DIY: Interior LED Color Change

04yui · 09-16-2010, 09:52 PM

wow,... all i can say is. wow. thats some nice work there. thats a clean clean interior

J. Dub · 09-30-2010, 03:43 PM

How much would you charge?

DIGItonium · 10-01-2010, 07:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J. Dub

How much would you charge?

PM'd.

DIGItonium · 10-02-2010, 02:19 PM

The oil pressure and battery voltage uses 2 PLCC2 LEDs (per pod) for the back light and 1 PLCC2 LED (per needle). The clock uses 6 PLCC2 for the back light (similar to odometer).

Black Cat Custom will print the custom gauge faces, and it should be available for purchase soon. Stay tuned for completed pictures of the custom gauge cluster.

370Z_Fan · 12-18-2010, 06:03 PM

Quote:

2. Underneath the steering column are 4 bolts to remove.

Where are the black and white wire clips in the pic above?

soldknow · 01-30-2011, 11:45 AM

How did you remove the triple guage top covers?

DIGItonium · 02-03-2011, 07:16 PM

Sorry for the late response. Removing the triple meters is something I've not done yet, but will have another shop work on instead. The ones I modded was for another member.

2theextreme · 02-03-2011, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DIGItonium

Sorry for the late response. Removing the triple meters is something I've not done yet, but will have another shop work on instead. The ones I modded was for another member.

DIGI, finally got my other parts (hood & side skirts) in from Japan! Will be dropping the car off soon I hope and will then get that triple gauge installed. I haven't forgotten, I promise!

DIGItonium · 02-08-2011, 11:53 PM

The LEDs are PLCC with 3 cathode and 1 anode pad. The LEDs I used had a single anode and cathode, so I had mask off one of the pads to prevent a short causing the LED to not light up at all.

List:

Fuel and Water Temp LCD = 9
Gear Selection LCD = 3
SRM LCD = 1
Trip Meter LCD = 6
Odometer Gauge= 3
Tachometer Gauge = 5
Needle = 2 LEDs per needle
Function Buttons = 1 on each side

1. Removing the combination meter does NOT involve removing the steering wheel. With the vehicle running, turn the steering wheel to reveal the screw cover behind the steering wheel. Pry the cover, and remove the screw. Do the same for the other side. Turn off your car and remove the 3rd screw underneath the steering wheel column. Pry the lower steering column cover. Note the lip of the cover can be squeezed out of the steering wheel.

2. Underneath the steering column are 4 bolts to remove.

3. Carefully pull out the combination meter, and note the lip of the upper cover can be squeezed out of the steering wheel. Disconnect a couple of wire harnesses. There are 2 wire clips (black and white). The white one is easy to remove. The black one is difficult, but is held down by the electric tape. It can slip out of the tape and pop off after removing the meter, and then it can slide back into the electrical tape. Follow the service manual guidelines to disassemble the gauge cluster. The following pictures can guide you through the disassembly process.

METER HOUSING FRONT
Mark the home position of the needles. Use a couple of butter knives to pop off the needle. Use business cards to prevent scraping the face. When putting the needle back, push the needle in AWAY from home position. Gently move the needle towards home position until it stops. Simply nudge the needle until it slips into home position.

METER HOUSING REAR
Remove the metal bracket to get to the tachometer PCB. The needles are controlled by a stepper motor. The motor assembly is serviceable by popping off the housing. Inside are a couple of gears: one connecting from the motor output, and the other to the shaft of the needle. If there is a situation where the the shaft slips from the gear when pulling the needle, you can put it back in the gear and align the needle.

FLEX CABLE TACHOMETER
Carefully pry each end of the connector to release the cable.

FLEX CABLE FUEL/TEMP
The LCD back light power connector is next to the flex cable. There are 4 smaller screws holding the LCD assembly. Remove these screws AFTER removing the mainboard.

DIGItonium · 02-09-2011, 12:01 AM

MAINBOARD
Here you can change the LCD, needle, and function button back light.

TACHOMETER PCB
Be extremely careful with the pins of the gear selector and SRM LCD. Tape a card over it to prevent bending it after removing the PCB. When placing the PCB back in place, make sure these pins line up. As a guide, the pins will be visible through the holes behind the PCB.

ODOMETER BACK LIGHT
Notice the masking tape used to mask off one of the pads.

DISPLAY ASSEMBLY FUEL/TEMP
Be extremely careful with the flex cable. Pry 4 tabs to release the silver bezel. Then pry the tabs of the black cover to release it from the diffuser housing.

BEZEL FUEL/TEMP
This picture shows the three tables that hold the bezel in place. There is no need to disassmeble the entire combination meter to re-insert this bezel. Therefore, the meter can be reassembled while the bezel is out for modifications.

LIGHT DIFFUSER AND LED ARRAY
The surface of the diffuser is delicate so be careful not to scratch it by wiping it. There are 2 tabs holding the LED array PCB. I had to mask off one of the pads because it would short with the (+) pad (see next photo).

DIGItonium · 02-09-2011, 12:04 AM

Here are some pictures of the finished mod (minus the fuel/temp face):

Boost_lee · 02-09-2011, 01:45 AM

man that looks good

DIGItonium · 02-09-2011, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boost_lee

man that looks good

Thanks!

I ran out of space to store photos in my album, so I ended up embedding the photos all over this thread.

TongMan · 02-09-2011, 08:52 PM

Can someone confirm this: are 194/168 are the same bulb sizes? Plus the map lights, license plate lights, and hatch lights all use this size bulb?

DIGItonium · 02-09-2011, 11:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TongMan

Can someone confirm this: are 194/168 are the same bulb sizes? Plus the map lights, license plate lights, and hatch lights all use this size bulb?

168, 194, and 921 (smallest diameter to largest) use the same socket.

01-30-2011, 11:45 AM	#51 (permalink)
soldknow Base Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Arlington, TN Posts: 7 Drives: 09 Nissan 370z Rep Power: 14	How did you remove the triple guage top covers? __________________ Oldknow

02-03-2011, 07:16 PM	#52 (permalink)
DIGItonium A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Kansas Posts: 3,800 Drives: 09 Z34-TT 6MT Rep Power: 42	Sorry for the late response. Removing the triple meters is something I've not done yet, but will have another shop work on instead. The ones I modded was for another member. __________________

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09-16-2010, 09:52 PM	#46 (permalink)
04yui Base Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: NW Arkansas Posts: 12 Drives: 2010 370Z SportPacka Rep Power: 14	wow,... all i can say is. wow. thats some nice work there. thats a clean clean interior

09-30-2010, 03:43 PM	#47 (permalink)
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02-09-2011, 01:45 AM	#57 (permalink)
Boost_lee A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: SATX Posts: 2,813 Drives: 09 370Z TT 6MT Rep Power: 29	man that looks good

02-09-2011, 08:52 PM	#59 (permalink)
TongMan A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: NorCal Posts: 1,297 Drives: 2013 Nissan GTR Rep Power: 715	Can someone confirm this: are 194/168 are the same bulb sizes? Plus the map lights, license plate lights, and hatch lights all use this size bulb?