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G-100: DIY LED Interior Conversion, Part II: Rear Door Window Switch w/ Handle LEDs
Ok, for our next installment we are going to be spending copious amounts of time to change out one tiny little LED...but let's not stop there, shall we? We're also going to be adding some RL-esque flava to the TL by installing an extra LED to the door handle and adding auxilliary wiring for an LED strip in the door pockets.
Thanks go to dwb993 for specifying the exact bulbs to use. LET'S GO! TOOLS NEEDED Dremel Soldering Iron Angle cutters Flat head screwdriver T10 Torx Driver Drill 1/8" Bit Razor blade MATERIALS 5 x 3mm bulbs to your liking...I am used wide-angle flat headed 3mm bulbs Solder FLUX, I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH 2.2k-ohm resistor About 6 feet of cheapo Radioslack speaker wire Shrink tubing Electrical Tape TIME This portion can be fully completed in under 120 minutes:ugh: ...probably faster, but I'm hungover something fierce today. :what: STEP I - PANEL BE GONE! Ok, you'll need to pop the panel off...there's an FSM link somewhere on here. You'll need to remove 4 screws, one small cover panel, then pull and pop. Nothing major here. Oh, wait, yes there is. The screw on the door handle is at a just plain retarded angle and the bumper stop screw may have been torqued too tightly, so you'll need a set of pliers to hold the base in position while you remove the screw. Good job, union assemblers. STEP II - BURIAL PROCESS, REVERSED Jeez...look at this thing...BURIED beneath the mess. Well, we obviously have some work ahead of us here. I tried removing the door switch without having to take any of the individual panels off, but gave up as I was more interested in getting to the switch and seeing what else was under there. Next panel I will be trying a faster route, as this, IMHO, is just plain silly and a total waste of time to get to one tiny-ass switch. BAH. Take off the eleventy-billion screws, then pop the arm rest and switchplate cover off. http://i369.photobucket.com/albums/o...Picture001.jpg http://i369.photobucket.com/albums/o...Picture002.jpg STEP III - GUTTING THE COVER Ok, we need to remove the board, so we're going to use some flathead screwdrivers to pry open the sides and pull out. I am impressed, however, at the engineers foresight of having a recess in the plastic to allow for the base to flex for removal. Good job, guys. http://i369.photobucket.com/albums/o...Picture003.jpg http://i369.photobucket.com/albums/o...Picture004.jpg[/B] |
STEP IV - PAGING DOCTOR TO THE OR
Had too much coffee today? Maybe too many smokes? The missus piss you off? If so, STOP NOW. You're gonna need some steady hands, fellas. Here we can see the lovely OE LED. WHY IN THE HELL DIDN'T YOU PUT LEDS IN EVERYTHING TO BEGIN WITH, ACURA?! /rant. Anyway, we're gonna need some *snip* *snip* action to get it off, I recommend a dremel cutting wheel. Why? Cutters will compress before cutting, and we need nice, straight lines to get the LED properly aligned during resolder. Take a deep breath, aaaaand...GO. http://i369.photobucket.com/albums/o...Picture005.jpg http://i369.photobucket.com/albums/o...Picture018.jpg http://i369.photobucket.com/albums/o...rs/Snipped.jpg STEP V - NEEDS TO BE WET FOR SUCH A TIGHT FIT Yep. You heard me. So don't be cheap with the flux here and get those contacts nice and wet. Then heat up your iron and seal the deal. http://i369.photobucket.com/albums/o...Picture020.jpg |
STEP VI - RL, TL, LED-L
During my test drives of the TL and RL, I really did appreciate the blue backlight of the door handle, so I thought, "Why let them have all the fun?" So, what we're going to do is rain on their parade and have the same. Prepare an LED by attaching the 2.2k-ohm resistor to the cathode end, solder, shrink, and tape. We're using 2.2k-ohm because we want this to be SUBTLE. http://i369.photobucket.com/albums/o...Picture006.jpg http://i369.photobucket.com/albums/o...Picture007.jpg STEP VII - THIS IS WHY WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS WARNING, MASSIVE RETARDATION OCCURRING HERE!!! Why? Well, you're going to need to drill a hole in the handle, but for the love of God (or diety of your liking), DON'T DRILL WHERE I DID. You'll find out why soon...this will have to be redone, and you'll see why at the end. FUCK! We're also running a secondary wire to the pocket, but we're waiting to finish that up later this week... http://i369.photobucket.com/albums/o...Picture008.jpg http://i369.photobucket.com/albums/o...Picture010.jpg http://i369.photobucket.com/albums/o...Picture009.jpg |
