Operation: LED Modding How-To's, Coming Soon! Options

[Mstoochn]

This Afternoon I will be ripping apart to my cigarette lighter to show you how to change the bulbs to your own color liking( pictures, explanations and math!!!)
if all goes well I will do my key ring! Post them both and move on to bigger and better things for you all!

[Mstoochn]

Time for the How-To!!!! please give me suggestion how i can improve it!

Tools Needed: Drill with the smallest bit u can find and a 1/8" bit
Soldering Iron and thin Solder
2 - 10 or 20 MA Blue or White LED's ( you can use red but it changes the resistor you need (www.ledcalc.com)
1 - 220 Ohm 1/4 watt (1/2 watt also works) Resistor
6" of thin guage wire (super thin!)
Electrical tape or a hot glue gun
Roughly 1 hour


Firs of all, you gota pull the panel off, the thing just pops off, there is a catch though! if you have an auto you gota put it in neutral or the thing wont have clearance to come off. Once you get it off, its gona look like this:
http://s62.photobucket.com/albums/h98/sess...nt=DSCF0044.jpg

Jiggle all the little pieces apart and twist the small grey colored box on the top right (the stock green led)

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h98/sess...69/img031-1.jpg

Once you got that all apart, you have 2 options here, 2 Led's Top and bottom, or 2 led's Left and Right. YOU DECIDE! ( i did top and bottom)
so you mark your location grab a 1/8" drill bit and drill into the black section straight down, now there are 3 layers here, the black, the grey, and the clear part (which is what reflects the light) drill through the grey and reveal a small amount of the clear part, then clean away the area so the led fits snuggley (see picture below) Do this top and bottom or left and right until the LED fits snuggley inside, make sure you DO NOT DRILL THE CLEAR PART

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h98/sess...69/DSCF0047.jpg

next you need to make a simple circuit, 2 led's and a 220OHM 1/4 watt resistor, some wire as well. The Longer end of the LED is the + end, the larger red ring on the resistor is the + End (see picture below) Keep a 9volt battery handy after each step to make sure you have a solid connection

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h98/sess...69/DSCF0045.jpg

grab your drill a make a small hole on each side of the grey box to later insert the +, - wire ends for power for the existing line (see picture, SORRY ITS BLURY)

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h98/sess...69/DSCF0048.jpg

put both LED's in there place and feed the Pos,Neg terminals through the small holes(see pic)

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h98/sess...69/DSCF0049.jpg

Sorry for the next step i do not have a picture, the stock little LED is useless now, when u pull it out of the holder it will has 2 prongs, rip the LED off and solder your + wire to one and negative to the other, then reinsert into the housing.

Last thing i did, I suggest glueing the LED"s into place, but i electrical taped the hole thing! and bam your done!

Test it before you put it in, should turn out like so:

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h98/sess.../DSCF0050-1.jpg

Point out my flaws and make this HOW TO PAGE WORTHY!

This post has been edited by Mstoochn: Jun 26, 2009 - 2:01 AM