Finally got some good picts of my interior blue lights

[1gDSMnewbie]

LED's are cool like that,they have a limited life span but you can run more voltage to them,they just won't last as long.Did you check to see if the wire in the guage cluster you wired to was getting 12V? I just can't see an LED getting 12V for a year and a half and not burn up.

I will do the HVAC controls soon and see how that goes,may even tackle that pesky AC switch as well.

I didn't happen to test the exact voltage but it should be 12V since I used the main wire harness to splice into.I just spliced into the green positive and black negative.I didn't use any cheap leds from Radio Shack that I see most posts are here from.I used the Redline brand.One package came in a set of 3 leds and on the package it advertises you to drill them in the dash or your wheel well.I used these for the HVAC,I placed them directly in that clear holder behind the knobs when you take it apart.I used a second which was different they came enclosed in casing with peel off adhesive and they were a set of 2.I used these and placed them inside the AC vent which is accesible when you take the whole dash apart.I installed these in the beginning of 2004 and they are still going strong.Here's a pic I just took tonight which is in the dark, as compared to other one I posted before with some sunlight
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v364/xrancid007/PICT2100.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">

 

[Galaxy]

Well,I have my HVAC section torn apart as well as the dreaded AC swith everyone keeps breaking and I've come to the conclusion that this is not as hard as the general view of the thread makes it out to be.

Someone mentioned soldering in the one HVAC control LED in the car,why? You can disconnect the 2 red wire harness and slide it under the cable that lays over it..pulling it under the fan speed selector,it comes right out.

Hints for the AC switch...don't take the whole thing apart,all you need is the board out of it which is held in the top of the switch by 2 tabs on each side....this way you will loose no parts.I'm gonna be brave and swap out the small green LED as well but I have a small same size blue one for that.I'll try to have pics up monday.

 

[Galaxy]

I got the HVAC controls done and they look great,took one led in the stock bulb location.

I have the snowflake on the AC swich done also and it is super bright ,however,I cannot get the small LED on the end of the board to work.There is a resistor between it and the other large LED for the snowflake so, since I soldered in my 330 ohm resistor directly on the led INSIDE the switch possibly limiting voltage to the small led,I removed the stock resistor and blew the LED.I replaced the LED and the stock resistor with another 330 ohm one and tried again,it will not light.

Anyone have any suggestions?

I think I need a different value resistor for the small LED,or to possibly solder the resistor in the power wire to the switch but short of putting the dumb green LED back in there I've tried what I can.

 

[Fayt]

What do you guys think of doing superwhite? Any pictures?

Also... what is the easiest way to go about this? Soldering the LED's in, or to buy the 74 LED replacement ones? Because, it even lists in the manual that size 74 are the replacement ones. I was looking... and you can buy either the replacement BULBS in blue 74 size, or you can buy wedge styles that come ready to screw in. Any input on those? I have my dash completely apart, so I'm doing it all at once.
http://autolumination.com/images/auto_bulbs/neoall.jpg

I think it might be easier to just pull the bulbs out of the sockets and then replace em with blue LED ones, which is what I'll do.

EDIT:
I'm just going to do the replacement bulbs... I'll order one of each to make sure they fit, then do a writeup on the easy way to do this.

 

[DarkSeraph]

I actually bought the 74 bulbs, but they didn't fit very easily. They might fit if you sand the sides down a little, but I'm not sure how that'll mess with light dispersion.

 

[SuperGS-T]

Wow that is sick. I love it. i think im going to do the same but maybe a different color to keep some originality. Im just a little confused about the resistors. I really don't know a whole lot about electronics. Why do you need to replace the resistors or does the car even have them to begin with. Also when you buy the leds to the resistors come with them or seperate. Thanks.

 

[Galaxy]

All the stock bulbs in our cars are run off 12V...LED's are usually about 3V,you need the resistor to step down the voltage.Resistors are usually sold seperately.

 

[Fayt]

I actually bought the 74 bulbs, but they didn't fit very easily. They might fit if you sand the sides down a little, but I'm not sure how that'll mess with light dispersion.

Well, I ordered a 74 led, incandescent, and a wedge style... one of each. I'll test em out once I get them in and see which ones fit easily. If not, I guess I'll start soldering everything together. Only problem is, will the 3mm LED's fit for the cruise control, pwr windows button, cruise, etc. My friend gave me one of his extra 3mm and they look about the same, I'm just not too sure about my skills. Do I just set them in the original holder and splice, or do I rerun the wiring for ALL of em? What about making the bulbs fitting in the small space with the long legs coming off of em?

 

[eclipsegst-gs]

that does look nice, I will try to find something like that for my car thanks for the idea.

