how can I change the centre console light to red? (like Audi etc.) Has anyone done this yet? Is this hard to do?

And do u guys think it is good to change all the green to red?

I remember someone posted a thread about this topic long time before, I cannot find it anymore...

 

Well if you rip the entire dash apart and replace all the LEDs, which are probably integrated into the button itself, it is doable. Most people like the blue lighting of the TL. THis is not really a practicle mod, but is doable.

 

i want to add some kind of sensor to the lighting so that when it reaches vtec range, the blue lighting will turn into red.......i got that from another thread but i like that idea

 

Maybe if you traded in your TL on an Audi you would have red lights like you want. Or better still, get a Pontiac. They are less expensive.

 

I don't need to trade my tl for an AUDI, coz I have an AUDI beside my TL~

I have 4 cars in total~

 

first thing is that the stock lighting is all regualr bulbs, the only LEDs are the gauge cluster and ambient lighting

you can change all the colors, but remember that most of the things that light up have a filter which makes the green color

 

Green color, are we thinking of the same car. If there was room for the red LEDs the Vtec mod would be simple. One would just need to run a relay of the power which triggers the Vtec solenoid with a normal on and off position. So maybe simple is an understatment, but if you have the time, money, and confidence, it can be done.

 

last time i checked all the buttons on the TL light up a greenish color

if you mean the abmient lights, then it's 2 blue LEDs
if you want to add red ones which light up after you "hit" VTEC it is very simple, i wrote up instructions for people with civics., so it's the same thing, what you do is run a wire from the VTEC solenoid, that would give the LEDs power when you get to the right RPM. no relays are necessary, just the right resistors

 

for shits and giggles i pulled out the overhead controls

as you can see ambient lighting is LEDs (blue arrows)
regular buttons are regular bulbs with "condoms" (red arrows)

 

 

You are color blind because they are blue. Sorry. Relays are neccesary because you need to turn off the blues. As for those being normal incandecent bulbs, thos aer LEDs with condoms. They dont put normal incandecent bulbs on a PC board. Them being LEDs is better in a multitude of ways.

 

I know you are just 15 and don't even own this car

you are correct about the relay, if you want to shut off the blue ambient lights

You've never taken apart honda/acura parts as i have, i removed that part just to show you that you are wrong

they are blue condoms over regular bulbs which light up green.
Maybe i'll take another pic for you with the condoms off, just so you can see they are regular bulbs.

LEDs who be 100 times better, but they aren't LEDs

 

Could LEDs be easily swapped in with a desoldering iron, or would one not be able to vary the light output. I would like to see a pic of the bulbs. The buttons inside of the TL are illuminated BLUE though. Normal incandecent bulbs will not illuminate green. So if the blue condoms are on to cover up the green lighting they must be LEDs or Cold Cathodes, but they are not incandecent.

 

i've been doing this kind of stuff for years otherwise i would agree with you, the reason it lights up green is because a regular bulb does not light up white, it light up yellowish, and with the blue cover it make the light output look green.

yes you can unsolder the bulb for a LED, i did it on my 03 CL, but you need resistors or the LED blows out instantly

the buttons inside a TL are green, the only blue things inside the TL is the radio knobs, ambient light, and part of the gauge cluster

when i get home tonight i'll get you some pics
for now here is what the stock interior bubls look like without the blue condoms(this was my project on my CL to make it look like a TL cluster)


here is the Navi screen after i replaced the bulbs with LED's, as you can see each LED has it's own resistor


Acura radio(again bulbs with blue condoms)

here is also a pic of the bulbs



found this pic of a TL at night(it's not clear, but you can see nothing but the knobs are blue)

 

Wow, thanks. That sucks, I thought the buttons were blue too, at least they are on the acura web site. Did they intend to make them green? Im pissed. So the Incandecent bulbs are not soldered down, they slide out? They make 12 volt LEDs though, correct?

 

certain ones are soldered down, and some aren't

the ones in the main buttons are replaceable (slide out), the ones in the radio and homelink are soldered in. Honda has been using this green color for a long time, except they used to do it differently, regular bulb(no condom) and a filter built into the button or whatever else which was blue

 

How do they benefit from it? In the long run they save little money. Also, will these bulbs die during the lifespan of the car.

