DIY-Changing Clock/HVAC LEDs on FR-S

[phanguy]

Originally Posted by mandi

Thats the one.
I'll probably do it this way...with the 5mm flat ones. Blending in perfectly with the rest sounds like the way to go.

How did u guys attach the led like in the pic above? both to the resistor and the twist base?

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showp...9&postcount=47

[mandi]

thats for the standard led isnt it... what about the 5mm flat top?

[phanguy]

Originally Posted by mandi

thats for the standard led isnt it... what about the 5mm flat top?

same difference. flat tops are just regular leds with the top shaved down.

[mandi]

Originally Posted by mottor

Are you referring to this picture?



If so, this is where a few of us used 5mm flat top LED's with a resistor instead. Either method will work. I'm not sure which would be brighter or more evenly spread out, but I can tell you that a 5mm flat top blends in perfectly with the rest if you go that route.

Props to you for working on your own car. Good luck with the project.
:happy0180:

Is the LED circled in blue a different size to the rest?

[phanguy]

Originally Posted by mandi

Is the LED circled in blue a different size to the rest?

i think you should be able to change it using the same type of led as the others, but i'm not positive. i left mine orange...

[koteman]

Yeah it's a 1206 I think if I remember right

Sent from my Galaxy S3

[FR-Slide]

Bumping this, since I've got my dash torn apart now anyway and really want to do this anyhow.

I'm not going to bother with the clock, since it sounds like that's a horror story waiting to happen, but I was planning to replace the HVAC knobs (and passenger airbag light) with white LEDs. The posts so far have been super helpful, but I'm new to the LED world and not sure which ones to get. I know there have been previous eBay links, but most of them are dead/deactivated since the thread is so old.

Can anyone give me a current part number, link, or website that carries the LED type(s) that I need?

Also, how difficult is it to access the Traction control lights and the door lock/window lights to change those out as well?

Many thanks!

[Phaedrus29]

Originally Posted by |-Goku-|

Fairly certain these will work.
http://www.oznium.com/corvette-c5-led

They worked at replacing the same ones in my 09 Corolla

"Reviewer: Reece Russell (Salemburg, NC)
Item: 74 Neo-wedge Corvette C5 LED Bulb
Ordered a pair of Red bulbs to replace the yellow bulbs in my 2005 Scion xB's HAVC. One came in bad, was replaced within a few days. Oznium has the best price for these and the best customer service. I saw them online earlier today for 16 bucks for the 2 lights. This really was a no brainer decision."

I ordered these corvette bulbs from oznium...they were also linked in this helpful youtube vid:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzbAtqc_5dQ"]Scion Fr-s/Toyota 86/Subaru Brz-Hvac Led Swap - YouTube[/ame]


My question is whether I will need resistors? (I'm a noob.)

[Phaedrus29]

Update: My friend just helped me with this. Here's a pic:



My friend has some experience soldering but was surprised when he saw how little everything was. There were numerous times that he thought it was destroyed, when the contact pads lifted off from the board a bit...but he kept going with it and it all works!

To access the LEDs under the clock, he completely removed the clock and then soldered it back on afterwards...it still works!

The result: We did this on my BRZ Premium. The red LEDs in the dash of the BRZ Premium appear more orange than the new red LEDs that we installed in the HVAC and clock...so the match isn't 100% perfect. (We used the LEDs linked from that youtube video above.) Still it looks a bazillion times better than the stock amber LEDs. The left knob is also a little dimmer than the center knob, since the left knob is one bulb and the center knob has 5 LEDs. Maybe a brighter (or multiple) LEDs should ideally be used in the left knob. For the right knob, we used a white bulb so that the temperature colors look good. The only negative is that the "A/C" is now white as is the little selector point. We were going to try painting the inside of the "A/C" red but I wimped out this time. Another less permanent idea would be to stick some red cellophane in behind the "A/C". I'll update with new pictures if I ever get around to fixing that. For now I'm just enjoying the redness! Let me know if you have questions.

[Phaedrus29]

Another update: I put some 3M red lens repair tape inside behind the "A/C" and on the plastic piece that leads to the selector point. Here's a quick shot:



I think it's an improvement but definitely not perfect. The tape seems to have a pinkish color...I tried doubling up the tape behind the "A/C", which helped a bit, but left it pretty dim. The selector point is very dim. Maybe painting them would have better results. Still, I'm very happy overall with the mod.

[Blackrsx]

Just completed this DIY today. Looks great. Thanks for all the tips.

For anyone wanting to do the clock. I just bent the pins back enough to get to the LEDs.

I chose to do everything red and live with the darker blue section for the AC knob.

Before:





After:
The pics doesnt show as red. But it's pretty red. Pretty much matches the other red in the car. LEDs were bought from the link provided here. The AC and Mode control LEDs, I ordered off eBay. Flat 5mm wide angle red LEDs.






Here is a shot of the LEDs under the clock.
I took off the white plastic piece and then bent the clock's LCD back to get access to the LEDs.

[Blackrsx]

In case this helps others with the clock LEDs.

Bent pins and removed leds on clock.


After led installed and clock pins bent back.

[FR-Slide]

So the airbag lights are LEDs and not bulbs?

Which means for a swap of the knobs, clock and airbag stuff, i'd need 2 oznium bulbs and ~15 SMDs?

[SciOnDrifTtSlIdeR]

Sounds like a change I may venture on a boring Sunday afternoon