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DIY: FREE LED Gauge Cluster Swap (Remastered)

59K views 82 replies 45 participants last post by  iThinkImJoey 
#1 ·
i decided to try it myself and noticed that it was hard to follow the DIY since the pictures were separated from the text and it was a bit tedious to go back and forth and lose my place a couple times here adn there and keep messing up so i went ahead and copied his original text and rehosted the pictures on a separate server and put the pieces to the puzzle together. it is at this point completely user and spoon fed friendly. if Ocelaris doesnt approve this thread please contact me and i'd gladly have a moderator trash the thread. good luck modding guys.





RSX LED Gauge Swap DIY

By Ocelaris

Tools Needed:

15w soldering iron
phillips screw driver
LONG phillips Screw Driver
flat head screw driver
solder (small w/rosin core preferrable)
LEDs 35 total (for manual maybe less?), your choice of color, PLCC package type, SMD
FULL tank of gas before you start!!!! 0
Sharpie (for marking needle behinds)

Optional:
12v DC Power Supply (wall wart, wall pack etc...) with 470 ohm resistor (or greater resistance)
Flush Cut Snips

Oky,Basically we're gonna take the gauges out, disassemble them until we get to the PCB where the LEDs reside, and then snip them off, scrap away any junk, and then replace them with new ones, reassemble, calibrate the gauges, done.

Each Step will correlate to a picture:

Step 0) Decisions, Decisions...
Here you see the 35 different LEDs that the RSX has, color coded for your pleasure. You can pick how many, and of which color you will need.



Step 1) Better Decisions
A overlaid picture of Step 10, and Step 1 for a better idea of what lights what up.


Step 2) Take off your hood
Ok, down to business... First, might want to disconnect your Negative Batter terminal before doing any electrical work. Lower the steering wheel as low as it goes, and remove the "hood" from the steering column. There are 3 screws below, and once you have those off, the top can come off. You will also need to remove the fuse box cover to get beneath the gauges (no pic). There are two twist knobs, and pull it off, pretty simple so far eh?



Step 3) Long Phillip
Ok, here's a tricky manuever, there are two screws coming up from below the gauges that hold it in place, you need the long phillips screw driver to undo those, 1 on each side reside inbetween some "rail" like things... flashlight reccomended. Once you have those screws out, it's best to have another person for this, but not necessary, push up where the screws were, and it will wedge the gauges free a little bit, enough for the other person to grab either side.



Step 4) Wiggle me free
As per the picture, Don't pull on the top of the gauges, there are plastic welds which hold it down, and car break, rather wiggle the gauge from side to side gently. Again, a person below pushing up where the screws are helps to move the gauges around.



Step 5) Covers Away!
Disassemble as much as you can of the gauges (snaps and screws) until you get to the needles.



Step 6) Needles in a RSX-stack
Two screw drivers, pry from alternating sides... Make sure to get below the silver "cap" again, plastic welds, don't we not wanna brake em :)



Step 7) Clear Needles?
If you want, you can sand the red off the needle part with some fine sand paper, 400 grit works well. If you did it correctly, you'll have to break the plastic welds inside the cap to get to the clear/red needle. don't worry, they go back fine if you do break the plastic welds. We used superglue, which never dried, but they work fine, just be careful how they come apart, that metal piece is important.



Step 8) Pop the Cap in the center off
As per the title, the little black things in the center of the gauges pull off, then you can use a flat head, gently as to not mar the plastic, to lift/pop the black plastic off.



Step 9) A full frontal nude - for your viewing pleasure



Step 10) See Through! - you can see what parts are going to stay red...



Step 11) NEEDLE WARNING!!!
BEFORE you take off the needles from the front (two little screws per needle in step 12), put a mark noting which side is up. I reccomend putting it on the top most side, two are like 45* angle, and the others are vertical, so whatever you do, remember which one is which, and which way is up... Else you'll just have to try it until they spin the right way, no biggie, but this saves you a big headache later if your gauges don't turn for some reason (this would be why).



Step 12) Ok, IF you are ready to take the needles off...
Unscrew the two phillips screws that hold the needle windings to the back of the gauges. Once that is done, it will also release the light diffusing shields, AND it will let you undo the middle LCD.



Step 13) Pointy Things
Here is the back of the middle LCD gauge that you removed from the PCB, they just slide out and in, just be careful putting them back in.



Step 14) Odometer taking outing
Pull up gently, there may be plastic latched onto the PCB, if so unhook those and lift up. You need to take this LCD screen off to solder the backlights for it.



Step 15+16+17) Soldering and Removing LEDS
As per title, basically all we're doing is trying to remove the LEDs, check out the ones you purchased, they have metal tabs that solder down to those solder-tabs... I chose to use some flush cut snips (as per pic 16), but any way you can remove them will work. When you get the LED removed, heat up the solder tab, and try and remove the now detached LED-Metal-tab that is probably still in the solder... if not, don't worry, all you have to do is aim the new ones up and make contact.




