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Old 08-19-2006, 12:46 AM   #1
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Changing Climate Controls to LED, NO SOLDERING

9-24-06: Update: sdsnybny and noservice2001 have located a direct replacement LED. You can find them at:
http://autolumination.com/74.htm about 1/3 down page neo wedge led's.

If you order these instead you don't have to rewire the lamps. Just pull out the old ones and put in the new ones. Remember, you still need both bulbs in to complete the circuit so they light up. (Plus they have polarity so one must have + up and the other needs - up.) If you use this method get at least two LEDs (I recommend a third in case one is bad). Use these instead of the T 1.5 LEDs. You also won't need the sandpaper or the pliers. Looking at the pictures the light doesn't appear to be quite as even as mine, but it is a lot easier to do. Good find guys!

Original method:
Before beginning you will want these items:
T1.5 Instrument LED bulbs from superbrightleds.com
(You need 2. I recommend ordering an extra one or two in case you screw up. They were $1.79 each + shipping when I bought them)
Phillips head screwdriver
Flathead screwdriver
Needle nose pliers
Some medium or fine grade sandpaper. (Or a nailfile for you other girls. Works great)
Patience and a steady hand

I also advice making a poor man's LED tester with a 9 volt battery and 2 pieces of wire about 4 to 6 inches long. Strip an inch or so off each end of each wire. Wrap one end of each wire around a battery terminal. Don't let them touch. Do not allow the other ends of the wires to stay in contact for a long time. (The battery will get real hot and ground out. Do not store in a way that allows them to touch.)Ta Da! Instant LED tester. Just touch each wire to one of the metal bits on the top of the LED. If it doesn't light up then switch the wires (because of polarity). Here's a 'pic of my tester:

Ok now, xBassist on SL did a wonderful write up on how to take apart the dash and get to the bulbs. Great pictures and everything. If you've never done this before I suggest reading that part of his DIY. You'll find it here: http://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=11283

Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up.
1. Pull off the three silver knobs. You'll find screws under the outer ones. Remove with Philips Screwdriver.
2. Pry off bottom left corner.
3. Once loose, pull around all the edges until the entire piece pops off.
4. Disconnect the three wire looms.
5. Remove the entire piece. Looks like this:


6. Flip it over. You'll see this:



Ok now, here's where I differ from xBassist's original technique.
See the gray circles I circled in red? Them be the lights. Using your flat head screwdriver give each one about a 1/4 turn to the left. (Lefty loosey, righty tighty) They should pop right out.


See how the wire tail is wrapped around the base? Use your pliers to unwrap the wire tail. Straighten it out & remove it from the base.

(Had to use an after 'pic of the base w the LED. Wires still look the same)
DO NOT DAMAGE THE BASE! Set it aside.

Next grab one of your shiny new LEDs. Pull it from the base. You should now have this:


Straighten out the wires like this:


See that blue part sticking out between them? It's 'gotta go. CAREFULLY spread them apart slightly. Do not break their connection to the base! Use your pliers to grasp the blue piece then bend it back and forth until it snaps off.


Straighten out the wires again. (This is a good time to use that tester.) It should now look like the altered LED pre base below:


Now, simply insert your LED where the old bulb was and wrap its wires up through the notch and press them flat. (Exactly how the old bulb was. Note the wires point in opposite directions) It should look like this:



The LEDs are a bit longer than the factory bulbs. Use the sandpaper to remove about an 1/8" to 1/4" off the end. (Dremel would probably work too.) MAKE SURE YOU DON'T EXPOSE THE SILVER FILAMENTS INSIDE. You may need to take them out & put them in a few times to get it right. (Once you know it fits I recommend scratching up the clear sides and rounding the top edges a little to help disperse the light more evenly.) Sorry, no 'pic.

Ok now, do all that again with the second light. I suggest testing at this point to make sure they both work before you reinsert them. (Just touch the metal wires on the top where the bits were located before.)

Reinsert them with a 1/4 turn to the right. Here's where we care about polarity again. One of those wires on the base is positive and the other is negative. I can't recall which was which, but trial and error will work here. (Hint use your tester to find which wire is + and which is -. When you insert them one side will have + up and the other will have - up.) Make sure the lights work before reassembling. You can test by reconnecting the 3 looms. Which is very awkward. Or you can use your nifty new tester instead on the copper at these two points.

Much easier. (The copper acts as a conductor. BTW you need BOTH LEDs in to complete the circuit or they will never work. My friend and I started out trying to install and test them one by one. )

After you've got both LEDs lighting up reassemble the center dash (reverse the directions above) and enjoy your new lights!

My camera doesn't handle night to well, but you can judge brightness by the stock radio (set on brightest level). Note with blue you can't see the red part of the dial.

Last edited by Liesjemt : 01-21-2007 at 09:17 PM. Reason: mod added "do it own risk warning" don't need mine
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Old 08-19-2006, 01:33 AM   #2
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awesome do they dim with the dimming circuit as well
and are the any hot spots (real bright spots) after its completed

looks good
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Old 08-19-2006, 03:34 AM   #3
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Very nice DIY. I did the same type of swap although I made my own LED's by soldering the resisters on and then wrapping them to the base. Your method is much easier and the results are the same. Props!
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Old 08-19-2006, 11:28 PM   #4
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Thanks guys!

Quote:
Originally Posted by lostreception
awesome do they dim with the dimming circuit as well
and are the any hot spots (real bright spots) after its completed
looks good
The lights will still dim normally. Except for the loss of the red (with blue color) I find they light fairly evenly (a little dimmer on the corners). You want to be sure that when you remount the LEDs they are straight in the base and not crooked. There is also a little wiggle room in pointing them. (Aim at the clear acrylic swirls -- they transmit the light to the dials.) If you’ve painted, colored or added bulb covers I would remove that.

