HOW-TO-> fix 03-04 SVT Cobra Gauge lights

94 Cobra R

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Last night, on the way home, I had a spirited little drive. When I slowed down to turn into my drive, I noticed my gauge lights were sort of pulsating. Not a ton, but definitely noticeable. And it was just the cluster lights, nothing else. I adjusted the brightness and it still did it. Possible headlight switch or did something else go bad?? Could it be the inverter?
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99Venom

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I made a video about it while I did mine. the new inverter isn't as bright.

That's right, the Speedhut inverter is good but not as bright as the OEM. The guy that fixed my cluster said he could fix my old inverter as well so I'm going to have him do that and he might be able to tell me the actual output. If he does I'll post it here and maybe there's a better aftermarket equivalent out there.

Last night, on the way home, I had a spirited little drive. When I slowed down to turn into my drive, I noticed my gauge lights were sort of pulsating. Not a ton, but definitely noticeable. And it was just the cluster lights, nothing else. I adjusted the brightness and it still did it. Possible headlight switch or did something else go bad?? Could it be the inverter?
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If the dimmer didn't effect it and your headlights were still on, than I would say it's probably the inverter. When mine was bad the gauge lights were totally intermittent.
 

94 Cobra R

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That's right, the Speedhut inverter is good but not as bright as the OEM. The guy that fixed my cluster said he could fix my old inverter as well so I'm going to have him do that and he might be able to tell me the actual output. If he does I'll post it here and maybe there's a better aftermarket equivalent out there.



If the dimmer didn't effect it and your headlights were still on, than I would say it's probably the inverter. When mine was bad the gauge lights were totally intermittent.



Definitely let us know what your repair guy finds out. Hell, maybe I’ll ship my cluster to him.


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caveeagle

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Any updates on this? my original repair used the 04 version. It is still working fine, and I never noticed it being less bright than stock..

I have had a few people reach out to me to help with repairs, and I wondered if there was any other source for inverters, or even if the factory OEM board could be replicated to make a more 'stock' repair..
 

99Venom

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Any updates on this? my original repair used the 04 version. It is still working fine, and I never noticed it being less bright than stock..

I have had a few people reach out to me to help with repairs, and I wondered if there was any other source for inverters, or even if the factory OEM board could be replicated to make a more 'stock' repair..

I have had no luck with finding anything aftermarket. I did send my old stock inverter to Bill and he said he could repair it, but he's been busy and hasn't gotten around to it.
 

caveeagle

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I have had no luck with finding anything aftermarket. I did send my old stock inverter to Bill and he said he could repair it, but he's been busy and hasn't gotten around to it.
It would be nice to document exactly what needs repairing on the OEM inverters. There isn't really that much to those. If it was just a matter of soldering in a replacement component, we could help out a lot of people.

And as these cars get older and more scarce, there will be a movement towards originality.

Also.. does anyone know what/where the other resistor is that has been causing similar failures for some? That would be a nice thing to document here.
 

caveeagle

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Just checking in on this topic. Our cars are all hitting ~20 yrs old now. I am very curious if anyone has recently soured a Speedhut inverter? From what I can tell, Speedhut has moved away from the "indeglow" guages for their aftermarket/hotrod gauges.

FWIS, the inverter I started this all on, is still working well. I have heard some feedback that the Speedhut "solution" isn't as bright as factory, but I didn't notice a significant difference.

If you have done this repair in the last 3 years (after 2021), please post results and Part# you sourced..
 

MG0h3

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Weird you just popped in.

Someone at started a thread about their cluster failing.


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