Ok, howto solder the new ones in. LEDs have polarity, as per pic 17, you will note there is a positive anode, and negative cathode. Your LEDs may have a tab, or indentation or something to tell you which side is up/down... if you have them in wrong, just unsolder and try again. Use a little more solder to get them to connect, but don't leave the heat on your LEDs too long, technically they can burn up, though I've never had any problem.




You can test your LED work one of two ways, you can run back and forth to your car once you get one, two etc... LEDs soldered in, or you can just use a DC power supply and resistor (preferrably soldered to the positive lead) and touch the contacts of the LEDs. This is pretty easy, just get a DC power supply, and then goto and LED calculator page:

http://linear1.org/ckts/led.php

ok, the example will be my own 12v LED tester. I have a 12v 500ma (less milli-amperes is fine), and a couple blue and white LEDs I want to test before I put them in, see which side is positive etc... You plug in 12 as your "Supply Voltage" and blue and white LEDs are ~3.5v Diode Forward voltage (drop) (you may want to check if you have specs for yours), and we run the LEDs at 20mA. Then click the "Find R" button, and you'll get the resistance of the resistor you need (1/4 watt is fine). I personally used 330 ohm, which technically is way too much, but it worked fine, just get close to 470 ohm. Then all you do is solder the resistor to the positive leg of the DC Power supply (usually noted with a white strip/dashed line etc...). Touch the positive to the anode, and negative to cathode to test, that way you can see if they work before you go back to your car. I like to wick solder the ends of my DC power supply so that it makes a solid wire, instead of strands.

Finale:
Ok, So you have all the tools to do the soldering, all that's left is to put it back together and calibrate, but don't put the needles or the clear cover on until you have the gauges back in your car and plugged in (don't actually screw them down until we make sure they work).

Plug the gauges back, and then reconnect your negative battery terminal (we did remember to disconnect it right? if not' that's cool, you just have to reset your SRS light maybe). put the key in, and turn it to right before the starter. Of course you've already turned the lights on, seen how cool it looks etc... If you haven't peeked, DO IT NOW, IT LOOKS COOL. Ok, since your car is cold, full of gas, going 0 mph/kmh, and 0 rpm, you know where the needles go right? The reason the keys are all the way on (but don't actually crank the engine), is that the needles start somewhere different than when the power is off. If you just put the needles on when the gauges were disconnected, they'd be way off.

Ok, calibration done, put it all back together, and wait for night, find a dark road, and turn your music up too loud and love the new gauges. kick ass.






Links:

http://goldmine-elec.com/
-Where I have gotten .45$ LEDs that fit the RSX, blue and white available.

http://www.lc-led.com
- get the "Power Top" SMD LEDs . Good selection, decent prices.

http://www.eled.com/
- Best Selection, good prices, great spec sheets and choices.

More Reading (other DIYs by me):

http://www.k-series.com/tech_detail...._CON_LITE_SWAP
- You can apply this DIY to RSX console gauges.

Copyright (c) 2003 William Gould.
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2
or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation;
with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover
Texts. A copy of the license is included at http://www.gnu.org/licenses/fdl.html .
 
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#32 · (Edited)
Alright, I've done the LED swap for the gauge cluster, and I'm putting everything back together. But, how on earth do the needles go back on? I can not get the silver cap with the needle in it to sit properly. How are you supposed to put them back on?

Edit: Looks like I broke the plastic welds when I popped them off. Superglue to the rescue.
 
#33 ·
Yea, on the clusters I've done, superglue will not work. For some reason, it just doesn't seem to bond very well.

Just take your soldering iron and dab the tip on the weld area to re-melt the plastic together. It works very well, and instantly.
 
#35 ·
Looks like my temperature gauge and maybe fuel gauge aren't spinning at all. I know I put the motors on the right way cause I marked them all and had them laid out with respect to their location. Anyone know why they decided to go on vacation?
 
#40 ·
Looking for someone to swap LEDs in gauge cluster

@ Gopherboy6956: I have changed the bulbs in my climate control thanks to your posts. Now I want to do the LED conversion for the gauge cluster. I saw where ntxdc5 was doing several of them for ppl & I have sent him a couple of PMs with no response. Are you interested in doing one for me? If so, how much would you charge if I supply the LEDs? I wanna go blue but not 100%. I can send you a pic that indicates what I want it to look like.

I'm just not real comfortable with removing the needles and doing the delicate soldering that is needed. Looking for someone that has experience with it.

Thanks in advance if you can help. I tried to send you a PM but your inbox was full
 
#45 ·
I finished this up yesterday on a Type-S cluster. I went with blue and the result was similar to jermaine713s' picture a few posts above. Very happy with the outcome I'll add my own picture later.

Also if anyone is interested I would be willing to do this mod for them to their requested color (as long as the LED's exist) for a pretty reasonable price. If anyone is interested PM me. :)
 
#48 · (Edited)
I did this years ago and contributed to the original thread. I figured I would move my step-by-step pictures over here...

Begin with the gauge cluster...


