Red LED Console Mod DONE!!!!

[ZAV]

I got sick of covers and hobby paint pading on my console globes so I converted them to LED.

You can see it here

http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures...l?id=2105136526

Its a bit fidly but this is how I did it.

1.Went to ***** Smith n bought the following:

-Soldering Iron ($13)

-Solder ($2)

-10 X 5mm Super bright 2V 16000mcd LEDs Z4024 ($2 each)

-10 x 560Ohm Resistors R0568 (6c each) (with different LED voltages you need different resistors, I think if the they are 3V you need 470 ohm resistors)

2.Took out the console and gear stick surround.

3.Took out the globes, n undid the little wire legs using tweezers

4.Pulled out the globes, kept the little plastic screw globe holders and replaced them with LEDs

5.Wraped the negative end of the led leg around the plastic holder end and trimmed it to fit.

6.Trimmed the postive leg of the led and trimmed the resistor. Solder the resistor to the postive end of the LED. Wrap the end of the resistor around platic holder.

7.Press down the legs ends on the plastic holders with plyers, otherwise they will be too thick to screw in.

8.Make sure that neither end of the LED or resistor is touching the other (positive or negative, or positive b4 resistor) otherwise you will cause a short circuit or blow the LED.

9.Do the same thing for the rest, cig lighter surround and ash try if you want too

10. Now the LEDs are polar so they wont work the wrong way around, so ive done a diagram showing the + and -ve terminals. With cig ligher just swap it around till it works.

11.I placaed some electrical tape to cover the lights along the center so the wouldnt S/C with the top circuit board.

12. You will need to bend the leds straight down for the LCD displays otherwise you will see little rings. The others you leave straight or angle a little.

13.Reinstall and test. If some dont work swap them around till you have the right polarity. If that doesnt work, re-check your LEDs + and - are soldered to the correct end of the resistor. If that doesnt work, get a new LED and start again.

14.Enjoy

If you attempt to do this mod be careful cuz you can probably blow up your climate control unit if you do it wrong (very expensive). Again I take no resonsibility and I reccomend you consult a profesional cuz I aint one.

Edited June 19, 2006 by ZAV

[eggbert_99]

dude thats awesome ...

instructions and pics ...

this really needs to be in the workshop bit ... its awesome ....

Im having the same prob now where the color is fading .... this is tops

[Northy]

dude thats awesome ...

instructions and pics ...

this really needs to be in the workshop bit ... its awesome ....

Im having the same prob now where the color is fading .... this is tops

can you guys please try and post in the right sections...:)

[ZAV]

dude thats awesome ...

instructions and pics ...

this really needs to be in the workshop bit ... its awesome ....

Im having the same prob now where the color is fading .... this is tops

can you guys please try and post in the right sections...:)

Sorry Northy, I thought you liked moving 'em :)

[CoRroLLa-JAHAT]

dang...i think i bought the wrong LED's. i bought T5. and i tried to take out the console it seems that something is holding it back.i have unscrew everything. hmmm abit confusing :(. mine is corolla ascent. is it different on how to do it compare to sportivo?

Edited June 20, 2006 by CoRroLLa-JAHAT

[blue_rolla]

that looks heaps good man! nice and bright! most console mods change the colour but are much dimmer - that looks great! :D

[iNdCeNt]

looks awsome sav!!

changes he whole look of the console..

Great job!! :D

[ZAV]

dang...i think i bought the wrong LED's. i bought T5. and i tried to take out the console it seems that something is holding it back.i have unscrew everything. hmmm abit confusing :(. mine is corolla ascent. is it different on how to do it compare to sportivo?

Some1 has done a DIY on taking a non sportivo dash out somewhere on the forums so have a search, ive taken one out before but cant quite remember. If they are the wrong leds, go to dk smith n get Z4024 leds.

But yeah it comes perfectly even and a nice bright red. Best thing they wont fade. I had hard time not looking at the dash tnite driving home from work.

[KaZe-]

niCe man truly a DIY master!! lolz always unuqie and niCe!!!

Steve,

[JJCRU23R]

umm.. does any1 still have access to the pics that came with the first post? cant see anything now~ useless without pics

[GtiRboy]

as above, i would really love to see some pictures!!!

[talfox]

1zz would be much the same im presuming

[smileys]

If its no problem can you please repost the pictures :D

[Suprathai]

Last time he was online was in october. I'm going to try it out tonight and see what happens, going to dicksmith now and then to JB HIFI to get some things for my DIY grounding kit.

Cheers

[Suprathai]

Hmm, I'm in the process of doing it right now and just checking out the instructions....at the moment, it prolly is a better idea to change the condoms instead of the LEDS, its so tedious. But its already out, so i guess i have to get it done then.

Cheers

[Suprathai]

Its done, well almost anyway...

Problem now is that I need to fix the climate control LCD backlight and the temp backlight, other then that every other LED is working. Another problem is the LED for the time display, it is too bright at the moment as you can see in the picture there is a red dot, I didn't bend them to face down completely....doh!

will update pics when its working properly.

Edited February 3, 2007 by Suprathai

[GtiRboy]

noice..

how much was te cost of your materials? im thinking of doing this when my car gets back from the smash repairs..lol

[Suprathai]

Well lets see.

LEDS at ***** Smith cost $16.50 for 10.

Resistors cost 60cents for 10.

For me it should cost me only $17.10...

A soldering Iron should cost around $15 - $20 and some solder would be about $3, so if you don't already have the tools then I would expect it to cost about $40 all up.

But I would factor in some errors, so your looking around $20 to be honest. I still haven't determined yet whether the LEDS don't work, or i just didn't get the polarity right. Will know by tomorrow, or maybe tonight.

[smileys]

So is it hard to do?

Cos i took off those green slips and now i got a orange center console.

and how can you fix that problem where theres a dot on the clock display.

[Suprathai]

Well I've got to make a trip back to DS to get some more LEDS and resistors as I would need to bend the LED to face down completely for it to not show the red dot. I haven't fixed it yet, but at the moment it looks awesome at night. I'm also considering changing the colour of the AC to blue if possible.

Well if you know how to use a soldering iron and some small long nose pliers then its not hard at all...just really fiddly thats all. I'm going all DIY for my car, saving a bit of money and doing some creative thinking.

I'm thinking of creating a more free flowing exhaust tip with a milo tin, what do you guys think?? lol

Edited February 4, 2007 by Suprathai

[GtiRboy]

haha,

well i say, if you're serious and its what you want to do, then do it...but make it a tutorial :P

[Suprathai]

I really don't think the mods will approve.

Update

It turns out that I got the polarity mixed up with the LEDS that are not working, but I need some more LEDs to correct the problem with the bright red spot. Wait for pictures around midday tomorrow, It will be done by then.

It is now completed, I have also changed the air con LED to light up blue when its on!! Enjoy!!

Cheers

Edited February 5, 2007 by Suprathai

[smileys]

I really don't think the mods will approve.

Update

It turns out that I got the polarity mixed up with the LEDS that are not working, but I need some more LEDs to correct the problem with the bright red spot. Wait for pictures around midday tomorrow, It will be done by then.

It is now completed, I have also changed the air con LED to light up blue when its on!! Enjoy!!

Cheers

Looks Great

you know if you wanted the console to be orange we couldve just switched lights

ok im not so certain on the instructions for doing this mod, but Suprathai can you please direct me as to more detailed information on what LED bulb and how to install. I just dont seem to understand the simplified english abive :)

[Suprathai]

Its actually red, the photo didn't turn out properly.

I just followed the instructions that ZAV posted up, you can purchase all the required components at D_i-C=K Smith or Tandy.

[puzzle man]

i did it a difernt way this was for my AE 92...

hi guys i replaced my speedo lights with LEDS didn't see the problem some of you were having with it lighting up specific areas like a spotlight. I used these LEDS that I found they have concave lenses, which helps disribute the light more evenly then the regular ones that are avaliable. This picture shows the bulb near a piece of perspex, from how I see it the light beam hits the perspex and then is re-directed into the area of the speedo. There are 4 LEDS that can be replaced with 3 that are used to light up the speedo area and a 4th one which is used for the battery light. I only replaced the 3 that are used for the speedo. I used red LEDS but you can also find them in yellow, green and blue I purchased mine from Pep's Auto but you can get them from Autobarn aswell. They are rougly around $10-12 for 2 LEDS, they are like a wedge style globe - the same as the ones that go in your indicators. One point to remember if your thinking of doing this is to undo your speedo cable from the engine bay.

While I had everything out I also decided to paint my speedo surround. I used a plastic primer, then several coats of colour and a clear just to give it a glossier, brighter look.

This is everything all put back together, and lit up at night.

OK had a day off so thought i would pull my dash apart agen...

because i got a new tacho and it looked

tops but my red dash did not match so i wanted to try the white LEDS...

and took some pic ..

the is the speedo cable some people were asking about..

the brassy looking thing is what you have to undo..

now went looking in my garage and pulled out a white pack i had from awhile ago

there was only 2 so went looking in my bag of trick and fond a convex one

so i got some 80 grit sand paper and ruffed it up (so the light would distribute better)

then put it all back 1 point i will make is when you put the LEDS in BEFORE you put all the dash back together make shore the LEDS work if there not working all you have to do is turn them around.

all finished and only took about 1/2 hr

this is the new tacho in the custom cup i made..