DIY: Interior LED Color Change

DIGItonium · 02-03-2011, 07:16 PM

Sorry for the late response. Removing the triple meters is something I've not done yet, but will have another shop work on instead. The ones I modded was for another member.

2theextreme · 02-03-2011, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DIGItonium

Sorry for the late response. Removing the triple meters is something I've not done yet, but will have another shop work on instead. The ones I modded was for another member.

DIGI, finally got my other parts (hood & side skirts) in from Japan! Will be dropping the car off soon I hope and will then get that triple gauge installed. I haven't forgotten, I promise!

DIGItonium · 02-08-2011, 11:53 PM

The LEDs are PLCC with 3 cathode and 1 anode pad. The LEDs I used had a single anode and cathode, so I had mask off one of the pads to prevent a short causing the LED to not light up at all.

List:

Fuel and Water Temp LCD = 9
Gear Selection LCD = 3
SRM LCD = 1
Trip Meter LCD = 6
Odometer Gauge= 3
Tachometer Gauge = 5
Needle = 2 LEDs per needle
Function Buttons = 1 on each side

1. Removing the combination meter does NOT involve removing the steering wheel. With the vehicle running, turn the steering wheel to reveal the screw cover behind the steering wheel. Pry the cover, and remove the screw. Do the same for the other side. Turn off your car and remove the 3rd screw underneath the steering wheel column. Pry the lower steering column cover. Note the lip of the cover can be squeezed out of the steering wheel.

2. Underneath the steering column are 4 bolts to remove.

3. Carefully pull out the combination meter, and note the lip of the upper cover can be squeezed out of the steering wheel. Disconnect a couple of wire harnesses. There are 2 wire clips (black and white). The white one is easy to remove. The black one is difficult, but is held down by the electric tape. It can slip out of the tape and pop off after removing the meter, and then it can slide back into the electrical tape. Follow the service manual guidelines to disassemble the gauge cluster. The following pictures can guide you through the disassembly process.

METER HOUSING FRONT
Mark the home position of the needles. Use a couple of butter knives to pop off the needle. Use business cards to prevent scraping the face. When putting the needle back, push the needle in AWAY from home position. Gently move the needle towards home position until it stops. Simply nudge the needle until it slips into home position.

METER HOUSING REAR
Remove the metal bracket to get to the tachometer PCB. The needles are controlled by a stepper motor. The motor assembly is serviceable by popping off the housing. Inside are a couple of gears: one connecting from the motor output, and the other to the shaft of the needle. If there is a situation where the the shaft slips from the gear when pulling the needle, you can put it back in the gear and align the needle.

FLEX CABLE TACHOMETER
Carefully pry each end of the connector to release the cable.

FLEX CABLE FUEL/TEMP
The LCD back light power connector is next to the flex cable. There are 4 smaller screws holding the LCD assembly. Remove these screws AFTER removing the mainboard.

DIGItonium · 02-09-2011, 12:01 AM

MAINBOARD
Here you can change the LCD, needle, and function button back light.

TACHOMETER PCB
Be extremely careful with the pins of the gear selector and SRM LCD. Tape a card over it to prevent bending it after removing the PCB. When placing the PCB back in place, make sure these pins line up. As a guide, the pins will be visible through the holes behind the PCB.

ODOMETER BACK LIGHT
Notice the masking tape used to mask off one of the pads.

DISPLAY ASSEMBLY FUEL/TEMP
Be extremely careful with the flex cable. Pry 4 tabs to release the silver bezel. Then pry the tabs of the black cover to release it from the diffuser housing.

BEZEL FUEL/TEMP
This picture shows the three tables that hold the bezel in place. There is no need to disassmeble the entire combination meter to re-insert this bezel. Therefore, the meter can be reassembled while the bezel is out for modifications.

LIGHT DIFFUSER AND LED ARRAY
The surface of the diffuser is delicate so be careful not to scratch it by wiping it. There are 2 tabs holding the LED array PCB. I had to mask off one of the pads because it would short with the (+) pad (see next photo).

DIGItonium · 02-09-2011, 12:04 AM

Here are some pictures of the finished mod (minus the fuel/temp face):

TongMan · 02-09-2011, 08:52 PM

Can someone confirm this: are 194/168 are the same bulb sizes? Plus the map lights, license plate lights, and hatch lights all use this size bulb?

DIGItonium · 02-09-2011, 11:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TongMan

Can someone confirm this: are 194/168 are the same bulb sizes? Plus the map lights, license plate lights, and hatch lights all use this size bulb?

168, 194, and 921 (smallest diameter to largest) use the same socket.

Nismo221 · 02-10-2011, 12:18 AM

good job, thanks for the posts

TycoRC · 02-13-2011, 04:25 AM

Awesome job, great write up! I'll probably do the same with my buddy's Z34 if he would be interested in doing so.

370Z Purist · 02-14-2011, 11:58 PM

I remember you had done the trunk light mod; do you still have it lying around someplace? I'm getting tired of my dim little incandescent in there.

DIGItonium · 02-15-2011, 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 370Z Purist

I remember you had done the trunk light mod; do you still have it lying around someplace? I'm getting tired of my dim little incandescent in there.