 

[dynatos]

Well,I have my HVAC section torn apart as well as the dreaded AC swith everyone keeps breaking and I've come to the conclusion that this is not as hard as the general view of the thread makes it out to be.

Someone mentioned soldering in the one HVAC control LED in the car,why? You can disconnect the 2 red wire harness and slide it under the cable that lays over it..pulling it under the fan speed selector,it comes right out.

No, it's not that much work even if you take it out, but if you want a smaller LED so you can aim it at the front and have no weak spots what so ever, then taking it apart is your best option.

I have the snowflake on the AC swich done also and it is super bright ,however,I cannot get the small LED on the end of the board to work.There is a resistor between it and the other large LED for the snowflake so, since I soldered in my 330 ohm resistor directly on the led INSIDE the switch possibly limiting voltage to the small led,I removed the stock resistor and blew the LED.I replaced the LED and the stock resistor with another 330 ohm one and tried again,it will not light.

The line to the bulb is 12v, the line to the small LED already has a resistor of i think 460ohms.

--

What was the biggest pain in the arse was the Cruise Control switch, since you have to replace the two LED's that light the corners and the main LED that lights the whole thing. Take it apart, you'll see what i'm talking about.

psychlow, the math shouldn't be quite that complicated. You take the voltage you NEED to drop (say it you are starting with 12v, and are using a 3 volt LED, you need to drop 9 volts) and divide it by the amperage. So say, 9 volts divided by .020 (for 20mAH) = a 450ohm resistor, next standard should be 460.

Also, keep in mind that the DSM interior lighting system runs through the dimmer switch (if dimmed or not), so even if the car spikes to 14.4 or 14.8 volts while running, the bulbs always see 12 volts (more like 11.98). This is a big reason I warn against using those lines to power anthing else (like radar detectors or other gauges, since there is a big enough load on the small switching power supply in the dimmer switch already.

Careful with those UV bulbs guys, if those are the 'true UV bulbs' i've seen in person (yeah, they're bright). UV light isn't to nice to the eyes, just keep it in mind, eh?

 

[Galaxy]

No, it's not that much work even if you take it out, but if you want a smaller LED so you can aim it at the front and have no weak spots what so ever, then taking it apart is your best option.

How's it not that much work even if you take it out? its noticeably easier to remove the wire harnes for the HVAC illumination and take it in the house than to transfer and set up tools and run power to the car to solder with.I woulda been so pissed trying to do that in the car,thats benchwork.

The AC switch is complete,functional and bright as hell...just gotta catch up the brightness on the HVAC controls now and its on to the gauges!!! Overall its alot nicer to look at when its dark out and as someone posted...you can't just stop at the HVAC controls...you'll have to do all the switches.

 

[DarkSeraph]

Do I just set them in the original holder and splice, or do I rerun the wiring for ALL of em? What about making the bulbs fitting in the small space with the long legs coming off of em?

You should just be able to put them in the original holder. I cheated a little and took the bases to the 74s and slid my LED through there, so it fit like a charm. You have to make the length of the LED+resistor pretty short, and bend the wires so that the LED lies a little closer to the base and the gauges fit on top of it.



My question: When I did this I got all of my gauges working again, except my gas gauge isn't working anymore. Any suggestions anyone?

 

[Galaxy]

My question: When I did this I got all of my gauges working again, except my gas gauge isn't working anymore. Any suggestions anyone?

I haven't yet tackled the guages but if I screw up my gas gauge and get it workin again,I'll let ya know how.Maybe theres just something not hooked up quite right back there.

Heres a pic of my job so far..the HVAC controls are dim around the edges but I'll fix that so the intensity matches the radio and AC switch.

 

[1gDSMnewbie]

I still dont know what leds you guys are using that you need a resistor.No resistors in mine almost 2 years now and hasn't burnt out.I uploaded my own video but I don't think you can see the blue HVAC lights to well I can't seem to record them in dim lighting.I'll try again if this doesn't work out

<table border="0" bgcolor="ffffff" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><embed src="http://streaming3.vidilife.com/vidilife/video/2006/1/20/274934/336933.wmv" AutoStart=1 ShowStatusBar=1 volume=-1 HEIGHT=339 WIDTH=361></embed><img src="http://www.vidiLife.com/reloc.cfm?cryp=011-3BDF2012-72CF-4EF6-92DE-A" width="1" height="1" alt="" border="0"></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font face="arial" size="1"><strong>Free video hosting, video codes at <a href="http://www.vidiLife.com/reloc.cfm?cryp=012-3BDF2012-72CF-4EF6-92DE-A"><font face="arial" size="1">www.vidiLife.com</a></strong></font></td></tr></table>

 

[totalazneclipse]

I bought some 74 LED's on ebay...just as a warning, don't buy the premade ones. I did so and the circuit strip that controls the gauge cluster went poof! Good thing a new one only costed $25 from Mitsu...I really want to do the switch, but after a bad experience for the first try...I'm hesitant. So just to warn everyone, don't buy the premade bulbs off ebay.

