Nix
Jötunn Moderator
So I wanted a small LED panel temperature readout. I could only find a really expensive one online and I know Glow Shift make digital gauges. I thought perhaps I could take one apart and use the LED panel from inside of it. I already have a Glow Shift gauge and I was hoping to be able to reuse the wiring harness for an easy plug and play.
That did not work out.
However, here is how to take your Glow Shift gauge apart.
This is what I bought:
The outer ring is simply crimped over the underlying gauge bucket. You could probably remove it very carefully and reinstall it. I was planning on destroying the whole thing anyway so I was not concerned.
Just pry along the edge until you are able to lift the outer ring off. Its really really soft. Its only as thick as a soda can. Very easy to bend.
Once the outer ring is off you can remove the plastic lens. That will expose the face and guts of the gauge in the bucket.
The gauge itself just lifts out of the bucket. You will have to undo two small nuts on the back. You can see them sitting by the tools I used. You can remove them right out of the box. I had done it earlier to see if you could unscrew the gauge or push it from the outside. You cannot.
The gauge face is just a sticker that peels off. It has tabs around the edge to line it up if you want to put it back on. You can now see the LED cluster that I want in the center.
If you flip the gauge over at this point you can see the circuit board on the back. The black ring is held on by two small screws that are pretty easy to remove. I already took one out. They are on the small black diagonal arms. Not the posts on the right and left. Those are the screws that stick out the back of the gauge for mounting. Removing the two black screws lets this ring come off of the circuit board.
Ring removed. You can see that the circuit board is a continuous layer in the center of the gauge.
The height ring on the front slips right off. There is the LED module I wanted. Unfortunately I am not going to be able to remove it from the circuit board and use it the way i want to. The circuit is too large for what I was planning and removing the module and trying to wire up all the pins is beyond what I want to attempt.
So thats how you take apart a Glow Shift digital gauge. This is all thats inside of it:
Yes, I wasted $55 on a gauge that I destroyed but eh, it was worth a shot. Hopefully anyone else thinking about some custom gauge work can look at this and decide if they can use the guts in their project.
PS - If anyone has use for this piece or parts or you just want to muck around with it, shoot me a message and Ill drop it in the mail to you. Free. Im already making new plans and ordering something different.
That did not work out.
However, here is how to take your Glow Shift gauge apart.
This is what I bought:
The outer ring is simply crimped over the underlying gauge bucket. You could probably remove it very carefully and reinstall it. I was planning on destroying the whole thing anyway so I was not concerned.
Just pry along the edge until you are able to lift the outer ring off. Its really really soft. Its only as thick as a soda can. Very easy to bend.
Once the outer ring is off you can remove the plastic lens. That will expose the face and guts of the gauge in the bucket.
The gauge itself just lifts out of the bucket. You will have to undo two small nuts on the back. You can see them sitting by the tools I used. You can remove them right out of the box. I had done it earlier to see if you could unscrew the gauge or push it from the outside. You cannot.
The gauge face is just a sticker that peels off. It has tabs around the edge to line it up if you want to put it back on. You can now see the LED cluster that I want in the center.
If you flip the gauge over at this point you can see the circuit board on the back. The black ring is held on by two small screws that are pretty easy to remove. I already took one out. They are on the small black diagonal arms. Not the posts on the right and left. Those are the screws that stick out the back of the gauge for mounting. Removing the two black screws lets this ring come off of the circuit board.
Ring removed. You can see that the circuit board is a continuous layer in the center of the gauge.
The height ring on the front slips right off. There is the LED module I wanted. Unfortunately I am not going to be able to remove it from the circuit board and use it the way i want to. The circuit is too large for what I was planning and removing the module and trying to wire up all the pins is beyond what I want to attempt.
So thats how you take apart a Glow Shift digital gauge. This is all thats inside of it:
Yes, I wasted $55 on a gauge that I destroyed but eh, it was worth a shot. Hopefully anyone else thinking about some custom gauge work can look at this and decide if they can use the guts in their project.
PS - If anyone has use for this piece or parts or you just want to muck around with it, shoot me a message and Ill drop it in the mail to you. Free. Im already making new plans and ordering something different.
