Changing your AC console lights DIY inside! finally here!!

Changing your AC console lights DIY inside! finally here!!

I finally got the time to make this DIY. I changed all my lights from the standard green in a 2001 S to Red. I used 3 #74 bulbs and 4 3mm red LED's.
First of all I want to say I tried some light dispering LED bulbs for the #74's but then got regular red bulbs and they worked way better. For where the bulbs are you need the good dispersion a bulb gives not an LED. I bought all this stuff off autolumination.com
For resistors I just took em from school but you can just buy some regular ones from radio shack or something. 300ohms or so should be good.

Ok first you have one of these

It should be in your car obviously. You need to get all the pieces around it off. Everything is snap off. I suggest you take off the piece around the vent and take the stereo out. Its all easy to figure out just snap it off disconnect the harness then take out the radio. Next take off the piece around the AC controls and storage box. Easiest way is to take out the ash tray and pull from down there. Next disconnect the bulb from ash tray (pull hard it is hard but wont break) and disconnect stuff from cig lighter. Take out the storage box too. There is 4 screws 1 in each corner, put the car in neutral if you have an auto so the shift knob is far enough away for the storage box to get out. Then you will have this.

The blue circles are the screws you need to take off. That pic shows the defogger button thing already taken out. To take it out look at next pic:

Unscrew the 3 screws from the top that are circle in blue. Also disconnect all the wire harness you can around here to be able to work better.

You can either change these bulbs by pulling them out from behind or taking off the cover. To take them off from behind just twisting them and pull. The only problem with this is that you can't aim the bulb if you use LED bulbs or LED's in general. If you use regular bulbs this method should be fine. If you use LED bulbs it might be better to take the face off so you can put the bulb in kinda angle for better light dispersal.
so in conclusion if you use regular non LED bulbs just try to pull the ones in there out from the back first by twisting em and pulling. I think its hard too cause of the small space in there for your fingers

To pull off the cover:
Now your gonna need to unclip and pull off the cover of the AC unit. Don't forget to pull the knobs off firs ttoo. All the clips are in red:

This is a BITCH to do. You need to be creative with your hands and flat head screw drivers.
When you are pulling it out you need to dispress the thing in this pic:

Just feel for it.

Once the cover is off you can change the 2 bulbs. Also you can open the defogger piece to change the LED's in there.Here is what you do: For the air circulation button there are 2 little LED's once you open it. Take everything you can off until you have the circuit board out with the 2 LED's. Using 3mm LED's ONLY NO BIGGER, cut off the 2 LED's on the board. Sorder on 2 new 3mm LED's! No resistors!! Just LED's. You have to look inside your LED's and the ones currently on the board to make sure you connect the right polarity. One side of the LED's has a bigger connection inside than the other so match those. The button pieces pull off the circuit board don't worry just pull em.
Now on the Deffoger button side, I choose not to change the light that lights up when you push the back defogger button. I just changed the always on light with the same method. Here is a pic of that board and the LED's.


The AC control button. This button is crazy. You can get it off and open it to expose the circuit board and take teh circuit board out. There is one light on the end for when the button is on. Its a wierd 90' angle LED. I didn't change this cause I had mad problems with this thing and didn't want more. (check ur fuses if this button doesnt work after, my fuse blew and it took my 2 weeks to figure it out cause im a dumbass). To change the other light in here I took the bulb in the holder and twisted out. Then I took the bulb out. Actually don't even attempt this unless your ballsy. Once the bulb is out you need to put an LED in its place with the ends through the little holes you also need to connect a resistor to it on the other side! So using the resistor, thin wires and the LED leads you need to make it look kinda like it did before so that there is something touching the gold parts on the circuit board once you put the holder back so current can flow. It will be impossible to make it so it can snap back it though. I used a bag tie to to it into place once I put it on the circuit board and back in its holder. This picture kinda shows how the led and holder look like. The LED was bent to project foward toward where the button will be. The resistor made an opening on the other side of the holder. I looped the twist tie (modeled in black) through this opening to secure it on the board. I'll take a pic of the actual thing when I open my own.


And a pic of the open circuit board, the lights you need to change and the other pieces:



Now just replace the bulb for the ash tray. For the light in the cig lighter, take out the little light an adapter thing. In the socket just put in a resistor LED combo. Do this by cutting one of the leads of the LED short, connect a resistor with the leads cut short to match the length of whats left on the other LED lead. Now put the 2 leads straight into that socket.
Now your done! Post if you have questions.
Final result, note the camera doesn't take a good pic. It is brighter and all red not orange at all.


