Ya think I'm gonna buy a head unit when I did this?
09-06-2011, 02:25 PM
#41
Staging Lane
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: New York
Posts: 69
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
For the dim spots, LEDs are narrow beam directional. Adjust the aim and it may look better. Some people file/sand the LED to "frost" it which will help diffuse the light, but it will also be dimmer as a result since the "frosting" blocks some light. Try the aiming first. I have never filed/sanded an LED to frost it.
03-07-2012, 07:30 PM
#42
TECH Regular
iTrader: (8)
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Upstate, SC
Posts: 430
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
LEDs require a specific voltage which is almost always lower than 12volts. LEDs typically require 1.5V, 3.3V, or 5V (depending on the LED). So if you put 12V through it, it will blow quickly. You need a resistor to lower the voltage from 12V to the voltage that the LED requires. You can mathematically calculate it. The supplied voltage, the number of LEDS, and the LED's voltage requirement are all factors in this calculation. Another factor is whether you connect the LEDs in series or parallel. I don't remember the exact formula off hand, but you can find the formula and "LED Calculators" online. Checkout computer modding sites for more info. Computers have a 12V rail in them (the yellow wire in the 4-pin molex connector). An old computer power supply is a good test platform. Old computer power supplies have a hard switch to turn them on/off, newer power supplies use a soft-switch off the motherboard. You can buy a power supply tester to turn them on or short the correct pins on the power supply's motherboard connector (I forget which ones, but you can find it online).
LED's don't "require" a specific voltage. Light emitting DIODES are just that, diodes. The voltage rating that is on them is the actual voltage drop across the diode. What you are limiting with the resistor is the current, that's what blows the diode. No matter how much voltage you put to it, within reason, you are going to get that 1.5V drop across them. The safe max is like 24V, if i remember correctly, due to the resistor required to dissipate that much power through heat. This is kind of a basic explanation but I think it makes my point.
Just wanted to share, thanks.
03-07-2012, 08:03 PM
#43
Copy & Paste Moderator
I understand that. I know what a diode is and what a resistor does.
Electricity and Materials Science are actually complicated topics.
I worded my explanation in a manner that is easier to understand in the context of people replacing incandescent bulbs with LEDs.
Electricity and Materials Science are actually complicated topics.
I worded my explanation in a manner that is easier to understand in the context of people replacing incandescent bulbs with LEDs.
Last edited by VIP1; 03-07-2012 at 08:08 PM.
01-30-2020, 12:26 AM
#45
Teching In
Join Date: May 2011
Location: California
Posts: 17
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I want my headlight switch fog light and ASR switches done. If I send you them can you do it?
Almost a year ago, about 4 light bulbs in the monsoon head unit went out, the 2 and 5 buttons, the AUTO TONE button, the FADE, BAL, BASS, TREB **** tray lights, and the SEEK button light went out.
I didn't know the FADE, BAL, BASS,TREB lights was supposed to be lit up. It was like this when I got the car from the dealer new in '99.
So I posted a thread on LS1.com on how to replace the lights, they just basically said it's built into the circuit and can't be changed, and they all told me to get a used head unit, that being around $100 for a CD player monsoon head unit, F that!
A week before now, I ordered the parts
10 3000mcd LED lights from an online store
10 560ohms resistors
a socket to remove the radio unit and the volume control **** nut
a screwdriver to depress the connections for the fog lights and the ASR trac control switch and to take the plastic face panel off the unit
a 1/8th inch hex socket from whia tools (local hobby shop, about $7 for it) to remove the circuit board from the plastic face plate.
a soldering tool, some solder
+ this webpage printout http://www.xse.com/leres/ss/leds.html
a hour and 15 mins later... (Note: the AUTO TONE button in far right of the radio unit is actually a factory bulb, I put a LED there and when testing the bulbs before reassembly, it went out in 5 seconds, must be a defective one. So I put one good factory bulb back in it for now)
The radio looks rich cool blue color, much nicer, just like the VW GTI radio light colors.
Now no more bulbs to go out, no more heat coming from the faceplate and no more than $15 bucks!
I didn't know the FADE, BAL, BASS,TREB lights was supposed to be lit up. It was like this when I got the car from the dealer new in '99.
So I posted a thread on LS1.com on how to replace the lights, they just basically said it's built into the circuit and can't be changed, and they all told me to get a used head unit, that being around $100 for a CD player monsoon head unit, F that!
A week before now, I ordered the parts
10 3000mcd LED lights from an online store
10 560ohms resistors
a socket to remove the radio unit and the volume control **** nut
a screwdriver to depress the connections for the fog lights and the ASR trac control switch and to take the plastic face panel off the unit
a 1/8th inch hex socket from whia tools (local hobby shop, about $7 for it) to remove the circuit board from the plastic face plate.
a soldering tool, some solder
+ this webpage printout http://www.xse.com/leres/ss/leds.html
a hour and 15 mins later... (Note: the AUTO TONE button in far right of the radio unit is actually a factory bulb, I put a LED there and when testing the bulbs before reassembly, it went out in 5 seconds, must be a defective one. So I put one good factory bulb back in it for now)
The radio looks rich cool blue color, much nicer, just like the VW GTI radio light colors.
Now no more bulbs to go out, no more heat coming from the faceplate and no more than $15 bucks!
01-30-2020, 09:28 PM
#47
If you search the web for GM Radio Repair, you will find a number of businesses that specialize in replacing soldered-in bulbs for radios, gauge clusters, etc. and should be happy to do this work for you. We also have threads on the topic, which will instruct how to do this if you are comfortable with a soldering iron.