STEP IX - SOLDER & SPLICE, AND EVERYTHING NICE
We're going to tap in to the OE leads for your two wires, solder, and tape. I simply used a straight razor and raw, manly finger pinching to remove the covering. FLUX, solder, tape. Blue & yeller for powah, black for earth. http://i369.photobucket.com/albums/o...Picture012.jpg |
STEP X - ARRRRRGGGGGHHHH
Well, now's time to button her all up. So we have our wire leading in to the pocket...we're waiting on some LED flex strips for there. Our OE button is now a nice, new, updated blue with NO localized glow...but where's the RL look? OHHHH...AWESOME, DAN! YOU PUT IT BEHIND THE COVER PLATE!!! Yeah, my bad. We'll take care of her later on this week, maybe during lunch break on Tuesday or Thursday. Anyway, we'll be back! Next up is finishing up this and the other door, methinks we're off to the cluster housing and thereabouts next, hopefully this week! http://i369.photobucket.com/albums/o...Picture016.jpg http://i369.photobucket.com/albums/o...Picture017.jpg http://i369.photobucket.com/albums/o...Picture013.jpg |
Ooooo. Nice idea about the door handles. Hmmm...
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Originally Posted by dwb993
(Post 11372902)
Ooooo. Nice idea about the door handles. Hmmm...
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That is an awesome idea, it just looks like A LOT of work to get it done. I might just suffer with my regular old door handles for the time being.
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What happened to step VIII?
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Originally Posted by LoveMyTL-S
(Post 11373499)
What happened to step VIII?
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dude where the fawk are you located.....lets do both cars at the same time....you do yours and i will do mine ;)
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Originally Posted by swoosh
(Post 11376398)
dude where the fawk are you located.....lets do both cars at the same time....you do yours and i will do mine ;)
Step VIII was supposed to be me taking a pic of where to drill the holes, but well, I was too anxious and didn't take pics. When I do the front doors I will cover this. Enjoy! http://i369.photobucket.com/albums/o...Doorhandle.jpg |
UPDATE: NOTE FOR THOSE USING WHITE LEDS
I hate to bump all of the threads, but there is an important item that needs to be noted; some of the white LEDs have been burning out, which can be attributed to one thing and one thing only: thermal overload. Therefore, IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED THAT A 1K-OHM RESISTOR BE USED FOR ALL WHITE LEDS. I have begun the process of replacing LEDs/resistors for the dearly-departed and can state that the new resistors seem to do the trick. |
Nice post
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Originally Posted by Bosco421
(Post 13307771)
Nice post
DON'T BUMP DIYS TO GET TO YOUR 15 POSTS, WHEN WE SEE A DIY GET BUMPED, IT TYPICALLY MEANS 'SOS, HELP ME'. |
^^^ ahahah...
I think Bosco is new and wants to do this to his car...and just said nice thread....I dont think post count has anything to do with his post (or mine) LMAO !!! This is a great post btw DM ;) |
http://i369.photobucket.com/albums/o...Picture020.jpg[/B][/QUOTE]
No resistor here? would it still be okay with a white led? |
When retrofitting LEDs, no resistor is nessecary...I mean, you CAN, but there's no reason I've found to warrant doing so.
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why do we need 5 3mm leds when i only see you used 2?
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Originally Posted by cipher9878
(Post 13800109)
why do we need 5 3mm leds when i only see you used 2?
SPOILER: 5 LEDs were used. |
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