EXTRA: I have the thing in my first pic open so I can take pics of some stuff if people need help. Tell me what you want

No unless I take it apart again and I do not have the time now. Unfortunately when I was doing it I didn't take many pictures.

Actually.... I do have that one disconnected from the car I bought off someone here. I can take pics from that one since it will be easy to take apart since its off the car. Tell me what you specfically want pictures of, probably the AC control button piece huh and the defogger?

That LED in my picture looks like something funny hehehe

i just painted those with red caliper paint

I hate taking that thing apart. I took mine apart almost 15 times because I wanted all the blue LEDs to light up the everything evenly so there would be no hotspots. What a big pain in the butt.

Yes, I changed all my lights. They are all blue, and the indicator lights are red.

Hmmm. I really want all red lights so I might have to bust out and do this.

Can you post some more pictures?

i am anti walmart so ill get one either ebay or home depot
DOWN WITH THE MART!

Vamp what did u do for that one A/C light on the right angle thing? Did you just rip it off and solder an LED onto the board?

Yes, I simply removed it and soldered a new one in place.

When you ripped it off it didn't rip up the board at all? That was always my fear

Here's an old pic I found. When the defroster, recirculate air, or A/C are on , the status indicator light on the button is red (not shown). Use a soldering iron and a plyers to remove the old LED or just cut the leads if they're long enough and solder the new LED onto them.

hey vamp...would you be interested in changing all my console lights to blue? for a nice price, of course?

i just don't have the patience or skill to do any of that...i could help, but i wouldn't wanna do it on my own

damn u vamp I just put in LED's in my vents and it was my secret mod suprise! But i was gonna redo it this weekend before i put pics.
Those LED's in your thing are damn bright
We are responding to each other so quick go go go!!

I actually have neons in the vents because LEDs are too unidirectional. If you cut the head off the top of an LED with a dremel, you can disperse the lighting a little.

Ya Its not a lighting problem so much but more a wires came apart and are too short problem. I used like 4 LED's and I aimed it in a V formation in the vent, 2 in each vent
Hey talking about Dremels do you recommend one? I was thinking the mutlipro 395 but are the cheap ebay non dremel brand ones as good?

A Dremel is a tool you'll find yourself using a lot, so just stick with the an actual name brand. I got my Dremel set from Walmart.

Possibly. You would have to wait for warm weather though.

sounds like a plan to me!

hey vamp or anyone else on here i have blue leds that i got for free from circuit city and i was wondering if you would recomend putting those in the air vents and also how did you wire the neon under the dash because i am looking forward to doing that

Haha me and Vamp should make a business. I'll do west coast you do east

did ne1 else notice the right side on the ac console thing is connected? or is it different in thw 2000's?

yes the whole ac console is connected to the car and it won't come out so don't try to rip it out
if your talking about the cover that comes off the AC button has a thing u need to push in to get it out. Look at my pic

the two wedge shaped white things? there damn hard to get out i cant do it!but are the lights accesibble after i take off the black piece? and is there ne thing i should watch out 4

You got to pull the face off by uncliping the face at the points shown in the pics (the one that says WE R D Clips!! and the one above it). Its a bitch. Do it when your nails are long. try to lift the botton or top ones first and wedge a small screwdriver in there then do the bottom. Just figure it out somehow. Once you take it off you can just pull the bulbs out.
Another way is to pull the bulbs out from behind. I think you can by just twisting them. The only problem with this is that you can't aim the bulb if you use LED bulbs or LED's in general. If you use regular bulbs this method should be fine (I should've said this earlier!). But I did it the face way and I did it last summer so i forgot to mention it. If you use LED bulbs it might be better to take the face off so you can put the bulb in kinda angle for better light dispersal.
so in conclusion if you use regular non LED bulbs just try to pull the ones in there out from the back first by twisting em and pulling. I think its hard too cause of the small space in there for your fingers

are the lights the two black plugs attached to both sides of the console?

in the pic above the we r d clips pic, you can see one to the right of the rightmost blue circle and the other one to the left of the left most blue circle (right next to the circle on the left side)

i just got done doin it! looks great GREAT DIY now is there a way to change the color of the clock? im not sure if the 01's have it but the 98's have a little clock with green colored numbers is it possible to change the color?

Took a day to do mines