Perry 951

Unfortunately, my webcam took a massive crap, so I have no way to post pics (until I suck it up and go buy a digital camera).

Here is what I have done, and my impression. And if I don't say this later, it is a very very tedious job, and you can really screw up your climate control and switches if you are not careful. I had an extra climate control unit that was non functional to pratice on, and I found some ways to make it work. I all the lights fit in well except for the defrost and recirc switches. There is not much room for the resistors. I am trying to find another place to put them.

I have resistors on all of my LED's coming off the anode (+) side. The closer you can get the resistor to the bulb, the easier it is to mount. Try and get the overall length of the bulb the same as the one you removed.

As for how it looks... INCREDIBLE!! It is a perfect addition. Not too bright, not too dim. Just a nice, smooth, clean white light. (almost a little blue since I have them undervolted.) I can't wait to get them all done and back in the car. So.. here goes. I promise to post pics as soon as I get another camera. The pictures will help a lot to discribe the process and placement of the LED's.

1- You will need 9 LED's to do the climate control. 1.5mm is best. I used 2mm and had to shave some parts of switches for clearance. I am using super white LED's, 3.6v, 20mA. You will need a 1k Ohm, 1/4W resistor for each LED. I would get the flame resistant resitors, just in case. (680 Ohm is the lowest you can use and not burn out the LED) You will also need a desoldering tool, and a needle point for your soldering iron.

2- Get a good, open desk or table with good lighting to work on. Put down some paper towels or something light colored to dismantle the unit on. There are a lot of little springs and such that can get lost easily.

3. Remove the unit from the car. Pull the ***** off carefully. The fan **** has a nut and washer that needs to be removed as well. There are tabs that surround the outer black shell that hold the clear reflector on. BE gentle. The tabs will break. Try to break only a few! Once the tabs are clear from the black case, pull it off the rear of the unit, pushing on the connector pins. To get the clear reflector off, carefully pry it off the switch surrounds. Wiggling one way or another will release it.

4- Taking apart the switches is not too bad, but pay attention to how they come apart, and keep track of the peices. Working on the AC switch, there are tabs on each side that need to be pushed in. There is a small hole where they are located. Push in the tabs carefully, and pull up on the switch cover. You need to work a little bit on each side at a time. When you see the top of the brown plastic retainer, ease up and be ready to cover the sides with your fingers. There are 4 springs and 2 barbells that will come out. Set them off to the side, and remove the 2 larger springs from the inside of the swtich. Now, at the base of the switch, there are 4 more tabs. This will remove the plastic square so you can get to the bulbs. You may need a small, thin flat blade screwdriver and pry from the inside of the switch to release the tabs. Working a little bit on each side, and it will come off.

5- Pay attention to the orientation of the bulbs. Try and trace the connections to see what is + and -. LED's only work in one direction. (This is where I need PICS!!!) The copper bar in the middle is ground on this particular switch. On the 2 button defrost and recirc, the center is power. Remove one of the bulbs. Assemble an LED with the resistor on the anode (+) side. It needs to be about the same length as the bulb you took out. Not an easy thing to do. Solder it back in, and repeat for all the rest of the bulbs and switches.

6. If you have a 12v power supply, you can test the unit. There is a common pin on the rear for the lights. It is on the top row towards the center, and you can easily trace it to the bulbs. The positive contact is on the lower right of the defrost/recirc switch. You can also trace this to the bulbs. This makes it a lot easier to test your solder jobs as you go along.

Renntag

Very very cool. I hope to see your pics soon too. I have a light out. it is annoying. But you get good at feeling your way around in the dark. LOL.

Firestarter

Perry... nice write up, ever think of going into education? Seriously though I can probably get a digital down to your place and send you the pics. LMK

Firestarter

Perry 951

Yea.. thought about education.... and I must take some pics.

Check your e-mail. I will also do a write up on the dash lights, and also my quest to remove some of the cracks.

keith

Perry, I want email, too!

Perry 951

No no... I did not do a write up YET!! That e-mail was about something else... a beer night!

I was also thinking of doing this as a hobby. Total cost on bulbs and such is about $40 for the whole car. The gauge cluster should be easy, but the climate control is not an easy project. Since I have already done the climate control (except for a few refinements), I could knock them out in an evening. Of course when I get some pics up, there may be more intrest on this project.

Actually.. I kinda like being the only one with this!

Firestarter

I have an extra HVAC panel assembly if you want to play with another. I don't really have any use for it. All of the lights are non-functional at the moment.

Firestarter

keith

I would happily let you do mine (as a customer) - but I am confused as to why you use resistors as opposed to 12v LEDs?

Wouldn't that solve the fitment issue?

Also, Perry - when viewed THROUGH the ***** and such, the lights are still white? (not dull amber?)
Like you, I am looking for a hint of pale blue tint to clean white light on my *****. (dash *****)

Perry 951

You get that amber color from the bulbs themselves. The ***** and such are clear. I can't wait to show you the before and after pics. It turned out just like I wanted.

As for the 12v LED's, no one makes them in Super white, or in 2mm or smaller.

slevy951

Does the dimmer on the dash still operate?

Olli Snellman

I have also done it.I have blue dash leds and red A/C control leds.Also all of the switches has been converted to red.It's a quite same color theme as newer VW's have.
Dimmer works just fine with this setup.

Olli

'88 951

Perry 951

No. LED's are on or off and cannot adjust intensity. Someone mentioned using an ocillator. This could work, but may reduce the life of the LED's. Also, the power for the lights branch off many diffrent things in the switches for the climate control. I am not sure what effect this would have on the rest of the curcuits.

With the ones I have, they are not too bright. If you have seen the new VW models with the blue backlit displays, it is about as bright as that, except white. I tried some blue bulbs as well becuse some of you asked about that. They will work just the same, and are close to the same color as the VW unit, a little more blue than purple. I am not big on the color, but whatever floats your boat.

You could also do red, yellow, and green.

Olli, I am confused on how you got the dimmer to work. The working voltage of the LED's is 3.6 volts. You have a range from 3.2 to 4.0 volts. There is minimal dimming if you change voltage. Anything below 3.2 and they shut off, anything above 4.0 and they burn out. I have not tried them in the car yet, since my wiring is not replaced yet.

Matt O.

[quote] Olli, I am confused on how you got the dimmer to work. The working voltage of the LED's is 3.6 volts. You have a range from 3.2 to 4.0 volts. There is minimal dimming if you change voltage. Anything below 3.2 and they shut off, anything above 4.0 and they burn out. I have not tried them in the car yet, since my wiring is not replaced yet. <hr></blockquote>

So which is it? Does the dimmer work or not? Just curious because I wanted to do this project over Christmas break.

Thanks,
Matt

SidViscous

Might I also suggest a set of lights with a diffuser mounted in an empty switch position on the center console (early 944/24) that will illuminate the shifter. Always thought that would be cool.

Doug Donsbach

Actually, if your LEDs are really rated 3.6V @ 20mA, you need a resistor closer to 470 ohms (assuming a battery voltage around 13V).