DIY-Changing Clock/HVAC LEDs on FR-S

[Phaedrus29]

Anyone else attempt this? Would you advise against this for soldering newbs? Does this youtube video basically show what sort of soldering is involved:

Also, is it difficult to access the leds under the clock? The DIY just says "choose your own adventure", but can someone explain one or two methods of getting at those?

Any help making the DIY even clearer would be helpful. Thanks!

[Juanito08]

Originally Posted by enjoi23

How much would it cost if I payed someone to do this? and who do I get to do this? I have absolutely no experience with this type of stuff and am afraid to mess it up..

I would do it for you but your a few hours away

[enjoi23]

Originally Posted by Juanito08

I would do it for you but your a few hours away

I'd have to take a trip up there one day..

[Phaedrus29]

Originally Posted by Juanito08

I would do it for you but your a few hours away

Haha, before I saw your location I was thinking...niceee I'll drive the few hours to you. Dallas is a bit far for a few pesky non-matchy-match lights. I guess you weren't talking to me hah.

[Juanito08]

Originally Posted by enjoi23

I'd have to take a trip up there one day..

Alright just let me know and I'll be glad to help!

Originally Posted by Phaedrus29

Haha, before I saw your location I was thinking...niceee I'll drive the few hours to you. Dallas is a bit far for a few pesky non-matchy-match lights. I guess you weren't talking to me hah.

Lol the red matching Hvac really does make a difference, I was so annoyed by the amber every time I drove at night!! Now everything flows together nicely ... you can always ship me the parts? Lol

[mottor]

Originally Posted by phanguy

I changed my lights out too. I wanted white though. OP never responded to my PM so I went ahead and got some surface mount LEDs on my own off of ebay. The rating of the ones I got are just a bit less than what the OPs LEDs were, but I'm still happy with how mine turned out.

How did you decide to reach the SMD's under the clock? I took the white plastic piece out and am just left with the LCD hanging over those four, but it seems to get in the way quite a bit.

When replacing these I've been having a bit of trouble getting mine to work. What process do you usually use when it comes to removing, replacing, and testing? I've heated and removed the old SMD, then heated the solder and placed the new one. Do you typically remove and replace the old solder as well, then test it in the car or do you use another power source to test?

Thanks for any and all advice you might have.

[phanguy]

Originally Posted by mottor

How did you decide to reach the SMD's under the clock? I took the white plastic piece out and am just left with the LCD hanging over those four, but it seems to get in the way quite a bit.

When replacing these I've been having a bit of trouble getting mine to work. What process do you usually use when it comes to removing, replacing, and testing? I've heated and removed the old SMD, then heated the solder and placed the new one. Do you typically remove and replace the old solder as well, then test it in the car or do you use another power source to test?

Thanks for any and all advice you might have.

as far as getting at those LEDs I just was really careful. haha. sorry i don't have a better explanation but no I didn't bend or move anything out of the way in order to access them. i didn't want to risk screwing up the clock by bending those long pins.

many will probably agree that it wasn't the safest thing to do, but for testing i just did all the leds and plugged it back into my car and turned it on. i mean really as long as you have the led in the right direction and successfully made visible contact with your solder then you should be fine. though i can certainly understand your concern. i just replaced them all and tested. i didn't bother doing one at a time, but i think you should be able to do one at a time and test if you wanted to.

and to reply to your pm: the resistor i got for those leds were just some i got from ebay. most sellers on ebay include resistors for the leds they sell as well. and even if they don't it's pretty trivial to just do a search for "resistor for (whatever v) led." if you still have questions then just let me know

[mottor]

I appreciate the advice. Hopefully I'll start making more progress with it. I probably should have started with something other than the clock LED's being that those seem to be the most difficult to access.

Did you also use a PLCC-2 for the tiny bulb in the center under the fan speed knob?

[phanguy]

Originally Posted by mottor

I appreciate the advice. Hopefully I'll start making more progress with it. I probably should have started with something other than the clock LED's being that those seem to be the most difficult to access.

Did you also use a PLCC-2 for the tiny bulb in the center under the fan speed knob?

check the post i made with pictures. you'll see that i used a regular led. i bought a bunch on ebay. i also bought a bunch that were flat tops, but that was after the fact... anyway i think the flat ones are definitely better as they disperse light more evenly for what we need them to do. it should work either way, but the standard led is easier to work with especially if this is your first time messing with this stuff.

[Trashed675]

Bringing back an old thread.

Ordered my LED's today, i guess this will be my next adventure, we'll see how the whites work out for me.

Great write up by the OP btw

Just a follow up. I attempted switching mine out the other day with a spare clock i bought off ebay. Just a quick word of warning, the 4 under the clock is a MAJOR PITA, i finally said screw it and gave up.

Also, be sure when you are removing the standard LED's that you don't take the contact patch off the board because, as far as i can tell, youre SOL if that happens.

[vault]

could someone provide details on the soldering process?

[vault]

just found a vid...is this exactly what we are doing here with the centre dial's LED and clock?

(skip to 4:20)

[phanguy]

Originally Posted by vault

just found a vid...is this exactly what we are doing here with the centre dial's LED and clock?

(skip to 4:20)

more or less. try finding an old broken electronic you can practice on. it'll help you feel more confident before trying this.

[vault]

Cheers for that.

I see that the neo-wedge LED comes in different sizes.....T3, T4, T5.

Any ideas which are the wedge types that fit?

Also how would I add a resister to these LED's? (noob question, but im reluctant doing this sorta stuff..... but the amber lights are driving me crazy lol)