rbf351

i got them on ebay, and the SMT leds from some online site as a sample since i only needed about 5

BrutusHayes

i know you can buy led reflectors that will make the light more visible from different angles.. they look like miniature versions of those things that they put on dogs to keep them from biting themselves.. i bought some when i made my led taillight.. have you tried that to disperse the light

rbf351

they don't work in small applications, not enough room to do it

if my brother would let me open his tsx cluster i could figure it out, but he won't

jriga

Those pics help... the circuit boards seem to have these little tiny screw-in bulbs that are on a mount that can just be turned and pulled through the board and released.

I tried cutting the positive leg off an LED and soldering a resistor to it instead - works ok - won't be good enough for tight applications... yours looks like you just bent the leg up, soldered the resistor right next to it - that appears to be the best way... if you have more photos you wanna share - by all means!

fahoumh

....not to mention the nerve. I'd be too worried about messing it up.

Zapata

wow i love the blue look thankfully acura/honda has implemented the color scheme in the current lineup

rbf351

certain ones have screw in type

the radio, mirror and navi are soldered onto the circuit boards

and yeah i soldered the led right to the negative leg then to the board and the positive doesn't get a resistor only negative side

jriga

To the NEG side?? How does the resistor work if it's not sitting where the power comes in? Man I wish I knew more about electronics. I'll have to take your word for it...

Did you test any of your connections with a Multimeter, or did you just say screw it and solder the thing together??

A guy I was talking to said putting a resistor on won't hurt anything, but can only help. If there is the right amount of power coming from a factory connection, putting a resistor on will still allow that power to come through - it just makes sure that any higher mA coming through get cut down... is this the case I wonder?

That neg solder to the resistor perplexes me. Why neg?

TranceFusion

very nice.. we should have these for stock....

phipark

Why couldn't this be like the PIAA conversion? Screw out, screw in, pull out, put in.

jriga

This whole 'where to put the resistor' thing got me researching.

As it turns out, it doesn't make any difference where the resistor goes, either + or -

Website:
People often think that the resistor must come first in the path from positive to negative, to limit the amount of current flowing through the LED. But, the current is limited by the resistor no matter where the resistor is. Even when you first turn on the power, the current will be limited to a certain amount, and can be found using ohm’s law.

Blah blah blah - more importantly - the paper says you don't need a resistor if you can ensure you are using all the power through several LEDs at once.

Hence, 12volts with 3.2V/LED = 3 LEDS to eat that power at that connection point.

dragon084

u must have gotten a lot of zaps throughout this project

rbf351

when i first started i thought it mattered, but then taking about different electronics i noticed it was random, but alot were on the negative side, so thats why i picked negative

rbf351

u mean shocked? not a single one,

i did get burnt alot from the soldering gun

jriga

JaDia4

very nice

Dem1K

iTrader: (1)

god......i REALLY, REALLLLLY wanna do this to my car. I've had this thought on my mind forever, but I certainly cannot do this myself, and I know NOBODY that could. What a burn

Awesome work man! Keep it up.

pimpscls

anybody in cali willing to help

Dem1K

iTrader: (1)

typeSb00st

awesome work jriga and rbf351!! i think the both of you should team up to make a tutorial.

also, i'm still hazy about the cluster led. on my friends 99 accord coupe, he was able to put in a 194 led bulb. is it the same wiht the cl? or are they individual leds that need soldering?

rbf351

u can do that too, but it won't make much of a difference because of the light filter thats built into the gauges

VeeralS05

i wish i could do tht, but i wouldnt know where to start :'(

jriga

Does anyone know - do you have to take the door panel off to get to the power window switches, or do they somehow come out of there????

jriga

Interesting - I haven't cracked open the cluster yet - so I dunno if this will work, or if perhaps the wedge LED bulbs aren't as bright as the others...

I'll post something about it ocne I get into the dash in that manner. Would certainly make it easier...

On the 99 Accord - did it make a big difference in gauge brightness?

rbf351

they are screwed in, u need to lift up the mirror switch a little to get to the screw

i think there are 3 total
not sure if this pic help, but u can see where the screws kinda are

rbf351

this is what happenes when u try to replace the stock bulb with a led thats already in the socket



also here is the inside of the cluster before i figured out how where every led went

as u can see there are only 6 bulbs to light up the cluster, the placement of those 6 bulbs are to light up the needles too

rbf351

u can also see the stock bulbs are very bright and light nicely, but if u remove the stock filter u will have very bad hot spots

withoutcomp1

iTrader: (1)

Where did you guys get the resistors? What size(ohms)? i have used 680 ohm resistors for led projects before is that good ? Please let me know what you are using! Thanks

jriga

Those photos help alot... thanks again!

The memory switch is FINAL. Got the resistor in, LEDs in, and the power is flowing through and steady - lights are not changing color or burning out - got the correct voltage measured - the rest of the car should be ALOT easier from here forward...

That does not look good with just replacing the normal bulb with an LED wedge - the custom look wouldn't be possible either.

I'm going to do the door switches in the next day or so... I took tons of photos.

If you have more photos that I could download - and you have any free time to put them somewhere to download - let me know - they help soooo much...

rbf351

thats all the photos i have, if i ever pull the cluster apart i'll tajke some more pics

typeSb00st

for the 99 accord, my friend tells me it's soo much brighter and better looking.

rbf351 - you need to make a how-to for this!!! :

[/B][/QUOTE]

i really want to do this when school is out for summer heheh

withoutcomp1

iTrader: (1)

What size resistors?

rbf351

u can use 500-600K ohm

jriga

I have no idea - I orderd my LEDs from a guy that understood what I was doing and sent me the correct (we hope) LEDs. They are blue, and have 4 bands on them. That's all I can say... lol

rbf351

if it's the ebay guy then they are the wrong ones, and only work for 12V applications which woul;d be fine if we never started the car which makes it 14V

i learned the heard way and had to replace alot of the leds and resistors

MtBikR

Where did you get the correct ones for the 14V application? Thanks

jriga

Interesting - didn't think of that? So a 12V system charges to 14V on ignition?? My resistor is allowing the correct voltage and mA through, so I'm not worried about having the right resistor in there. it's letting 3V in with 22/24mA, well under the rating of the LED...

I just went out and tested the circuit it's on - on no ignition my car tests at under 12V - about 11.2V or so...

Running, it tests to about 12.1-12.3V

Where does this 14V come from?

rbf351

the alternator bumps the voltage upto 14V to charge the battery back

i'm sure certain circuits only limited to 12v, but the cluster light don't, nor do the climate control or radio

rbf351

radio shack or any electronic store sells different ohms

jriga

This is depressing. I wrote the guy that sold me the package and he said they are 300-330ohm resistors...

Think this is enough?