Is all the cluster lighting LED?

 

the bulbs do die, my mother has a 2000 civic and so far none of the bulbs have died *knock on wood*

not sure about any other models, but the TL and TSX are completly LEDs, i only know because i have opened both up

thw way the TL's work is like this

there is a clear ring with slits which are the blue lines, they work like angel eyes do
there are 2 blue LED's for the tach
there are 4 blue LED's for the spedo
there are 2 blue LED's for the fuel/temp
the MID has about 30 LED's half are orange and half are white
the cluster itself has about 10 or so white LEDs which are behind a white filter which distributes the light evenly
each dummy light has it's own LED which lights up the color you see (red,orange, green or blue)
not sure how the needle works, but it looks as if there is at least 1-2 red LEDs behind the base of the needle

 

The needle is based off fiber optics, LED at the base and it passes through the plastic, which is not pure so the light can be seen through out the entire needle.

 

yeah, thats how most of them work, i just was trying to find out where and how many LEDs they actually use for it

i think if my Fiance doesn't want to do anything tonight i'll pull out the cluster

 

Do you pull this stuff apart just to see how it works(thats what I would do if it was MY car) or do you install stuff?

 

i do it for fun and to install things too. most of the time i do not use any type of instructions, when i do wiring i use a schematic and just figure it out

i've swapped an integra cluster into a civic. i sat there one night and traced out the entire circuit board to find where each connector goes and what it does. took a few hours, but was worth it in the end

i've been taking things apart for a long time now, bascially since i was old enough to use a screw driver (it in my blood, dads a car mechanic)

 

I am hoping the integra was totaled I would hate to see my future first car being dismantled.

I do pretty much the exact same thing. I put together our gas grill when I was 5, my dad couldnt figure it out, didn't use instructions either.

 

no idea about the integra, i got the cluster from ebay


i'll make sure i take pics of the cluster as i do it

 

Cool, thanks, If you ever clear your headlights take some pics of that too, I would like to see step by step how exactly that is done.

 

as promised here is the TL cluster

on my lap


plugged in with no cover


close up of spedo with no ring (you can see the 4 blue LED's that light up the ring)


ring from spedo


close up of tach with no ring (you can see the 2blue LED's that light up the ring)


ring from tach


close up of temp/fuel with no ring (you can see the 2blue LED's that light up the ring, and LED's that light up the MID, which are white when the door is closed)


close up of temp/fuel with no ring (you can see the 2blue LED's that light up the ring, and LED's that light up the MID, which are orange when the door is open)


ring from temp/spedo


filter used behind MID

 

Great to see how things work. I am still not quite ready to dismantle our new car, especially since we dont have it for another week or so, and I do not think the dealer would be too happy.

 

Hey rbf351 nice skills on taking the cluster out. If you could give some detailed instructions on removing the cluster, it would be great. I want to disconnect the annoying headlight chime. I leave the headlights on all the time, and I hate that annoying chime when opening the doors. When you removed the cluster, did you see the speaker for the chime?

 

it's built into the cluster, you can't just remove it, you need to unsolder it, and i personally wouldn't try

to remove the cluster, just grab the plastic and pull it's only hold on by a few clips, then you'll see 2 harnesses for buttons on each side, remove them

you then have 4 screws to remove the cluster, the cluster is attached by 2 harnesses, unclip them and it comes out

 

Hey nice job on the reverse engineering, I used to take apart things of mine before wife and kids to see how they were put together. Glad to see folks still have that spirit of curiosity out there.

 

rbf351, I have two questions for ya.

1. do you know what's behind the circled area in our TLs? I have hard time seeing those MPH numbers in daylight. It looks like mine does not light up at all.


2. is there a switch or replacable chip behind MID that identifies as Canadian or US trip computer?

Thanks in advance

 

1) all thats behind there is white LEDs and a white filter which shine thought the gauge face which is blue

2) no idea about that, but i'm sure it's something