Serge Posted June 18, 2004 Report Share Posted June 18, 2004 // edit: Final Result!As you can see a few of them need to be adjusted to look right. Perhaps I should sand the LEDs down a bit more.For those that don't know, those are surface mount resistors a few mm in length and width.They are 470 ohms, so they should technically drop the voltage of my 3.2V LEDs running at 30mA from 12Vs to around 2Vs. I tested this with a 470 Ohm 1/8W resistor and they are plenty bright, so these should be the same.More pics coming soon... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serge Posted June 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2004 The light from the LEDs that I got (clear lens, 3000mcd) was too directional compared to LEDs with diffused lenses. This caused it to backlight unevenly. After some pondering I came up with a solution: sand-paper the lens.I took some very fine finishing sand paper (800 grit) and roughened up the lens all around. I then filed off the bottom of the LED so that it resembles the bulbs more.Look at the difference between the original LED and my modified one:It took me two hours to do eight of them... it wasn't fun...Oh, becareful putting the LED into the holder as this may happen:Here are the parts you'll use:* The original bulb holder* 3mm LED* 470 ohm surface mount resistor* Thing wire to wrap around bulb holder (get one thinner than mine)Snip one lead first and wrap the wire around where the original bulb's wire was and solder it to the LED's lead. Then cut the 2nd lead.Put the surface mount resistor parallel to the slit. My trick is to use an aligator clip to hold it in place. Solder that.Then solder another wire to the other end of the resistor and wrap it around the holder.My fleet of LEDs!That's about it.. not so much to it.Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AutoX47 Posted June 19, 2004 Report Share Posted June 19, 2004 what are we trying to accomplish here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serge Posted June 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2004 what are we trying to accomplish here?Instrument backlights are no longer white.. they are now orange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akskibum82 Posted June 23, 2004 Report Share Posted June 23, 2004 at least this guy is trying something that many of us have been wanting and fearing to do for quite sometime. Its unique and challening so if theres a prob why dont you go out and do something better to your cars...maybe an aluminum spoiler or a neon license plate holder or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drPheta Posted June 23, 2004 Report Share Posted June 23, 2004 darn, so no one sources LEDs that are a lower voltage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maiku Posted June 23, 2004 Report Share Posted June 23, 2004 lower voltage than what?i think 12V LEd's are pretty expensive, and much BRIGHTER than standard 2-3V LEd'sthast why he used a resistor to minimize the brightness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mesoam Posted June 23, 2004 Report Share Posted June 23, 2004 woah that is some precision soldering!! what kind of tip did you use for that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IOPTURBO Posted June 23, 2004 Report Share Posted June 23, 2004 good job, I have always liked the way bmw has red backlighting, makes sense, its better for your eyes at night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deltablade Posted June 23, 2004 Report Share Posted June 23, 2004 Liquid Kernel, can you clarify what this thin wire that you wrap around the holder is and does? I'm a little confused. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serge Posted June 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2004 lower voltage than what?i think 12V LEd's are pretty expensive, and much BRIGHTER than standard 2-3V LEd'sthast why he used a resistor to minimize the brightness12V LEDs most likely just have a limit resistor inside of them, They do not have to be brighter, on the contrary, they are dimmer. These clear lens LEDs are what, 3000mcd? That is super bright! You can damage your vision by staring directly at them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serge Posted June 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2004 woah that is some precision soldering!! what kind of tip did you use for that?Just the regular tip, I file it down once in a while to keep it pointy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serge Posted June 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2004 Liquid Kernel, can you clarify what this thin wire that you wrap around the holder is and does? I'm a little confused.The bulb holders twist into a PCB (printed circuit board). There has to be some way to make contact with the ground and power wires that are actually leads on the board. If you pull out a bulb from one of your switches right now you'll be able to understand this more clearly. Basically, I had to re-create what the old grain-sized bulb wires were doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serge Posted June 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2004 Could a mod or supermod fix the typo in my title? "proceed" ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PyROZen Posted June 23, 2004 Report Share Posted June 23, 2004 are the lights next to the Shifter supposed to light upfrom the factory? Mine don't light up and i can't remeber if they ever did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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