bulb.
My mod was to open the three sides up, and fold them out to almost straight. The very top part doesn't need to be fully straight. In fact, it needs to still be angled slightly toward the gauges, to force the light from the bulb onto the gauge faces. Also...it will not fit back together if the top is fully straightened out. This is what it should look like when finished bending.
Install the shield back onto the cluster, and yer done. You may want to add a dab of glue, or silicon to the base of the shield to keep it in place. I dint, but it is prolly better to glue it back in, just to be safe.
Put the cluster all back together, install it on the bike, and enjoy being able to actually SEE the gauges at night! The end result is a vast improvement over the factory set-up. The gauges can be seen clearly, but there is no glare, or light shining outward from the cluster. Even with my sunshades on, I can see the gauges. I considered adding some tin foil to the shield to make it shinier, but, just left it as it was for now....it really doesn't need it.
Hope this helps others with the same problem of not being able to see those two gauges at night, or when it's dark. :BigGrin: