06-21-2012, 10:24 AM
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#1
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Custom User Title Here
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Ft. Leonard Wood
Posts: 6,164
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Changing the color of the Climate Control and switch back-lights
The back-lighting of the climate control LCD's and switches, in their stock form, are orange LED's, rather than incandescent bulbs like the dash LCD's. That will make this project much simpler as the supply voltage is already 1.5 volts, so no need for resistors. Just a matter of removing the old LED's and installing new ones. 
I will not be doing a multi-color setup like I did with the dash lights (see here), just to keep things simple. Blue is my favorite anyway,so we're going with blue for this project. The orange and blue really clash...
EDIT: I'm considering offering a retrofit with a core exchange. The core exchange kit would include these parts with the backlight color of your choice. You could also just send me these parts for a retrofit.
Any interest?
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Last edited by particlewave; 02-14-2014 at 09:41 PM.
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06-21-2012, 11:22 AM
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#2
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Custom User Title Here
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Ft. Leonard Wood
Posts: 6,164
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1 down, 22 to go!
Hehe! 
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Last edited by particlewave; 12-23-2013 at 08:31 PM.
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06-21-2012, 04:38 PM
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#3
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Custom User Title Here
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Ft. Leonard Wood
Posts: 6,164
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All 23 replaced...
Yowza! Thats bright!
Also a side by side of the old vs new...old on the right, new on left. The new leds are only about 1/4 the size...tiny!
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Last edited by particlewave; 12-23-2013 at 08:31 PM.
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06-21-2012, 04:46 PM
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#4
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Registered User
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Kingwood, TX
Posts: 445
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will be nice to see the finished product installed, so we just pack ours up and ship to you right???
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06-21-2012, 04:54 PM
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#5
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Custom User Title Here
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Ft. Leonard Wood
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Quote:
Originally Posted by boxster6354
will be nice to see the finished product installed, so we just pack ours up and ship to you right???
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Haha! Wish I had it in me, but one was plenty! 
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06-21-2012, 04:42 PM
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#6
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Custom User Title Here
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Ft. Leonard Wood
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I tested it with the LCD in place before putting everything back together.
Good thing!
Not only was the readout too dim, but it was also GREEN! Sure enough, there was an orange filter back there. I tried replacing it with a piece of white copy paper, but the light distribution was spotty. I found some thin "For Sale" signs with a nice unprinted white section at the Dollar store for $.75 that were perfect for a new white filter.
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Last edited by particlewave; 12-23-2013 at 08:31 PM.
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06-21-2012, 04:47 PM
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#7
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Custom User Title Here
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Ft. Leonard Wood
Posts: 6,164
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And the finished product! So much better than that hideous orange and now it matches my blue dash lights! 
I still need to do the switches, but I'm all soldered out for today, so will put that off for a day or two.
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Last edited by particlewave; 12-23-2013 at 08:31 PM.
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06-21-2012, 04:50 PM
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#8
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Custom User Title Here
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Ft. Leonard Wood
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One final note; please do not ask for pointers on how to do this.
If you cant figure it out from the thread posts, then you really shouldn't attempt it. This is not easy. It requires some fine solder work and if you dont know what you are doing, you will destroy your climate control unit...I'll have no part in that.
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Last edited by particlewave; 06-21-2012 at 04:55 PM.
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06-21-2012, 05:06 PM
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#9
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Custom User Title Here
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Ft. Leonard Wood
Posts: 6,164
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One more...wide shot.
The CC unit looks slightly darker than the dash in the pic, but I cant see a difference in person. I think maybe its just the angle. Now I need to play with the stereo to get it matched up. 
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Last edited by particlewave; 12-23-2013 at 08:30 PM.
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06-21-2012, 05:07 PM
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#10
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Custom User Title Here
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Ft. Leonard Wood
Posts: 6,164
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I might still change the rotary gauges out as well, but not sure yet. I don't really mind them being white.