Attention envy green owners: you’ll love the green color. Trust me. (I got extra LEDs so I could do other boxes in our club. We haven’t got an Envy yet.) The purple/ UV is cool too. Plus they make a nice bright white. I’m sure with glass paint you could make any custom color you want with white.
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Old 08-25-2006, 09:08 AM   #5
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i can't find the t1.5s i see t1 3/4 and t-1....what should i get....or does anyone have some blues that i can buy?
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Old 08-25-2006, 12:56 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by azztinthebox
i can't find the t1.5s i see t1 3/4 and t-1....what should i get....or does anyone have some blues that i can buy?
yo check the link
http://superbrightleds.com/specs/74_t15.htm

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-b...9.9323&next=50

about 13th or 14th from the bottom

Last edited by Ghost_1 : 08-25-2006 at 01:01 PM.
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Old 08-25-2006, 03:53 PM   #7
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Ok, they’ve updated their site a little since I bought mine.

Here’s a more direct link: http://superbrightleds.com/mini-wedge.html
You'll find them under "Instrument Cluster and Gauge Backlights
Twist-Lock type instrument LED bulbs consist of a T 1 1/2 (#73/74) miniature LED bulb installed in a twist-lock socket base. LEDs have a wide viewing angle."

They also mention that “#74 LED bulbs are also available without the holder.” This wasn’t an option when I got mine. If someone orders them please let us know if those work too.

Thanks for the props guys!
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Old 09-01-2006, 09:51 AM   #8
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http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-b....13052&next=50

About half way down the page there is a new bulb available they say it's smaller then the 74 but is the same thing. The number is listed as B8.3D.

I'm going to try them both, maybe if they work we can skip the sanding portion of the walk thru, I'll let ya'll know when I do it. . . hopefully this doesn't become one of my I'll wait until next year plans. lol
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Old 09-06-2006, 03:30 PM   #9
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Got the wrong bulbs, I did order the #74's. I got b8.3d which I know I didn't order but I'm not to worried about it. I'll be installing them tonight. Breaking off the holders shouldn't prove to be too difficult.

Following the write up was simple. I wish I had taken pictures but I wanted to mention that if you apt enough you should actually be able to pull off all the plastic, just becareful when doing it because there are two diodes underneath the plastic. Gives a little leeway with the sanding and the aiming. The light is a little dim in some spots but the lighting was never perfect even with the stock. The A/C button, defroster, and the hazard button are very dim. It's doable though.

Once again like everyone says great write up/DIY hope you got some more easy simple nice writeups for us in the future!

Last edited by Ghost_1 : 09-06-2006 at 11:02 PM.
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Old 09-08-2006, 02:00 PM   #10
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What about the 3mm leds wouldn't you be able to just undo the other one and then put this one in its place?
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Old 09-08-2006, 05:59 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Big_Kokujin
What about the 3mm leds wouldn't you be able to just undo the other one and then put this one in its place?
i used 5mm leds and some resistors it worked well you just need some patience
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Old 09-08-2006, 06:02 PM   #12
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I got that part, but wouldn't it be easier to just use the 3mm ones? if not then 5mm it is. because you can get the LEDs by themselves cheaper then the whole assembly that you have to take apart...
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Old 09-08-2006, 06:08 PM   #13
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well with 3 or 5 itll still require solder i suppose with a 3 u might have enought room to squeeze the resistor in the center hole and only have leads coming out the back, but with a 5mm the only way is to have the resistor curled around the back of the housing with only 2mm more of play i'd say it would be the same with the 3mm's but i never tried
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Old 09-12-2006, 03:50 PM   #14
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http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-b...9.9323&next=50

What about just getting the ones two down from the ones you got? I probably will order some today. i hope you dont think i'm asking these question for the sake of asking them, i just wanna know.
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Old 09-12-2006, 04:21 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Big_Kokujin
http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-b...9.9323&next=50

What about just getting the ones two down from the ones you got? I probably will order some today. i hope you dont think i'm asking these question for the sake of asking them, i just wanna know.
I got the 74, pretty much the same thing as the T1.5 but without holder. Just take out the step of removing from the housing. I also went a step further and broke off the remaining plastic around the LED. If you do this be very careful. I messed up one LED and there are diodes under the remaining plastic. It will give you a little more play room and you don't need to sand down the LED as much. The only advice I have for anyone is to be very patient, the LED I screwed up was because I was in a rush.
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Old 09-12-2006, 04:25 PM   #16
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imma git me summa deem tadae
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Old 09-13-2006, 12:13 AM   #17
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Question check these please

could these b exact replacments in led's

http://autolumination.com/74.htm

about 1/3 down page neo wedge led's
Attached Thumbnails
changing-climate-controls-led-no-soldering-neo_a_led_wm.jpg  

Last edited by sdsnybny : 09-13-2006 at 12:18 AM.
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Old 09-13-2006, 07:57 AM   #18
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they look like they might work. They also look like they might be direct replacements too.

the ones under the LED bulbs might work better. they look more like the OEM bulbs. I'm going to order several of both in the next few days, I'll let ya'll know.

Last edited by Ghost_1 : 09-13-2006 at 08:21 AM.
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Old 09-13-2006, 11:07 PM   #19
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Cool cool

i thought they looked the same, mostly. im wondering if the stock radio has them to, and gauge panel. other pages on that site also have conversion kits for neer every bulb, w/ housing, heat sink, and led of your choice. has anybody pulled radio faceplate?
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Old 09-14-2006, 08:09 AM   #20
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Don't mess with the panel where the turn signals are, unless you are good at soldering. Those LEDs are hard wired in.

the gaugeface, you might need to tak to someone who has done it.
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