 

[Galaxy]

I don't think I could see your HVAC lights at all in that video clip so maybe your camera is just picky about light.My camera was pretty cheap and I'm surprised it even did as well as the pic I put up.I think this weekend I'm gonna try to brighten the HVAC controls up and get the cruise and foglight switches started...I need more LEDs for the guages.

I've decided to try the guages as I can't find any EL gauges anywhere with a black face and blue backlight.I like the way the stock guages look ,its just that orangish backlight thats no good.Also contemplating making my own needles because theres no way I'm paying over $100 for 4 thin pieces of plastic...just have to see when I get it apart.

Once its all done with the molded autometer pod and cobalt guages it should look really slick.

 

[Fayt]

I bought some 74 LED's on ebay...just as a warning, don't buy the premade ones. I did so and the circuit strip that controls the gauge cluster went poof! Good thing a new one only costed $25 from Mitsu...I really want to do the switch, but after a bad experience for the first try...I'm hesitant. So just to warn everyone, don't buy the premade bulbs off ebay.

I bought the 74 LED's from autolumination, $2.50 a piece. Let me say, they work perfectly. I just took one lil dab of hot glue to hold them in so they don't rattle out. The LED's are made to run on a car's current and they come prefit with a resistor. It lights up perfectly fine and has a nice glow. I just had to shave it down a little more so it didn't hit the backing of the HVAC. Much easier to do than soldering everything together. I'm going to see if the wedge I bought will fit the defrost/hazard button. It looks the same size, too big for the cruise control though. That I might have to actually solder in.

 

[MCDGexx]

What did you guys do to your gauge clusters, with the speedo and such. Did you add LED's like the rest of the lights, or custom gauge face with factory lights or both?

 

[1gDSMnewbie]

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[beatshack]

I tried using hyper-bright blue LED's to replace the 5 orange bulbs in my 1g gauge cluster. I also capped the ends of the led's off for more even lighting. The result was extremely dim, and not blue looking at all, more like a pale greenish color. I then tried putting in blue bulbs (there is blue bulbs available that are a direct swap from the stock orange ones) and its better, but still very dim and not blue looking. Anyone have this problem?

UPDATE: I just ordered five LED cluster bulbs (size 74, 4 led's per cluster)

 

[oompalumpa61]

nice lights...nice to see a homemade mod

 

[STECARS]

I bought the 74 LED's from autolumination, $2.50 a piece. Let me say, they work perfectly. I just took one lil dab of hot glue to hold them in so they don't rattle out. The LED's are made to run on a car's current and they come prefit with a resistor. It lights up perfectly fine and has a nice glow. I just had to shave it down a little more so it didn't hit the backing of the HVAC. Much easier to do than soldering everything together. I'm going to see if the wedge I bought will fit the defrost/hazard button. It looks the same size, too big for the cruise control though. That I might have to actually solder in.

Fayt ....... can you please be more specific on which 74's you used. Cuase I went to the site and I cant figure it out . They have twist on's . the have wedges .. they have neo wedges . I Dunno...... Please help or maybe post a pic. That would be really helpful.

Thanks
Steve

 

[Galaxy]

Beatshack,theres an orangish coating on the back of the guages that you have to scrape off or remove somehow..next time you have it apart take a look and see if theres anything thats gonna dim the light on its way to your eyes.

If you cap off an LED with something,it'll maybe disperse the light better but will dim its intensity a little bit as well...did you try it without the caps on the LEDs?

I have my foglight switch opened up right now and the cruise switch is next but theres no way you'll be able to do those without a soldering iron,they're just too cramped.I suggest trying to find small LEDS for the on indicator in the AC switch and the 3-4 in the cruise switch.In the foglight switch,try to aim the led to the front to overcome the white plastic button or else it will be real dim.

 

[beatshack]

^^ I see. I will see how the 74 four led bulbs work, if its bright enough I won't bother scraping the back of the gauge faces.

 

[Fayt]

They work. I bought the direct replacement bulbs and there was only one *minor* gripe about them, they fit but wiggle. I put a dab of hot glue on and it fit fine. I then just used the replacement wedge LED's and shaved the top down and opened the parts on the cruise, a/c, etc. Fit fine and work perfectly.