2005-2009 Mustang S-197 Installed Blue LEDs in factory switches (lots of pics)
#221
Shelby GT350 Member
I finally put in my blue LED's. Oh this project was a nightmare for me. I had nothing but problems. The switches were easy to do but the Shaker unit and the HVAC controls were an aggravating pain in the butt. This stuff is much too small and delicate for me to work on. The Shaker unit turned out to be a fail because some of the printed circuits separated where the LED's were removed. Oh well, I plan to replace the Shaker with a touch screen audio unit anyway.
Last edited by watchdevil; 10/14/11 at 01:18 AM.
#223
Shelby GT350 Member
Still holding my head in shame over this great fail! I did however buy a Shaker faceplate with circuit board off eBay and now the radio has working backlighting again. I also have a climate control unit that will be here any day. I think I will leave the door window and lock buttons blue as they are because they blend well with the LED ambient lighting in the map pockets and interior door handle cup.
I also discovered after I did the blue LED swap to the cruise switches that the cruise control no longer works. It was working fine before so I guess I will be looking for a set of cruise switches to see if that fixes the problem. If not it will have to go to the dealer to see if there is an SJB error that needs reprogramming or whatever.
I also discovered after I did the blue LED swap to the cruise switches that the cruise control no longer works. It was working fine before so I guess I will be looking for a set of cruise switches to see if that fixes the problem. If not it will have to go to the dealer to see if there is an SJB error that needs reprogramming or whatever.
#225
Hey guys,
I already did this mod last year to the dash gauges and around the car but someone I know needs the guide and I cannot track down the tutorial I used to do the dash gauge cluster. I had it bookmarked on my laptop but the hard drive crashed. I could do it again from memory but he lives in another state and I just want to give him the guide. Anyone know where I can find it? Thanks
I already did this mod last year to the dash gauges and around the car but someone I know needs the guide and I cannot track down the tutorial I used to do the dash gauge cluster. I had it bookmarked on my laptop but the hard drive crashed. I could do it again from memory but he lives in another state and I just want to give him the guide. Anyone know where I can find it? Thanks
#226
Cobra Member
Thread Starter
I just realized my webserver was down so the pics should show back up now. Sorry I haven't been on here for a while. Hard to believe it has been 4 years since I did this mod. Except for having to replace one LED right after I did it, I've had zero issues.
#228
Hey guys, I just started replacing the leds in my car and ran into a issue. On the pass. Sidd door lock switch the lights wont come on. However if I apply pressure to the solder points on the plug side then the light on the opposite side will work. Any ideas? Is this a polarity issue or a bad solder do you think? Any help will be appreciated.
#229
Mach 1 Member
Does anyone know the specs of the LEDs in the 2010+s?
I'm considering putting a Boss 302 steering wheel in my car, and ideally, would like to match the radio stack and other lights to that.
I'm considering putting a Boss 302 steering wheel in my car, and ideally, would like to match the radio stack and other lights to that.
#232
Brilliant How-to!
Only thing I was not able to complete is the TCS LED because it does not look like a PLCC-2 or PLCC-4 LED. I dont have mycolor (info/setup/reset) so if anyone knows how to fix that LED, please PM me.
Didnt take too long to do this mod... outstanding write ups on all LED's. I have soldered a hand full of times... I went through 2 soldering iron tips (tips broke off prolly due to user errror). If replacing cluster LED's, get a very fine point solder tip (the 4 solder points per PLCC-4 LED are pretty small).
Tap Plastics has the blue face for the radio and they also have the blue lighting type sheet for the odometer (I think they said it was an acetone roll). The blue radio plastic I got for $1 and the sheet for the odometer was under $4.
The dimensions for the blue radio face were mentioned earlier - 1/8" thick, 4" wide, 1-1/8" long (needs to be filed down)... it will come wrapped in a protective film/tape so that you wont scratch it. Dont take it off until you sand down the front corners of the plate to round it out... I scratched 1 of them and was not able to buff it out to my liking. I also got glue on one of them on the 2nd attempt and had to trash that one too. Thats when I decided only to glue the top of the plastic piece to the shaker face. The super glue will leave a residue that should wipe off (dont apply to heavy). Dont install until you wipe it off or else the back side of the plastic will look foggy (I used a Q-tip).
Lights turn out with different dimmness in comparing the radio and the cluster (likely due to my not matching up the power of the LED's I guess), but it still looks better than the green IMO. And the odometer blue acetone sheet turned out to be a green/blue tinge... I noticed that when I wet sanded the back side of the green odometer film down, it seemed to me to be a yellowish tint. Yellow + blue = green or it is at least blue/greenish. I put three layers of the acetone sheeting on top of each other to try to get it as blue as I thought I could BTW.
