After a few different set ups I have finally found a bright, even output set up that made me happy. everyone knows you can buy led bulbs to replace your current halogen bulbs for your gauges, but you end up with hot spots and dim spots on your gauges. So I decided to do the next best thing. install LED strips.
First I ordered a roll of SMD white led's in a 29' roll. they can be cut every 3 led's and can be re soldered to make different lengths.
for 95-99 legacys and 02-05 imprezas it is the same concept. first remove the whole gauge cluster from the car. there are plenty of other write-ups on how to do that. using the few screws from the back of the gauges and the gauge faces will come out. lightly sand the back of the faces to get rid of the green film that gives the green light.
next cut the led strips to the right sizing to wrap around the inside of the gauges. like I did. I did 1 strip per gauge. You have to solder a red/black wire to the leds and run them out an existing bulb hole. I hot glued the led's to ensure they dont move even thought hey had double stick tape. next you need to solder the red/black leads to the copper stripping near the bulb sockets. take your time.
over all it took me 2-3 hours of testing and making sure it all worked out right. the output is amazing, and needs to be dimmed during night driving, during the day they are nice and bright.
-B
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