I have fitted the LED lights in the pods and the dash, but was wondering how to get the windscreen wiper symbol lit up. I have looked on the how to's and viewed olliex's posts but not clear on how to do this part. It looks like there is a small rectangular bulb holder, but doesnt seem to want to come out.

Any ideas appreciated.

Graham

I noticed the same thing. I got the bulb out because i looked odd that is was still green when everything else was blue but i couldnt find out how to replace it with a blue LED and which type to use.

 

If you find out post up here how it's done.

I managed to get the bulb holder out and it has the long bulb, similar to the hazard one, the 3mm led fits into the hole but need to work out if i need to put a resistor on or not, will give it a try and let you know. Although at the mo i cant get the air con pod leds to work, ive tried reversing the polarity and still nothing. Getting frustrated, i spent 3 hours last night messing around with them.

To get the light behind the wiper icon you need to have a look at this post

 

here

from the Australian site. I have done mine and they work fine. Here is a pick from the site whcih shows how it comes out

 

 

Tony

Thanks, Z FNQ,

I found it last night, my only problem is that the leds are not very bright so i have ordered some brighter ones from ultraledlights.co.uk. I got them all working but you can hardly see the ones in the air con pod.

Cheers

Graham

I used flat top LEDs which I purchased from eBay (hong Kong) here

 

i have bought quite a few LEDs from that supplier and found him pretty good. One change I made to the post for getting the LED down behind the wiper icon, I used shrink wrap on each leg of the LED, then another layer over boith legs rather than electrical tape. I also soldered an extension on the leg to get the length required and to give it more strength.

 

Fiddly but worth it IMO

 

Cheers from Oz

 

Tony

cheers Tony,

i have to say they seem to be the cheapest leds ive seen for that quantity, a great find and of course flat top would be better for directing the light to the icons in the pods.

If i dont have any luck with the new leds when they arrive i will try 3rd time lucky with the flat tops.

Cheers

Graham

Is olliezx still around ? he is very helpful on these things, he put LEDs in my pods. Tried to PM him last week but no reply, maybe on holiday?

Hi dpm

I got Olliezx's mobile off here but dont want to call him as he doesnt know me from Adam, i got the new leds this morning and resistsors and i have noticed the 12v resistors that came with them are slightly different from the ones i got from Maplins which might explain why they are not very bright. After hours of pfaffing about with the pods i now now them inside out and have all the leds working, just not very bright. Once ive re-done them i and i have success i will do a whoopee post.

Cheers

Graham

I'm sure if you gave him a call and tell him what you are trying to do he will give advice, as i said he was very helpful with my LEDs. I'm sure other people had him convert theirs and would vouch for him. If you do contact him would you tell him to read his mail please. cheers.

Right, to finally put the dash leds to bed.

The resistors i got from maplins are crap and differ from the 12volt ones supplied with the new leds, they were supposed to be 470 ohm but the muppet behind the counter picked em out and gave me the wrong ones, needless to say i should have checked also but i was new to resistors and didnt know any different at the time.

Now the leds are how they should be. I'm glad i had problems though it makes you learn more about what you are doing and makes it easier to explain to any one else with led problems.

Learn by trial and error, same as life lol.

bit confused. can you summerise how you did it and what you used?

Hi which part do you want me to summarise, all of it or the wiper pod?

Hi guys, sorry been on holiday! Feel free to give me a ring anytime if you want to chat about it. Its quite easy to do by extending the legs and running a little right angle loop. Just make sure to heatshrink the open metal.

Hi which part do you want me to summarise, all of it or the wiper pod?

 

Just the wiper bit. do you need to use the rubber boot thing that held the original bulb? can you remind me which resistor i need to use?

take out the rubber bulb holder as you will be using the channel of the holder to run the led through as olliezx said, the head of the led will sit in front of the hole of the channel next to the wiper switch. You will have to take out the wiper switch assembly from the pod which is shown in the aus300zx.com pics then using a small flat screwdriver prize the wiper switch assembly apart being careful of the switch gear inside not to lose the ball bearing at the back of the white inner switch mechanism.(sounds more complicated than it really is) you will then see how the led will need to run ie: in an L shape, as olliezx says, make sure you put some heatshrink on one of the legs of the led to prevent shorting out. The easiest way to find the positive terminal for the led placement is to look at the assembly from above with the switch in your right hand, the positive terminal is the one closest to the switch, making sure to pre-solder the terminals first as they are copper/brass and will require more heat, than you will want on the led. place the led in position with the legs pointing upwards as they will need to go through the housing and stick out of the hole where the original bulb holder was. Clip the assembly back together then solder the led to the terminals. You will not be able to solder first then clip back as the head of the led is on fron of the hole for illumination, unless you use a 3mm led, in eather case its still easier to solder after you clipped the assembly back together.

The resistors need to be 12v or as some people have used 470 ohm, some have used higher ohm resisters, but 470 ohm is the recommended.

Sorry for being a bit long winded, ive probably made it sound more complicated than it actually is, but have a look at the aus300zx.com link above to see pics and it should become clearer.

 

Now Olliezx is back from his hols he may have a clearer view as he has done loads of these. I have only done my own but have learned alot from the experience.

All the best

Graham

that pod looks cool as hell! :bow:

might do mine when im home. :dance:

just tried the wiper icon thing but gave up because the football is starting......!

 

the LED i used didnt fit down the whole. I think it was a 5mm so will a 3mm fit better?

 

Will follow your instructions groover and hopefully it will be ok.

 

My next question is about replacing the bulb in the elec window switches. This is not one of the long bulbs but it looks hard to get to the contacts to solder it in. Take the switch apart and it still looks no easier. Has anyone actually managed to replace this bulb with a LED? what LED and resistor would it use? 3mm or 5mm with a 470ohm resistor?

you have to place the legs of the led through the hole first ie: from the switch side into the casing. Remember to carefully bend the legs to an L shape, as it goes into the hole then the legs point upwards, place the top assembly back onto the switch base with the legs going through the bulb holder base. Try to bend the legs on the led so that the annode leg IE one with the resistor is closest to the switch. You will need a 470 ohm resister with either 3mm or 5mm led.

Note you will need resistors, regardless of led size if using to replace any normal bulb.

 

I also used red 3mm leds to replace the yellow ones in the on/ off switches ie: fog on/off, rec, econ etc. But these dont need resistors as they are a direct replacement which have the resistors already wired in the circuit board. Easy to do and look great.

 

My next job is to replace the bulb for my auto selector, asg tray and the ring around the keyswitch and cigarette lighter.

I dont think mine has a light for the leccy window but will have a look. Anything with a bulb can be replaced with an led, its a case then of getting to it and fitting it securely.

 

3mm or 5mm leds can be the same mcd(wattage) just different sizes for different applications. 2000-6000mcd would be best for the pods, i used 10000mcd initially and they were far too intense. When you dimmed them you end up losing your dash lights, so the secret is to get a balanced light throughout.

 

Hope this helps you out, also i would be keen to see how you get on with the folding mirror, with the alarm on/off idea.

Cheers

Graham

I forgot to mention, you will need to extend the legs on the led to get the length once bent to an L shape. You can do this with off cuts from a resistor leg or one you already cut off an led.

have a look under your window switch because i started a thread on this before and i turned out lots of people had them but didnt realise because they had blown.

 

I would be interested in knowing how you get on with the other bulbs as i might try to replace them too.

 

thanks mate.