Those wanting console, interior, etc LED conversion

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Old Dec 7, 2009 | 12:51 PM
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Those wanting console, interior, etc LED conversion

I've seen a couple of people on here who have done amazing work with converting their interior dash, center console and so on, bulbs to different color LED's...

I did this with my 01 Civic years ago, had to replace the bulbs with LED's required the soldering of resisters and retro-fitting the LEDs into the bulb holders...Im sure thats what was done with the conversions to the TL I saw up on the site here...

I ordered all my stuff for my civic from LED Automotive. I checked the site today, hadnt been on in like 4 years or so...and looks like they've introduced a few new products, including LED's that are already fitted into the holders, and they have three different holder sizes...check it out

http://www.ledautomotive.com/product.php?id_product=24

this should make the conversion an easy swap no actual modding...i think
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Old Dec 7, 2009 | 01:33 PM
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Good spot, but those Type 3 LEDs are the incorrect size---they have a 12mm base. You need to get the Type 1 with the 8mm base:
http://www.ledautomotive.com/product.php?id_product=22
Also, these units are $3.49 each---v-leds.com has them for $3.49/pair.
Check out the 3G Garage for DIY F-165, a series detailing how we converted all of our interior dash lights to LED.
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Old Dec 7, 2009 | 03:30 PM
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Sweet! Thanks for the insight...

So every single base in our TL's, as far as the dash goes, is 8mm?
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Old Dec 7, 2009 | 04:00 PM
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Originally Posted by djspot
Sweet! Thanks for the insight...

So every single base in our TL's, as far as the dash goes, is 8mm?
Not even close. You’ll be able to hit a fair portion of the dash, such as the navi section, seat heaters, and some of the courtesy light console, but the majority of the lights in the TL are soldered to the circuitboard.
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Old Dec 7, 2009 | 08:46 PM
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To be specific, any lights which use the neo wedge type bulb holders are fair game for these units.
With that said, there are quite a few places where using them may not be satisfactory---they are very directional in their beam pattern and some of the switches do not place the bulb correctly for maximum light output. These bulbs are perfect for the NAVI/HVAC console and possibly the instrument panel MID and brightness controls.
One other note--if you decide to go the route of soldering 3mm LEDs + resistors for some of the switches, these T bulbs are a slightly different color temperature. This is especially evident in the overhead console, where you have to use the 3mm for the Homelink buttons, but can use the Ts for the sunroof and light switches. This is terribly difficult to show in a picture compressed for web pages, but I am trying!
It is unfortunate that they are as limited in their usefulness as they are. They could have been a godsend.
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Old Dec 8, 2009 | 01:22 AM
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This is what I did on my previous TL.

Front passenger and driver side under dash LED strips








LED Dome Light











My friend's car





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Old Dec 8, 2009 | 01:54 AM
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Sick M3, not sure if the TL can pull that off, and not look ricey?..
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Old Dec 8, 2009 | 02:42 AM
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Tim, we were testing it out on the M3 for a brochure.
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Old Dec 8, 2009 | 07:42 AM
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Looks good, but the bulbs OP is taking about are for the dashboard switches, steering wheel, window controls, etc.
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Old Dec 8, 2009 | 03:49 PM
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Thanks for all the input dwb

That was my major concern, the directional light output...I remember when I did this with my civic and actually did the retro-fit of the LED's in to the holders for some spots I had to bend the leds for the proper output.

The civic was such an easy job, there must of been a total of 6-9 bulbs that had to be retro fitted and that was all...

Do you by chance know where I can get blank holders...I would like to do it from scratch and still have all OEM bulbs/holders in case I wanna go back to stock, that way its a quick swap.
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