C4 Corvette Digital Dash LED Upgrade

My Corvette Life: Episode 416 - C4 Corvette Digital Dash LED Upgrade
Batee.com C4 Corvette Digital Dash Parts
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[@davidstepeck2644]

6:17 Just an FYI, the two outside bulbs are for your directional turn signals and the middle is your high beam indicator. IMPORTANT! Do not pull up first! Turn slightly counter-clockwise, then pull up gently.

[@nashrambler5246]

Wow!!! Those LED’s really make it pop!!! Reminds me of the dash off of KITT from Knight Rider.

[@richardendress4494]

A little note from my minimal Army electronics training and Ham radio experience is that you can use a pencil or ink eraser to clean contacts that need just a little brush-up.

[@OldManFrank]

*I did the same modification on my 2nd Gen Camaro and now I can see into the future.*

[@mfaria99]

Nice job. These videos will come in handy for almost any C4 owner. I have a C4 with 15K miles, so my dash is till in great shape - however, the brightness of the display is making me rethink doing this bulb upgrade.

[@mycorvettelife]

Do it!

[@mycorvettelife]

Also, drive it more!

[@WayaWolf]

Yeah definitely a go to for sure, especially how hot they get, changing mine out currently and all of the bulbs were brown where the plastic went along the edge

[@jimharrow8104]

I aways though these dashboards Were a product of Star Wars... It reminded me of driving an X Wing fighter... I now wish I had my C4 back...

[@mycorvettelife]

Yep, that is what made me fall in love with the car as a kid.

[@jimharrow8104]

@@mycorvettelife don't let it get away... You've got a piece of the past... I'm afraid you'll regret selling it.. IMHO...

[@mycorvettelife]

Better things to come. I can’t keep them all.

[@ASLackey22]

About to go to my storage unit and do this upgrade now sir! Looking forward to the new addition to the channel.

[@pedrocarvalho3519]

What a difference. Great mod Chris 👍👍

[@davidshaw7454]

Amazing indeed , nice work Chris !

[@ba2724]

Great upgrade, Chris!!

[@WORRO]

Huge difference my friend! Good job~John

[@richarddobreny6664]

that is going to be one of the nicest C4’s out there when you’re all done!

[@jeffb243]

Damn, that looks awesome, Chris! Good job man!!

[@ASLackey22]

Looking good sir!! The new owner is gonna have a very nice c4!!

[@stevediduck9963]

Good job Chris. Did it again. What else is new, right. Your good 😊 to go. Never a doubt right. Steve

[@markfurchtenicht8274]

Looks nice. Great job! 👍

[@45auto82]

Nice Chris! That dash job can be a very expensive repair you know. People charge hundreds of dollars to do them, some require new pc boards tho, but you never know what they charge you for then don’t replace or need, if they aren’t honest. I was amazed by the DIFFERENCE not only in brightness btwn the before & after shots, but also surprised by how much more vivid the colors and displays are! On the original setup the digits looked more orange and dim, but now they are much brighter with a white tint. Along with changing the swoosh strips from green to a more teal color, overall the improvements were really drastic and worth it! Plus, that’s a tremendous appearance upgrade that every knowledgeable C4 buyer will notice and ask about because most C4’s have broken digital dash components or don’t look as fresh. Very cool and nice job!

[@pdowd]

Thanks for the video! Just ordered the kit for my 86!

[@gregoryreeder1827]

Outstanding job & I'm definitely going to do this to mine ( 1988 - L98 - Z52 ) thx for showing in the video what product your using !!!!

[@GregorioLonewolf]

Nice video Chris. Good thing it's not a C5 as the BCM or any other module may have issues just as doing LED on head, tail & Driving lights do. BTW, on my '87 C4 I laughed at the 85 mph and below it could, and has, gone above 130 mph for me.

[@jimratzlaff3112]

Awesome tutorial! I would definitely attempt that.

[@ricklipford8762]

Looks great 👍

[@ASLackey22]

Just ordered my led replacement bulb kit from batee! Haven't checked but I'm pretty sure my right turn indicator bulb is burnt out. If so this should fix that and my dash will look much brighter. Thanks!!

[@dicklarge1901]

C4 DASH BULB TIP You could have left the dash in the car. Just take those little round metal plates off the front and then get tweezers and I wrapped a bandaids around the tweezer pinchers and gently pulled the bulbs out the front and then just plug in the LED bulbs in from the front. Easy peasy. Plus you don’t break any sockets.

[@mycorvettelife]

You could, but I would rather replace the burnt up old sockets.