Anyways, thanks those that made the How-to's... Made this so doable!
Didnt take too long to do this mod... outstanding write ups on all LED's. I have soldered a hand full of times... I went through 2 soldering iron tips (tips broke off prolly due to user errror). If replacing cluster LED's, get a very fine point solder tip (the 4 solder points per PLCC-4 LED are pretty small).
Tap Plastics has the blue face for the radio and they also have the blue lighting type sheet for the odometer (I think they said it was an acetone roll). The blue radio plastic I got for $1 and the sheet for the odometer was under $4.
The dimensions for the blue radio face were mentioned earlier - 1/8" thick, 4" wide, 1-1/8" long (needs to be filed down)... it will come wrapped in a protective film/tape so that you wont scratch it. Dont take it off until you sand down the front corners of the plate to round it out... I scratched 1 of them and was not able to buff it out to my liking. I also got glue on one of them on the 2nd attempt and had to trash that one too. Thats when I decided only to glue the top of the plastic piece to the shaker face. The super glue will leave a residue that should wipe off (dont apply to heavy). Dont install until you wipe it off or else the back side of the plastic will look foggy (I used a Q-tip).
Lights turn out with different dimmness in comparing the radio and the cluster (likely due to my not matching up the power of the LED's I guess), but it still looks better than the green IMO. And the odometer blue acetone sheet turned out to be a green/blue tinge... I noticed that when I wet sanded the back side of the green odometer film down, it seemed to me to be a yellowish tint. Yellow + blue = green or it is at least blue/greenish. I put three layers of the acetone sheeting on top of each other to try to get it as blue as I thought I could BTW.
Anyways, thanks those that made the How-to's... Made this so doable!
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Puddin98 (7/3/17)
#233
Tms Mustang Member ------ The Customizer!
what about the fog light switch?
Did you change that one as well or left or green???
Cant seem to find anything on how to take that apart.
Did you change that one as well or left or green???
Cant seem to find anything on how to take that apart.
#234
Tms Mustang Member ------ The Customizer!
Did this install a few weeks back on my 2007 and Id like to mention a few things.
1. I did not have to remove the 3 control ***** from the AC assembly. All I had to do was unscrew a few screws and it popped off. I was trying for a while to get these ***** off only to realize that I didnt have to.
2. MY PCB board is completely different then the OP. Heres how it looks like:
I would recommend UPDATING the OP with this information.
Other than that this was an excellent write up so thanks to Deric for this!
1. I did not have to remove the 3 control ***** from the AC assembly. All I had to do was unscrew a few screws and it popped off. I was trying for a while to get these ***** off only to realize that I didnt have to.
2. MY PCB board is completely different then the OP. Heres how it looks like:
I would recommend UPDATING the OP with this information.
Other than that this was an excellent write up so thanks to Deric for this!
#235
I didnt replace that yet, but I did see that in order to take the fog light switch off, the paneling needs to come off, which is super easy... I thought that I read the fog light was actually a green film similar to the odometer or it was more of a light bulb type deal as opposed to the LEDs. I also have not finished the power seat yet, due to side tracking for the bumpers needing paint and the A/C vents needing paint.
But something I plan to get to (fog lights and power seat lights). If any info, please post...
Thanks
#236
Tms Mustang Member ------ The Customizer!
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I didnt replace that yet, but I did see that in order to take the fog light switch off, the paneling needs to come off, which is super easy... I thought that I read the fog light was actually a green film similar to the odometer or it was more of a light bulb type deal as opposed to the LEDs. I also have not finished the power seat yet, due to side tracking for the bumpers needing paint and the A/C vents needing paint.
But something I plan to get to (fog lights and power seat lights). If any info, please post...
Thanks
I didnt replace that yet, but I did see that in order to take the fog light switch off, the paneling needs to come off, which is super easy... I thought that I read the fog light was actually a green film similar to the odometer or it was more of a light bulb type deal as opposed to the LEDs. I also have not finished the power seat yet, due to side tracking for the bumpers needing paint and the A/C vents needing paint.
But something I plan to get to (fog lights and power seat lights). If any info, please post...
Thanks
I went ahead to took it apart myself and figured it out.
You are some what correct. There is a light bulb illuminating the 3 main settings above the ****. The fog light indicator is a green LED.
I replaced the light bulb with a resistor and an SMD led. Works great.
The film needs to be removed too. So I shaved/sanded that off.
Taking apart the fog switch will need some force. The **** is locked inside the unit and getting to the tab is a PITA. So I just broke that tab to get it out. Super gluing it back in is fine and works just like it should.
Hope this helps. If you need pics. LMK.
#238
Just Installed new switches for my electric pop out quarter windows and need the back lighting on those switches to match the factory green.I need some help finding a factory color match led.kiwi4
#239