Center Console LED Install DIY

hey howard007, you can buy those, but they're expensive. i have extra led's, i'll let em go for 1.50 a piece plus whatever shipping costs. they're 4000mcd, 3.5V, .020A. let me know, also to find out what resistors to use, u can go to this site, http://metku.net/index.html?sect=view&n=1&path=mods/ledcalc/index_eng
or you can use the formula oxymoron gave out.
R = ( 14.4 - (n x Voltage of led) ) / Current of led
n= number of led's you wanna hook up. this is onyl good if you wanna use em like i do(there is a picture in the posts before), or you can just put in 1 for each led on each side.

Can anyone please help me figure out what type of resistor I need for a blue L.E.D rated at 6,000 mcd, with 3.4~3.8V normal current 30~40mA DC and peak current of 100 mA (pulse). This is also the link to the auction I got it off of, if anyone has time, please help. Thank you in advance. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2568223362&category=26207&rd=1

390 ohm, 1/2 watt resistor. If you can't find that, go with a higher resistance. Do not go any lower.

Thank you oxymoron for your quick response! I was wondering if you think the lights I ordered will be too powerful or will not work with the console. Do you think it will be okay once I put on the resistor? By finding a higher resistor did you mean 1/2 watt or 1 watt resistance? I'm not sure if 1/4 watt means less or more. Thank you, sorry I'm a newbie at this=T

You need a 390 ohm or greater resistor (470 ohm will work fine), rated at 1/2 watt or more. 1 watt will be fine, 1/4 watt will burn up.

If you're planning on replacing the console bulbs with LEDs, I suspect they won't be affected very much by the dimmer. I haven't tried it, so you'll have to find out from someone that has.

that was my one question wat abotu the dimmer, cause i use it when i drive at night long distances, to tone down the brightness. i think it shold work as long as the maximum voltage problem works fine.

i finally got time to get my led's in. it took some work. heres what i did, i put a 270ohm resistor in series with 3 led's like in the drawing below.



when u put in the bulb holder, my positive terminal was on top after i turned the bulb holder into place, or it was to the right before turning the bulb holder into place. so it might help you. if u can make out the picture below, u can see how they sit. the worst part is trying to get the led's to spread the beam correctly. i cut the tops off like stinky did so it would spread the beam. but it didnt spread enough to give a full light up. you can try putting it more led's so it will light up bright like crazy, so i might try it later on sometimes, but i'll have to switch out the resistor. heres the pics anyways.

also if anyone has the link to the post on how to take apart the ac buttons and the ones next to it can you please post it. i think it was posted but i cant find it anywhere.

Just put some console lights in

I recently hooked up some leds in my center console also but I haven't been able to wire them into the three buttons above the AVAC controls. I decided to just take out the bulbs in the buttons for now. I couldn't take out the rear window defogger bulb in the button so I just unscrewed it. My dials look exactly like the picture in the first post of this topic. I'm having problems lighting up the middle dial and also the red part of the temperature controls, does anyone have a solution to this? I think it's mainly because blue doesn't mix well through the red film. I'll put pics up later.

how did u take out the buttons, just pull them out when u get the console out? i still have to look at it carefully and get it right.

For the AC and the recirculating air buttons you can unscrew the bulbs out from the top. For the rear defogger button the bulb is inside so i had to pick at it to get it ot unscrew but i couldn't get it completely out.

after much trying and who knows how many fuses i've blown ... i was able to get my lights to work! ... much props to stinky and everyone else in this thread!!! ...
heres a pic of what it looks like right now ...

damn here i come ac buttons, those buttons look niceeee, also was the voltage coming out in the buttons the same as the voltage coming out behind the knobs.

yea ... same resistor and same led's ...
it looks a lot dimmer around the knobs because it took me a long time to position the leds...
i have 2 leds on each side of the knobs ... if i wanted them brighter .. i would have been uneven because the angles of the leds are small .. so i had to dim it down to even it out

oh aight, yea i'm gonna put like 3 leds on each side and see if i can get away with lighting the center knob up with those. if not i'll rig something crazy up again. this was an experiment and mine turned out pretty good. but i'm always looking for ways to make it better

DAMN misery, that looks HOT. How did you light up the buttons? Did you put leds in each button from where the bulbs should be or did you just light them up from the dials with leds facing up? Anyway, it looks real good.

here's a quick and rough paint drawing on what i did ...

Good diagram. Source of where you bought the LEDs from? TIA.

i got some led's if ya want for sale, 1.50 a piece plus shipping, blue ones, maybe red later if i get them. let me know. better than blowing 3 at radioshack or something

Thanks for the diagram Misery! How did you get the little bulb in the rear window defogger to come out? Did you take the whole thing apart? I was also wondering how you fit the resistor into the small space for the buttons as well. TIA.

u can take out the light from the rear defroster the same way u take em outta the other two buttons .. twist and pull out! lol

i took A LOT of time to solder it the resistor and led together correctly and make it fit inside the lil hole ...
just take the time to do it ... it'll come thru! hehehe

Is the rear defroster button connected to the dials or is there a way to take it apart from the dials? For some reason on my car the dials have the rear defroster button connected onto them so I'm having trouble getting to the bulb. Thanks.

Did u guys take out whole white base??
just try to install led lights today..but, really difficult for me

and, actually, it's not brighter than my thought..
i think darker than stock green lights...
should i cut the head of led to make it widen the beam pattern??

got 5 leds, but broke 3 so far :?

cool

I'm selling LED's too, I just opened an e-bay store.

http://www.stores.ebay.ca/scottselectronicstore

Scott

p.s. sorry about the shameless promotion

I may just buy from you Gimmie some time.

hey ... statik ... where in ontario are u located? .. i'm in hamilton .. maybe i can just pick em up from u?

i need some more for other projects ..

I'm in ottawa, The LEDs have been selling like mad so I have invested in many more of all kinds of different colours even UV (Purple). There are still some auctions available but I'm almost sold out, my next shipment wont be in from my supplier for a couple of weeks. You can purchase from me directly for a bit of a savings, I also am doing custom orders, so just e-mail me for a quote.
btw. I will be offering white, blue, orage, red green and purple LEDs once my shipment comes in from my supplier.


Scott

this may look stupid , but have u guy try to put some foil paper or some kind of reflecting sticker, maybe this can help make the light even !!!

That's odd how you can just put in an LED for the buttons and it shines blue. I took out the bulbs on the top for the a/c and circ buttons and when i turned on the light there was another bulb somewhere shinning green ... so i thought there was another bulb we had to remove, but if all i have to do is stick LED lights in it ... that's great ... they all look very nice ... when i have the time ... to not drive for 2 days (i work slow) i'll give it a try ... what soldering gun do you use? one of those cheap ones are fine? will it fall apart later?

Thanks....

not bad... i want mine to look kinda bluish white so it won't look too different from the gauges.... so who's going to experiment on the gauges?
haha

thanks all ...

theres another green bulb that actually indicates whether the button is engaged, i dont think that one can be found. but the main bulb in each button just lights up the wording. any solder should work as long as u get a good seal between both joints and dont bend it too much. its a pain in the a$$ to get the led's in teh small spaces so make sure u dont let any part of the led touch the resistor again, or it will spark and pop, believe me, i know, happened to me. take your time or else you'll pay for it every time