[@user-dc9pg1xz4f]

no those sockets arent the same there the pin style

[@ericwilson2585]

Some dielectric grease would probably be a good idea on all the connectors also?

[@roytalbot6668]

To clean those contacts you could use an eraser of a pencil and then hit with some contact cleaner that would work better than any kind of abrasion product

[@SirTrinculo]

So mine around the white 12 volt connection with pins had brown/burn, idk if that means anything but my cluster still works perfectly. now I took it apart to figure out a flicker issue but after putting new bulbs in and new film on the speedo, the flicker went away lol.

[@pakhokpaiisrael3658]

Thanks for your videos Chris, they are very inspiring. 🙏 If I don't use the kit and just replace the bulbs, should I use white leds or yellow?

[@mycorvettelife]

You can buy just the LEDs from Batee for $50

[@pakhokpaiisrael3658]

@@mycorvettelife Thanks but I am from Israel. it's $106 with shipping. Now I saw at their website that it's warm white leds. I will try to get them here, or at Amazon.

[@desertsunman5880]

EXCELLENT mod! Thx🤟

[@XSpt1]

It's original, they all look that good, old school board were tough

[@maynorlopez1541]

new to GM, is there a way for LS Swap and that original dash to work in harmony?

[@Iwillnotbepushed]

Looks great but do you have a before and after shot?

[@mycorvettelife]

Before and after photos are on my Instagram. You can also see the before in my previous video.

[@colt5189]

With the LED bulbs in, I noticed you can kind of see the turn signal arrows. Can you see those arrows when driving around? I have the Xenon bulbs in my 89, and I don't see the turn signal arrows unless I active it via the turn signal lever. I got one of those magnetizers so I could magnetize my sockets. Make it easier getting those types of screw in place like on the cluster without the screws falling out.

[@mycorvettelife]

No

[@colt5189]

@@mycorvettelife Ok, thanks. I'll be replacing the polarizing film on mine. Will be crossing my fingers I don't get a piece of dust under the film.

[@mycorvettelife]

You can always send your cluster to Batee and have them rebuild it for you.

[@colt5189]

@@mycorvettelife Thanks. My cluster is mostly fine. Though last summer I had the dash off for a few months during the summer while I installed an amplifier, and I guess that little bit of extra sunlight started causing the black film on the LCD's to start to fade like a cancer. I've had the LCD cluster apart before to replace bulbs and reflowed solder on the connector joints, etc. I'm sure redoing the the LCD film won't be too much trouble. I'll do it in my laundry room since there is no carpet there and not much dust. Which is where I put on my screen protectors on my phones.

[@stevegili]

I have a 1984 corvette. Recently I’ve had issues with the digital dash and maybe ecm. I’m trying to figure out what to look for. My dash has at times will dim down and then all the way up. When it does that the voltage goes to 12 and then back to 14.5. Lately when that happens the information for gas mileage range, and mpg seem to give faulty numbers and then goes back to normal. The other thing I’ve noticed is the check engine light comes on with error 12 and 13. I had the oxygen sensor replaced and since then error 12 comes back and not 13. Last week two separate times both of those errors came back and then it reset it self. Any suggestions? I’ve replaced wires, battery, and a new alternator as well as wires. Ignition switch was also replaced.

[@TravNasty520]

Does the auto dimmer still work with the LED’s

[@randya322]

For the turn signal indicators, did you need to change out your flasher for a digital one? I just did this kit yesterday, followed your video and although my turns work, the indicators do not light up.

[@NickManz666]

I just got an 89 vette and was thinking of upgrading the cluster and console lights to LED. Before starting this process, I wanted to make sure that doing this upgrade doesn't affect the dimmer switch and the ability to dim the dash lights at night when using the headlights. Do you know if this is a concern or if things should still work completely as originally intended? I only ask because I know that upgrading certain things with LED on these cars can cause adverse effects (such as the LED headlights causing the FOG lights to become unusable without modification).

[@gonetrippin280]

Not sure on C3s, but I've done a few dashes in other cars. The dimmer has always worked. LEDs are directional, so plug it in and test it before buttoning everything up. If a light isn't working, flip it 180 and test again..

[@dicktrickle4197]

There's a video out there of someone putting polarized film over the digital dash and that makes it pop even better then combine with this

[@jeffreyhaynes5774]

Rubber pencil eraser will clean contacts on circuit board.

[@terryopie3649]

Definitely don't use a wire brush on those contacts. Pads on boards aren't that thick. Maybe the older ones are better though. Instead use a contact cleaner like Deoxit.

[@ivanfalcone3613]

I have a C4 corvette 87 how do you change the turn signal switch .