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06-21-2012, 05:24 PM
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#11
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Registered User
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Kingwood, TX
Posts: 445
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That is so nice looking!
Great Job
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06-21-2012, 05:40 PM
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#12
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Current Cars
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Pottstown, PA
Posts: 166
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Very nice ! I'll send you mine to do !!
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06-21-2012, 06:42 PM
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#13
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Custom User Title Here
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Ft. Leonard Wood
Posts: 6,164
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Thank you both!
I went ahead and did the switches. It only took a few minutes and I didn't want to put it off, so here's one last picture. Sorry for the blur...my phone camera is not so great. 
Crap! Still gotta do the cigarette lighter socket! Oh, well...one more to go.
Side note; my brain is fried! 
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Last edited by particlewave; 12-23-2013 at 08:30 PM.
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06-03-2013, 12:13 PM
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#14
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Registered User
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Kalamazoo, MI
Posts: 149
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Quote:
Originally Posted by particlewave
Side note; my brain is fried! |
I just did my climate control and two of the switches. I now know what you mean about your brain being fried. I didn't think the replacements would be quite as frustratingly small as they are, but eventually you get a rhythm going and it's not that difficult. I tested each one with my DMM set to diode, putting the probes not on the LED itself or the new solder, but in the vias on the same tracer (to ensure new solder was in fact making contact with the LED and pad). I could also double check polarity this way. I'm proud to say I was 23 for 23. The switches also went without a hitch. Hopefully tonight I will get a chance to reinstall everything and see how it looks.
I had initially thought that if I were to do this project again I might order 5050 LED's, which are the what is originally on the board. In retrospect, they might be quite a bit more difficult to solder because of how much they overlap the pad.
I also found a "For Sale" sign in the discount bin at the grocery store and made the diffuser.
What did you end up doing for the cigarette lighter? I finally figured out how to get the bulb holder apart for it and I see a few that should work on superbrightleds.com. Is that the only oddball, and the others (besides the gauges) are the 0603's?
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06-04-2013, 04:57 AM
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#15
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Registered User
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Kalamazoo, MI
Posts: 149
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After hooking everything back up last night, I was disappointed. The entire display was very dim as well as the buttons. It was difficult to tell that the buttons were even on, but they were. If I turned on the heated mirrors or central lock, the display "dot" light up well, but the rest was not good. Perhaps you used these?
Unique Leds 0603 Surface Mount Led - Blue 380mcd Max
They are the same size, but 3-4 times brighter than the ones you linked to.
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06-22-2012, 12:49 PM
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#16
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Custom User Title Here
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Ft. Leonard Wood
Posts: 6,164
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Daylight shots.
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Last edited by particlewave; 12-23-2013 at 08:30 PM.
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06-26-2012, 08:01 PM
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#17
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Custom User Title Here
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Ft. Leonard Wood
Posts: 6,164
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Haha! It never ends!
I did the cigarette lighter socket, along with the window switches and "ashtray"(actually an ipod cubby) a few days ago, then took it for a night drive, content that all was well...NO!
I forgot the headlight switch!
Did that today using white for the icons and blue for the "dot".
Done!
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Last edited by particlewave; 12-23-2013 at 08:30 PM.
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11-22-2012, 08:30 PM
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#18
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Custom User Title Here
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Ft. Leonard Wood
Posts: 6,164
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Hmmm...I guess I forgot to update this. Did my rotary gauges as well with LEDs from porscheleds.com. All blue now
Last edited by particlewave; 07-03-2017 at 03:37 PM.
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07-16-2013, 12:31 AM
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#19
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Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Germany
Posts: 97
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NOT for all models
please remove post. incorrectly placed
Last edited by Iflylow; 07-16-2013 at 12:33 AM.
Reason: posted in wrong place
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11-22-2012, 08:51 PM
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#20
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Registered User
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Concord, CA
Posts: 271
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