'02 SS Steering wheel control LED conversion...
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 131
Likes: 0
From: San Antonio, Tx
'02 SS Steering wheel control LED conversion... Working on replacing the lights in the steering wheel controls of my '02 SS.
Found a tutorial from a firebird after extensive searching, but once I popped the unit open I found out apparently GM changed the circuit board design by '02; instead of there being one lamp, in '02 there are two lamps and they appear to be run in parallel (but I could be wrong).
Was wondering if anyone here had done it before on the later year F body cars or had a link to a tutorial for doing the conversion on one?
I have matched resistors for my LEDs, I wired in one LED and resistor to the circuit but couldn't get it to light when I tested it, don't know if the system changed from being 12v in later years? Or maybe I got my polarity wrong? Or maybe even the circuit has to be completed in a goofy way to only use 1 LED instead of the 2 incandescent bulbs?
I can try to post pics later if necessary. I would've tried more last night myself, but like a putz I burned the hell out of my finger with my soldering iron; tends to bring workflow to a screeching halt.
Found a tutorial from a firebird after extensive searching, but once I popped the unit open I found out apparently GM changed the circuit board design by '02; instead of there being one lamp, in '02 there are two lamps and they appear to be run in parallel (but I could be wrong).
Was wondering if anyone here had done it before on the later year F body cars or had a link to a tutorial for doing the conversion on one?
I have matched resistors for my LEDs, I wired in one LED and resistor to the circuit but couldn't get it to light when I tested it, don't know if the system changed from being 12v in later years? Or maybe I got my polarity wrong? Or maybe even the circuit has to be completed in a goofy way to only use 1 LED instead of the 2 incandescent bulbs?
I can try to post pics later if necessary. I would've tried more last night myself, but like a putz I burned the hell out of my finger with my soldering iron; tends to bring workflow to a screeching halt.
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 672
Likes: 3
From: Washington Crossing, PA
I couldn't find any info either but I finally figured it out. In the first picture you will see I marked the contacts that power the lights. Sorry I forget which was +/-, you'll have to test for that so you can connect your leds properly. I didn't like the way it looked with 2 so I added a third. I found the easiest way to make everything fit inside the switch was to solder everything in a parallel like it was from the factory. Then I put the resistors down on the harness that connects the 2 switches together.
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 131
Likes: 0
From: San Antonio, Tx
I couldn't find any info either but I finally figured it out. In the first picture you will see I marked the contacts that power the lights. Sorry I forget which was +/-, you'll have to test for that so you can connect your leds properly. I didn't like the way it looked with 2 so I added a third. I found the easiest way to make everything fit inside the switch was to solder everything in a parallel like it was from the factory. Then I put the resistors down on the harness that connects the 2 switches together.
I ended up getting it all together last night after I got home from work. I'm developing a strange habit of being able to figure out my problem almost immediately after posting the question to LS1 tech, no matter how long I wait to post the question. :/
Your setup looks MUCH better than mine though, I only went with one LED for each side. I was able to angle the LED so it distributes light pretty OK (the same or brighter than the stock bulbs), but it's definitely not as clean as your setup.
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 672
Likes: 3
From: Washington Crossing, PA