[@angelfox1864]

my corvette is 84 .. where i could find new crossifre rubbers??

[@Fernandogomez-wy7ul]

How are you sir? I have a 1987 C4 and dash doesn't work at all. It lights up but cant see anything. I want send to BATEE for rebuild. Will they install those same bulbs? I like those because of the difference in color VS original yellow/orange. There's some difference in your colors.

[@mycorvettelife]

Yes

[@bornedintheusa7210]

title of the song in the end ?

[@ronniedeloach242]

How can I buy a complete rebuild kit 1986 C4 Corvette

[@perfectly_unstable]

I want this dash in my 2nd gen 1500.

[@arkansasturin8144]

Bro where you bought these?

[@edwardsmcreynolds1268]

What is the brand and model of the lift that the C4 is elevated on?

[@mycorvettelife]

QuickJack 5000

[@joecappello6043]

Cool

[@joecappello6043]

My son and I bought a 1988 c4 using it as a daily driver and he put these plastic film over the instrument to read it, it's temporary until we can rebuild, car runs great, but still needs some work.

[@MrNebRebew]

Did you go back and replace the odometer bulb?

[@mycorvettelife]

Yes

[@larrymaynard7103]

Way Cool!! Larry Maynard

[@ranger1959ful]

After watching your videos on this C4, I should let you do improvements on our 86 C4. Twice this year, our digital dash would not light up. It worked when I tapped on the dash. I know, it's not the right way to get it to work. Any idea what I should about this issue? Thanks.

[@mycorvettelife]

You can send it to Batee and they will rebuild it for you.

[@ranger1959ful]

@@mycorvettelife , I'll give them a call. Thanks.

[@jrrains]

@@mycorvettelifeany idea how much they would charge to revuild cluster?

[@gustini2146]

@@jrrainsot sure if you ever found out but it’s $230 plus return shipping. If you want them to fix faded cluster or power supply issues it’s going to cost you more

[@BrianandChristine1210]

Are the dash lights really bright at night too? Like overly bright for night driving?

[@mycorvettelife]

You can dim them just like you could before. I personally like them full bright. It doesn’t bother me.

[@BrianandChristine1210]

@@mycorvettelife they look really awesome

[@gabe5360]

Why would the odometer be the only thing not digital in a full digital dash?

[@mycorvettelife]

🤷‍♂️

[@Soupy59]

Did you add the polarized film?

[@mycorvettelife]

No, didn’t need to.

[@Soupy59]

@@mycorvettelife cool beans!

[@slickthasloth5441]

I have a 84 corvette and the left side of the dash is dark when I start the car but then when I start driving for a while it gets bright is there something wrong?

[@mycorvettelife]

Yes.

[@slickthasloth5441]

@@mycorvettelife what might there be wrong ?

[@mycorvettelife]

@@slickthasloth5441 Any number of things. I suggest sending the whole cluster to Batee.

[@slickthasloth5441]

@@mycorvettelife thank you for the information 😄

[@tony3030301]

Do they dim ok with the light sensor

[@mycorvettelife]

Yes

[@rayray7896]

I had this done in mine cause the driver side wasn’t working right put in the led now the right side doing what the left side was doing in the beginning 🤦🏾‍♂️

[@cia4393]

I know the problem.

[@cia4393]

Easy fix

[@rayray7896]

@@cia4393 what’s the problem ?

[@ericwilson2585]

They aren't kidding when they say digital instrumentation.

[@angrykiwi6360]

I am a bit suspicious that leds that big might also cook the internals or themselves.. but I’m also not a professional, just seen videos on LED’s and cars 🤷‍♂️

[@justinbabula6730]

are all 7 bulbs 194 bulbs?

[@mycorvettelife]

Do yourself a favor and just buy the kit from Batee. Don’t piece it together using cheap Chinese LEDs from the store.

[@justinbabula6730]

@@mycorvettelife lol technically all Led bulbs originated from china lol.

[@mfuji02]

anyone think it's too bright now?

[@mycorvettelife]

They are dimmable! Same as the OEM lamps.

[@randybrooks727]

Hard to hear.

[@TomDBKK]

Nice, but polarizer should have been changed too. The areas that are not supposed to be lit, are really bright. As in before the speed digits for example, you see a big bright box. Those shouldnt be seen, ideally...

[@johnholmes2808]

You can’t really believe that these cars have actual mileage. It’s too easy to unhook the odometer.

[@mycorvettelife]

I thought the same thing.

[@vaieccati]

sorry, don't like, but only because your red marks now are purple