Finished at last ! . The Blue Led AU Clock Mod, with details and photos.

[XR6-VCT-2000]

..REPLACING THE CLOCK GLOBE WITH 3 LEDS..
-----------------------------------------



Parts List:
-----------
1x 47ohm 0.5Watt 1% Resistor (Jaycar part# RR0540).
3X 3mm Leds / rated @ 3.2v 30mA 1000mcd (Jaycar part# ZD0130).
1x Small piece of White or clear plastic about 0.5mm to 1mm thick (Ice-cream plastic container is fine).
1x Small piece of white clean paper (bit of reflex paper , whatever , just needs to be white & clean !).
* A Small piece of heatshrink tube or some electrical tape.
* About a 6cm length of 1mm to 1.5mm thick / preferably steel multupile core / insulated wire.


Tools List:
-----------
*** Tool to remove the headunit/stereo , or 4 allen-keys or 4 screwdrivers / or a combination of either,
(Also make sure you have the code for your headunit handy before removing it !).
Soldering iron & Solder.
A Dremel grinding tool , or a drill / or a hot knife .
Something fine, pointy and sharp (the points/tips of a small pair of scissors etc).
Some basic tools - wire cutters , file , Screwdrivers, etc .





PROCEDURE 1 : Getting the clock out of the dash to work on.
-----------------------------------------------------------

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture001.jpg

1./ Remove the headunit/radio completely.

Remove the ashtray.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture002.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture003.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture004.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture005.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture006.jpg

Unscrew the screws just inside the face of the dash,
on both sides of the hole in the dash where the radio was,
( 1 screw on each side / screwed in on 45 degree angles sorta ).

Unscrew the 2 screws inside the ashtray mount/hole.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture007.jpg

*** In total , the radio / the ashtray / and 4 screws unscrewed.


2./ The Centre Face Panel (cfp) is now ready to unlclip away from the dash a few inches slightly.
Note: don't try to remove the cfp fully or you will disconnect/rip off the vacume lines behind the cfp !.

Grab around the bottom of the cfp / thumbs in the ashray hole, and pull/unclip the cfp away
from the dash lightly. Work your way up the cfp on either side evenly unclipping it away from the dash.
When the cfp is unclipped, try to avoid pulling the bottom of the cfp away more than about 1 inch,
and try to avoid pulling the top of the cfp away from the dash more than about 2 to 3 inches.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture008.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture009.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture010.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture011.jpg

*** At this point, with the cfp hanging from the dash a few inches , you should be able to get a small
stubby phillips-head screwdriver behind the top of the cfp to remove the clock.
Unplug the clock before or after removing it / whichever is easier for you. There is only 2 screws /
1 on both sides of the clock holding it to the cfp.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture012.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture013.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture014.jpg



PROCEDURE 2 : Dis-Assembling the clock.
---------------------------------------

*** Note: If you just want to replace your clock bulb with a standard bulb again, you can do it now.
The bulb can be removed from the rear of the clock with a pair of longnose pliers or tweezers,
twist the small green plastic base of the bulb anti-clockwise and pull it out to remove it.
Reverse Procedures from here to install everything again.


1./ The clock has a 2 piece plastic 'clip together' cover over it, remove any stickers covering across
the 2 parts of the plastic case (part number sticker and odo sticker), then lightly pry up the plastic
clips up on either side of the clock just enough to release the clips, then pull the 2 piece case
apart to open it.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture015.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture016.jpg


2./ The main printed circuit board (pcb) is still attatched to the front case inside with 2 small torque
bit screws, use a normal 'un-modified' small flat head screwdriver to undo these 2 screws, then
remove the pcb away from the front plasic covering.
Remove/untwist the original globe from the pcb.
Remove the White plastic light defuser from the front plastic case along with the thick flat retangular
shaped rubber cable which sits ontop of the white plastic light defuser between the pcb and the lcd.
The rubber cable might be stuck to the pcb still instead of the lcd , either way is ok ,
remove the rubber cable too and store it away safely.
Under the main thick white plastic light defuser is another small flat plastic defuser & the clocks
lcd under it, remove the flat light defuser and lcd too.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture017.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture018.jpg

*** The clock now should be pretty much fully dis-assembled, from here we will need the original thick
white plastic light defuser / the original globe&base / and the pcb.
All the other clock parts can be stored off to the side safely for now.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture019.jpg

Note: I have already previously modified my clock , and i'm just re-opening it to show you how to do it.
When your clock is dismantled you will have an extra flat plastic defuser also / which was on top of the lcd,
this is later disregarded and is the reason why this part is not in the photos. Also my bulb/light holder has
already been modified, with the resistor mounted on the base and wires hanging off the other end. So fear not
when your parts look a little different , i'll explain the modded parts with drawings and explinations .



PROCEDURE 3 : Modifications.
----------------------------

For starters we need to make a 'U' shaped sleeve to mount the leds on, that will be mounted inside the
original thick white plastic light defuser.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture021.jpg

(The front of yours will be a sealed, mine has allready been modified/front part removed ,we'll get to this later)


1./ We shall start with making the 'U' shaped plastic led mount, this is where the bit of Ice-cream container or
a semi thick piece of white plastic is needed.
Cut a rectangle out of the ice-cream container, or you piece of plastic, follow the diagram below
for sizes and hole placements. Use a sharp small pointy pair of scissors to drill the holes out by hand bit
by bit, checking constantly to make sure you don't make the holes to big , you want the leds to fit tight in
the holes.
To get a good end result it is important to get the spacing and lining up of the main led holes as straight as
possible, any led's on a bit of an angle or out of line will sorta show in the end results ! .

