FEELER: LED Loaded Esky Clusters for 95-98 OBS.

[Devs93]

damn sucks to hear that people are worthless grey cloth also you got pics of the headlights?

 

[DRAGGIN95]

Does $.25/each sound like a good price for the standard dome LEDs? Draggin95 can tell ya what needs done to make them not have the spotlight/glare effect. I'm testing some flat-top LEDs also, and if they don't have the negative effects like the domes, then I can probably sell them for about $.50/each. I have too many LEDs

Yeah I sanded the top and the curved dome with 320 to get rid of hotspot's and it worked great!

 

[MOBS]

@Draggin95: If the flat-tops are bright enough, I'll send ya some and let you test to see if they also need any modifications.

@Devs: The headlights have sun-spots in a few areas, I'm going to have my nephew hit them with some buffing polish and see if he can clear them up. The corners are clear, I don't know if they're stock or aftermarket, I'll look closer tomorrow and see if the lens has a maker's mark. They seemed to fit like stock, so I dunno.

@94twodoor: I have 3 esky clusters left, and one from an AFB Military Police tahoe.

 

[DRAGGIN95]

Mine are good, but if you need a tester I would be happy to help you out!

 

[SixSpeedSS]

SixSpeedSS, a tan console will be about 3 times as hard to acquire as just any color console. If you're within cheap s/h distance of Devs, ya might inquire if he can dye a console for you, then I can pretty much just send whatever color I come across first.

I can dye it myself. I have access to SEM dye. What do you want for a full legnth console for a Denali/Escalade in decent, dyeable condition? I'm not interested in a cd changer, just a console in nice shape - with cupholders. Also what about the steering wheel? My truck is a K2500 (no airbag) and I'm not completely certain that the airbag steering wheels interchange (by just using my center). Am I correct that the GMT400 style Denali/Escalade had a wood wheel? Or was that the 2001 and up trucks?

I am trying to find a driver's bucket seat in tan cloth. I was always under the impression that the pass seat is the same wheter 60/40 or buckets. Am I correct?

 

[MOBS]

If your hvac is the type with "tethered" LEDs(sockets are physically 'wired' together instead of circuit board like cluster), I will need you to NOT put any LEDs in it until I can patch it for you.

The hvac lighting circuit is a resisted circuit(notice stock hvac bulbs are dimmer than cluster), the hvac bulbs run at a lower voltage so they give out a dimmer/softer light. Since LEDs do NOT dim, they will pull more amps at lower voltage to stay lit. This circuit can NOT handle the excessive amp draw and will burn the physical copper leaf path in the circuit board. This resisted path MUST be bypassed in order to use LEDs in the hvac. The headlight switch bulb is similar except to dim it, they just used a tinted cover on the bulb itself.

-Mike.

Ps. Sending me your stock "tethered" hvac will not cost a thing, I'll "patch" it and return to you for no cost.

PM me for shipping address and billing info so your cost of shipping to me can be paid for.

WARNING: This applies ONLY to the HVAC assemblies with tethered light sockets. A few 95 models have the newer type HVAC that's fully enclosed utilizing a wire-free "circuit" panel like used on the back of the cluster assembly. The above only applies to the older type that has the external circuit board/switches/etc.

This is the "tethered hvac assembly", notice the light sockets are all wired in parallel to each other:

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This is the rarer style that's more compact, and was probably GM's fix to the crappy built ones you see most often. This style does NOT require the above mentioned fix to run LEDs:

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[ccreddell]

What year are those two off of? Will that second one fit my (retrofit?) 96? Also, would you happen to have one from a 97-00 Gran Prix? Im trying to find one I can move to the overhead console and those look to be small enough.

 

[MOBS]

What year are those two off of? Will that second one fit my (retrofit?) 96? Also, would you happen to have one from a 97-00 Gran Prix? Im trying to find one I can move to the overhead console and those look to be small enough.

Those are both '95 model hvac assemblies, the 95's use different plugs than the 96+. I too have been researching the possibility of relocating the controls to another location, I've found the controls from a Buick and Pontiac are 2 different sizes, Buick is same dimensions as our trucks, while the Pontiac is a tad smaller, but I don't think it's small enough in the back to fit in the overhead a/c panel. What I would suggest is using the face and knobs from the pontiac and using the electrical controls from the truck. The problem with the hvac in 2nd pic is that since everything is incorporated together as one unit, while it may be smaller, it makes it near impossible to dismantle and relocate the internal components. The hvac in 1st pic would be my choice for dismantling to relocate parts, because it easily breaks down and other than the circuit board, almost everything is wired together. A harness of wires is much easier to bend than a circuit board. I may have lost you in this explanation lol.....I almost lost myself re-reading it. I'll look and see if I have any hvac's for a 97-00 GP.

 

[ccreddell]

No problem. You did just fine. I have a degree in Electronics (albeit a very old one) so I followed what you were saying. I have an extra hvac from a 95 like the top one, do you think it could be coerced to run in my 96? (after shrinking it width wise of course)

 

[MOBS]

If you are talking about shrinking the width so it'll fit in your overhead console, then yes it can be done, remove the fan speed control and relocate it elsewhere. Another thing would be to squeeze the knob-switches in the rear closer together and use a smaller 3-knob face, you would ofcourse have to pretty much delete that black plastic frame that holds the circuit board and fab up another piece(flat sheet of plastic would be a good start). Also, if you can find an ac panel delete for the overhead console, you could easily just use that as your new face plate and have someone paint the numbers/letters/colors/etc to show fan speed, fan direction, etc.