Mine was improvised, so it wasn't worth writing a DIY. However, you can still make your own using the following:
Endor Rebel Star (single LED) or Tri-Star (triple LED)
350mA BuckToot LED Driver
Small heatsink
Soldering iron
(Optional) Empty 194 LED wedge

Mine uses a single LED, so it is plenty bright.

370z1 · 02-20-2011, 05:50 PM

Hello DIGItonium,
I really liked your idea and your detailed DIY post(s) regarding the Interior LED Color Change, it was very helpful. I did something similar and figured I would share. My notes are not as detailed as yours and hope it is enough to assist if others are thinking about it.

I found some LEDS in Red & Blue at local electronics place (FRY's Electronics). For now i only did the speedometer and tachometer and am debating to tackle the rest. They are made by Linrose, Linrose Electronics Inc.. Each strip cost about $20 bucks and they come with 26 LEDS with SMT current limiting resistors, no extra stuff required. The led flex strip comes with adhesive tape on the back so you can just apply to the inner space underneath the gauges and tie to 12V (key on). You can add a potentiometer as a dimmer or tie into factory dimmer. All factory LEDS left in place, just added the new ones. Soldered on some wires to the strips and ran to the fuse box to a 10A "ignition on" circuit lower left driver side. I made note of where the instrument needles were "at rest" so they are not out of calibration when I returned them. I used a fork to pry them off with a microfiber cloth to avoid touching the overlay. As long as you go slow they will come off, they are on tight and the secret is to apply pressure evenly when removing them (go straight up) and watch that you don't bend the needle side ways when lifting up on them. Try not to touch the inside of the clear plastic covers either. If you do then clean them and look at them from all angles to ensure the cleaner did not leave any haze. Total cost was 40 dollars and install took about 2.75 hours. The only thing I noticed when I was done was that the passenger airbag warning light was blinking and the center console was indicating it had been turned off. This was a result of disconnecting the instrument cluster. To resolve this I had to reset the computer by following a procedure another forum member posted. Search for key phrase "reset airbag" and you will find the post. Resetting the warring indicator is very easy to do, 20 second procedure. Removing the battery cable does not reset it.

Regards,
370Z1

southercadesi · 02-21-2011, 12:00 AM

Impressive, most impressive.

370z1 · 02-22-2011, 10:33 PM

Added some pics of a single SMT red LED i added next to the stock orange ambient interior led. I just tied the led to the existing +12 & GND with a potentiometer which acts as a dimmer. It illuminates the center console area and can be turned off if needed. I picked up some plastic snap plugs at NAPA auto parts then drilled a hole in the center. This is the rubber piece covering the hole in the center.

Smashley · 09-28-2013, 03:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 370z1

Added some pics of a single SMT red LED i added next to the stock orange ambient interior led. I just tied the led to the existing +12 & GND with a potentiometer which acts as a dimmer. It illuminates the center console area and can be turned off if needed. I picked up some plastic snap plugs at NAPA auto parts then drilled a hole in the center. This is the rubber piece covering the hole in the center.

Plz add a write up

02-03-2011, 07:16 PM	#1 (permalink)
DIGItonium A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Kansas Posts: 3,800 Drives: 09 Z34-TT 6MT Rep Power: 43	Sorry for the late response. Removing the triple meters is something I've not done yet, but will have another shop work on instead. The ones I modded was for another member. __________________

02-10-2011, 12:18 AM	#8 (permalink)
Nismo221 Enthusiast Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Decatur, Alabama Age: 36 Posts: 489 Drives: 2010 370z Nismo Rep Power: 15	good job, thanks for the posts __________________ Stillen Gen 3, Motordyne M370 Intake Manifold, 25 row oil cooler, Z1 test pipes, Greddy Ti-C 70mm dual exhaust, 15mm front/20mm rear spacers, RE-11's, V1 detector, LED interior lights, LED tag lights, Password JDM CF engine and radiator cooling covers.

02-13-2011, 04:25 AM	#9 (permalink)
TycoRC Base Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Long Beach, SoCal Posts: 4 Drives: 04 Infiniti G35 Sdn Rep Power: 15	Awesome job, great write up! I'll probably do the same with my buddy's Z34 if he would be interested in doing so. __________________ Nismo/Stillen/Injen/JWT/BuddyClubRacing/Motordyne/GTSpec/NRG/JLBMotorsports/Rays Engineering/ Varrstoen

02-14-2011, 11:58 PM	#10 (permalink)
370Z Purist A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Zion, Illinois Posts: 1,873 Drives: '09 370Z-T BS M6 Rep Power: 19	I remember you had done the trunk light mod; do you still have it lying around someplace? I'm getting tired of my dim little incandescent in there. __________________ -Phil "Since one of my brake light bulbs just went out, the forum told me that my piston rings are about to blow."

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02-09-2011, 08:52 PM	#6 (permalink)
TongMan A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: NorCal Posts: 1,297 Drives: 2013 Nissan GTR Rep Power: 716	Can someone confirm this: are 194/168 are the same bulb sizes? Plus the map lights, license plate lights, and hatch lights all use this size bulb?

02-21-2011, 12:00 AM	#13 (permalink)
southercadesi Base Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 76 Drives: 06 350Z Base MT PW Rep Power: 15	Impressive, most impressive.