sprinter2012

i ended up using a pair of those tiny jewellers screwdrivers to get them out, although a very thin pair of needlenose pliers would have been much better. if you can, the best thing to do would be to wire up the suspected dodgy bulb to a power supply, that way you can check the individual diodes on the bulb.

definitely looks like the bulb is gone, might be worth putting one of the bulbs from the other locations in just incase its the holder or something. i would think its quite likely that its in backwards though, as the chances of all 5 of the diodes on that bulb being shot are pretty small. theres a big bulb right behind the dark spot in your picture, but it also looks like the small one behind the fuel gauge isnt on either?

Well...latest update on the wheels. And it's not looking so good. Got the tyres fitted during the week by WIM, and as anyone who has used them before will know they have that amazing automated tyre fitting machine which clamps the rim through the centre hole. However, it appears that Pristine Alloys did not bake the wheel for long enough after the refurb and the paint has split all around the edge of the centre hole where it was clamped. The wheels have been sat in our people carrier for a few days while I find time to fit them, and the car now has a very strong smell of paint where it clearly isn't cured enough. So I will be taking a trip back up to Pristine with the wheels and a bill for the tyre fitting/balancing and I'll get them to redo them...properly!

what spoiler is that? im assuming its a lexus option as its got a built in brake light? i want one!

It does sound a lot like the weight in the back combined with the shift in weight from hard accelaration is compressing the rear shock the the point where things are rubbing. Are you running the standard 5 spoke lexus alloys?

As requested, pictures of the refurbed rims from pristine alloys. I think the silver was one shade lighter than their standard finish and I asked that they use a satin laquer. I'll get some pictures up of them on the car once my tyres arrive. :)

theres a dimmer switch to the left of the steering wheel if the dash/centre console lights are too bright.

As above, looking for a de-catted IS200 manifold. Prefferably in stainless steel, but if someone has a standard one thats been modded I'd consider that too.

This is a 'how to' guide on replacing the centre console bulbs with LEDs. But the steps on how to access the bulbs in the first place will be exactly the same. Centre Console Bulb Change Guide

Cheers guys. :) I'm just glad I've finally found a set I'm happy with. (thanks mainly to this thread!) And yes they look fine with the heater dials. White is one of those wonderful colours that can go with almost anything.

I like the part where he says a guy offered him £1500 for it, just to dump it in a field and use it as an advertisment for his company. Perhaps he owns a graffiti removal company?

Yes its just the 5 bulbs you get. The 5 sided bulbs are about £6.50 each if you buy them individually, and im not sure about the single ones. So you'd probably struggle to beat the price if you were only buying the exact quantity to do one set of dials. I've just finished fitting the bulbs, took about 20mins to do. Trickiest part is the trial and error of working out which way round the bulbs go in the holders, because they will only work one way round. And I must say I'm very impressed with it, mainly by the perfectly even light spread across the dials. I stared at it for a good minute and couldnt see any noticable light/dark patches between bulbs. :) Colourwise, they are a perfect white with no blue tint. Looks very nice against the yellow and red of the rest of the dials. And as for brightness, perfect. Bright enough that you go 'ooh, they look nice' but not so much that it draws your attention while driving.

Ordered the kit Monday evening, and it arrived today. The contents of the 'kit' are as follows... Would have been nice if they came mounted in new bulb holders (which aren't particularly expensive) However the bulbs look decent quality, the diodes are mounted squarley in their housings etc. And the single ones have a bit of heat shrink round the edge of the diode to neaten it up a bit. I've got athletics training in about half an hour, so I'll get them fitted when I come back from that and get some pics up. The test will be to see whether the single diode ones do the same as my last ones did and start blinking after a couple of weeks because they wiggle in the holders. But we shall see...

PROBLEM SOLVED, DELETE POST

Still haven't managed to find time to collect them yet, but should have them by the weekend :)

I did indeed, ordered it last night. The main problem I have with the LEDs I've got at the moment is that they are too directional. So you get dull patches in the gaps between the bulbs. So I'm hoping these SMD ones with the multi directional light output will sort that out. :) My reason for going with white is that I haven't changed the centre console bulbs, and white and orange looks okay. But blue and orange just looks...wierd. lol I'll make sure to get some pics up as soon as it's fitted.

Charges you are liable to pay (depending on value) Import VAT Which will be applicable in all cases Import Duty Essentially a made up percentage created by customs depending on what the item is, but only applicable if the item is worth over about £120) Handling/Admin Charge Having travelled maybe half way round the world, the UK courier that does the last 20miles of the journey is then allowed to charge you an additional fee for the privelage. And again, is just whatever your particular courier decides to charge you. You won't get taken to court over not paying. However the courier is quite within their rights to just not give you your item untill all charges are paid.

Also to 'lightmeup' in your advertising pictures it looks like the bulb behind the fuel guage is either not present or in backwards as theres no light coming from behind it. Its more noticeable with that kit because the rest of it is so bright, but you can see how the light behind the Odometer fades from bright blue to a duller dark blue. I've just ordered the white version of the kit, as I've got fed up with the replacement bulbs I bought coming lose in there housings an blinking on and off. And I don't want to solder them in incase I want to switch back the the original orange ones at some point.

I think the quoted figures of 25% and 10% will be more towards the younger end of the scale, drivers over 25 (in the safe zone) probably wont see anywhere near that much change. And I think dave1 hit the nail on the head in regard to the figures, more male drivers on the road means the percentage doesnt have to drop as much to see the same overall decrease in premium figures. However it has been warned that all premiums will rise while the insurance companies figure out what to do about the euro laws. (plus they have already gone up loads due to the massive amount of claims last year because of all the flooding)

Just for some clarification on the SMD vs. LED thing. (I'm nothing to do with the eBay listing by the way) LED (Light Emitting Diode) are the standard type which are moulded inside a plastic cap which is normally dome topped, but can be obtained with a flat top for better light spread. SMD (Surface Mount Diode) Uses the same scientefic process to emit the light, however it is just the 'bare' diode, and gives a much wider light spread than even the flat topped standard type.

more than likely its just condensation. cold steel exhaust piping + hot gases = condensation dripping out of your back box. very common on cold starts, especially on cars with larger engines as they take longer to warm up. it should stop doing it once the whole exhaust system warms up and and condensation will just evaporate out.

Yee, well I bought the set that still had tyres on. So it would have been difficult to see without removing them. It's just a couple of minor flat spots, which they said they would correct to improve the balance of the wheel. And they were both on inside edges too, so wont effect how they look. He said they should be ready to collect on Monday. :)

Just got back from dropping of my Aero's at Pristine, getting them done in flat silver with satin laquer. And there's 2 small dents that need correcting which the seller didn't tell me about.. :tsktsk: So for refurb, sprayed in my choice of colour and dent correction its costing me £300 all in. I'll get pics up as soon as I get them back. :)

3M VHB Tape is the way forward, managed to find a 5m offcut of the 19mm wide stuff to attach my rear lip. Otherwise a full roll is around £60! :o

Having looked into it more, I've decided to just get Pristine to do my Aeros, as they did a fantastic job with my 5 spokes before. And I'm getting mixed reports on BJV's service. Most people say they are brilliant, but theres a few who have been disappointed by the customer service they were given. And a couple who wernt happy with the work carried out. And as I'm going to Milton Keynes to drop of some components at our anodizers for work tomorrow, I can drop them off at Pristine while I'm there.