Dim instrument panel illumination.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2023
Posts: 214
Likes: 58
From: North East USA
Dim instrument panel illumination.
The Illumination lights on the instrument panel on my 2005 Boxster 987.1 are fairly dim even at the highest reostat setting. I recently changed the guage face out for a white one and noticed that the led illumination lights are surface mounted on the circuit board, so they are not easily replaceable. I would like them to be a little whiter and a little brighter. Wondering if there is service somewhere that can replace them, or maybe the reostat needs replacing. Any thoughts? Has anyone tried replacing them?
Thanks
Thanks
Racer
Joined: Mar 2021
Posts: 389
Likes: 161
From: Minnesota
I've done a lot of PCB work, repair, design, layout, etc. My career was PCB design and layout.
Trying to replace those SMD's is a LOT of work and it requires some special tools and extreme patience.
There are a lot of YT vids' on repairing motherboards, etc, that are predominantly SMDs.
Yeah, they make it look easy, but it requires those expensive special tools and a lot of experience.
Also, you'd need to know the resistor value that drives each LED, possibly to replace those also, as you generally can't just replace the LED to make it brighter without taking into account other factors like current draw, heat (Yes, they get warm and hot)
I've thought of this myself, as I mostly have problems with the LCD panels and thought about replacing those. A lot of detailed work that I'm not sure is worth it.
Trying to replace those SMD's is a LOT of work and it requires some special tools and extreme patience.
There are a lot of YT vids' on repairing motherboards, etc, that are predominantly SMDs.
Yeah, they make it look easy, but it requires those expensive special tools and a lot of experience.
Also, you'd need to know the resistor value that drives each LED, possibly to replace those also, as you generally can't just replace the LED to make it brighter without taking into account other factors like current draw, heat (Yes, they get warm and hot)
I've thought of this myself, as I mostly have problems with the LCD panels and thought about replacing those. A lot of detailed work that I'm not sure is worth it.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2023
Posts: 214
Likes: 58
From: North East USA
Thanks, I have 2 and know what a pain it is. And I no longer have the specialized tools. I am very good at sottering, but not that Intricate. Interestingly enough about your situation. You can go to a website - www.minitools.com, And there you will find a video on how to disassemble the cluster and change the l. C. D screens they actually sell them at a fair price on the website and a tool kit. It will help you get to the guts of the instrument cluster. I use that video when taking apart the cluster to replace the gauge face that I just did. It's very straightforward, not too difficult. It just takes a little bit of tweaking and sometime check it out.
Racer
Joined: Mar 2021
Posts: 389
Likes: 161
From: Minnesota
T You can go to a website - www.minitools.com, And there you will find a video on how to disassemble the cluster
Rennlist Member
Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 3,537
Likes: 1,013
From: PDX Adjacent
@RJH_MUSIC : That minitools website is great, thanks for the link! I was just looking to replacement LCDs last night and that site didn't show up for me, at all, during my search.
Cheers
Cheers
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2023
Posts: 214
Likes: 58
From: North East USA
Glad to be of help. I highly recommend the tool kit if you purchase the displays from them. It includes a tool for removing the little black plastic retainer rings on the needles. You need to remove the gauge face to get at the lcd displays. The kit comes with a tool to do this. I had to to fashion a tool using a long handled nut driver to be careful not to break the retainers.