Remove (2) screws on the top of the cluster to remove the front cover


Front cover removed


Removed needles


Peel off insert of gauges


Remove the (8) screws from the back panel, and remove the back cover


Label the top of each of the motor mechanisms - I chose to number them 1-4 at the top of each


Removing the 2 screws for each of the mechanical mechanisms the motors are removed, as well as the clear LED dispersion panel, and the white cover panel


Remove the Odometer display


Relative size of the LEDs to a dime...
 
#49 · (Edited)
Back of needle w/ ring


Plastic welds on back of needle were broken (purposely)


Needle section removed


Clear plastic needle removed from holder


Red color painted onto the back of the clear plastic needle ... I sanded this off with 400-grit


Put back together after red paint removed


Testing gauges to ensure everything works properly before putting everything completely back together. I also used my AVIC-D3 to check accuracy of the speedometer.
 
#52 ·
This is what I bought and used for my swap:

I bought:
40 EA3528VGC-Z (needed 36)
20 E7104SGC (14 needed)
14 470ohm Resistors (7 needed)
10 330ohm Resistors (3 needed)

I wanted to get extra incase i lost/broke/etc some of them, which did happen.

All in all, that only cost me like, $24.00


This is a breakdown of what I figured I for the whole project, resistors and LEDs:

Resistors
Main Gauges 1 470ohm 1/2w $0.14 $0.14
Hvac Cluster 2 330ohm 1/4w $0.05 $0.11

Acc. Panel
Cruise 2 470ohm 1/2w $0.14 $0.28
Roof 1 330ohm 1/4w $0.05 $0.05

What I figured i'd need for LEDs,broken down:

LEDS
Main Gauges 30 EA3528VGC-Z $0.54/ ea
Hvac Panel 7 E7104SGC $0.09
Door Buttons 4 EA3528VGC-Z $0.54
Ignition Courtesy Light 2 EA3528VGC-Z $0.54

Acc. Panel
Crusie 2 E7104SGC $0.09
Roof 2 E7104SGC $0.09
opt. 1
Fog 2 E7104SGC $0.09
Mirror 2 E7104SGC $0.09
opt 1 470ohm 1/2w $0.14 $0.14
Fog 2 470ohm 1/2w $0.14 $0.28
Mirror 1 470ohm 1/2w $0.14 $0.14
 
#53 ·
Is there anyone in the South West Florida area that can do this set up for me. I really want to do a Monster theme on the inside of my car. So I'm looking to get my dash lights in all lime green. I would do it myself but that's not my domain. I'm mostly a under the hood guy. I already painted my calipers and valve cover lime green.
 
#55 ·
It not really difficult - if you've ever done soldering before, this is pretty easy.

It's tedious, however...

I bought a 2nd shitty cluster to practice on and take apart before tearing into mine, which i'm glad i did.
 
#56 ·
Bump

I've been using Imageshack for hosting my web images for years. I found that a number of the pictures in this thread and been 'lost' from their servers, and they've recently moved to a paid subscription for use. That said, I just moved all of the pictures I had linked in this thread over to Photobucket and updated the links.
 
#62 ·
This is for the cupholder light. http://www.ebay.com/itm/151354930661?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&var=450520259770&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT The remaining Led's are this..http://www.ebay.com/itm/50pcs-3mm-Blue-Diffused-LED-round-top-edge-LED-emitting-diodes-300-400-MCD-Bulb-/262000809498?hash=item3d0077161a You will also need 330 ohm resisters for the Climate control/cruise/roof/window switches. I used these without issue. http://www.ebay.com/itm/100-X-330-Ohm-Flame-Retardant-Carbon-Film-Resistors-1-4-Watt-5-Shipping-From-US-/151811770874?hash=item2358afc9fa All told i spent about less than 9 bucks to do the whole car and a spare cluster. {I did one Type R in blue as well)
 
#64 · (Edited)
nice thanks


so you did not use 2 different lights and 2 different resistors like gopherboy? this just makes all your lights equal brightness? they look great and thanks for the links. how long hours wise did you spend. I don't want a second gauge but if it will take too long I might look for a cheap set of dash sections and guages. thanks

any pics of board with led and resistors installed?
 
#65 ·
so the answer to your questions is you only need 330ohm resistors. You just cut the resistors down and attach them to the negative or short side of the leds for the climate/door switches/mirror/roof/cruise. The ignition key is the plcc smd type of led bulb that looks like a tiny rectangle. The main guage cluster also uses the plcc smd bulbs( The 100 bulbs) in my links. You do not use resistors on the plcc bulbs/cluster/ignition key. The 470 ohm resistors suggested in the original post are only used to test bulbs with a power source outside the car. Upon research i realized the plcc smd bulbs polarity is negative on the side where there is a small cut on one of the corners and positive on the other side. On the cluster board you can see little arrows pointing out the polarity direction of the led it's next to. So if the arrow points down the negative side of the led is on the bottom(cut side), and the positive side is on top. Best example i can give, so i soldiered the leds on and took the board to the car and plugged it in to test it before putting back together. Sounds hard but it's not that bad, timewise...maybe an hour for each section or less. hope that helps. :fistbump:
 
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