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1..._LED_Mount.jpg

I quickly bashed up another roughly, as mine is allready assembled. I marked the outlines and holes with
a black marker to help highlight it a bit / make it a bit easier to see . Your 'U' shape piece of plastic
should look something like the photo below , and it should fit tight inside the main thick white plastic defuser.
Obviously i havent bothered making the holes the propper sizes in this pic , this is rough as guts/just for show.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1..._led_mount.jpg


2./ Before we mount the leds on the plastic 'U' shape gizmo we made, we need to modify the 3 leds a bit.
Take a file / or sandpaper / or the wifes nail file etc, and carefully file the top round part of the leds flat.
The reason for this is to help defuse the bulbs a bit , it help takes the hotspots out of the lcd display.

Before Filing / Original :

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture022.jpg

After Filing / Modified :

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture025.jpg


3./ The next part will require a bit of bending and poking of wires through the pin holes in your plastic mount,
grabing the end of the led legs with some long-nose pliers helps to feed the wire through the holes and pull
the wires semi tight.
Follow the digram below for wiring and mounting the leds into the plasic 'U' shape mount you made.
It is absolutely important that the (-) negative led leg from the first led connects to (+) positive led leg
on the second led , and that the (-) leg on the second led connects to the (+) leg on the third led.
The (+) leg from the first led gets wired through the pin holes to make a (+) contact point at the top centre.
The (-) leg from the last led gets wired through the pin holes also to make a (-) contact point at the bottom
centre. The 'Yellow' marks in the diagram below are 'SOLDER' points which will require soldering.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...n_the_LEDS.jpg

It should end up looking something like these photos below:

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture028.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture027.jpg

In those pics i have just attatched the resistor to the (+) and a wire to the (-) so i could test it, I recommend
doing this. You can use a normal small 9v battery no worries , just don't expect the full brightness / it's just
to test your wiring realy before proceeding. After you have tested it you can unsolder the resistor and extra (-)
wire again .

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture030.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture029.jpg

After the resistor (+) wire goes to the (+) battery terminal , and the plain (-) wire to the (-) on the battery .
(Just for those who haven't got any idea at all about whats going on ! ..lol ).


4./ You can sit the led setup aside for the moment , time to butcher the original thick white plastic defuser.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture021.jpg

As you can see in the picture, i have already modified my defuser, You need to remove the front curved face of
the defuser, so you can see straight through it.

When removing the face of the defuser , you want to try to leave a small edge/lip around the area you remove,
leave a tiny lip all the way around if possible for the arms of the 'U' shaped mount you made to sit on.
I just ground the majority of mine out with a fine dremel grinding tool , then filed the rest up clean leaving
a small lip. You could maybe also use a sharp small drill to remove a majority of it, but be carefull not to
crack the plastic using a drill. YOu could also use a hot knife to cut/melt a majority of it out , then clean
it up with a file.
After removing the face of the defuser , get your 'U' shaped mount and insert it into the rear of the defuser
with the led's facing foward towards the side you filed out . It's impossible to put it in upside down , it
will/should fit in either way.
The large rear surface of your 'U' shape mount should be pretty much flush with the recesed area on the back
of the defuser (The area that is cleared out to help the defuser clear the IC on the pcb).
It should look something like the photos below when inserted in place.
(Don't worry about mine allready been attatched to the bulb mount/pcb, we'll get to that soon).

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture020.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture021.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture034.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture035.jpg

Make any adjustments needed to make it fit nicely , trim the plastic legs on the led 'U' mount if needed.
Once your happy it all fits ok, remove the 'U' led mount from the 'once was' defuser again for now...lol.


5./ Next is modifying the original globe holder, If you still haven't removed it yet , do it now , the bulb
holder twists anti-clockwise (from the rear/base side of the bulb) to remove it.
Refer to the picture below: Turn the lamp&base upside down , get a sharp object (a knife tip etc) and
pick the bulb wires out of the plastic base, untwist the wires from the base until sorta straight, then
pull the bulb out of the base. You will end up with just an empty plastic base.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...bulb_part1.jpg

Next is to get 2 lengths of your insulated wire, cut each length about 2.5mm to 3mm long. Stip a small
section of the insulation off all four ends and braze lightly with solder. Feed one end of each wire
through the base until the wires apear at the rear of the base. You may need to open the holes a bit
more on the plastic lamp base, to allow the un-insulated solder/brazed part of the wires to pass through
the holes a bit easier.
Once you have the wires through the holes , get your resistor and trim 1 end of it about 3mm away
from the actual resistor part , solder this short 3mm leg of the resistor to the positive (+) wire stub at
the rear of the lamp base (yellow marks in the picture below are solder points).
Now with that leg/wire you just cut off the resistor, solder this bare wire to the negative (-) wire
stub at the rear of the lamp base.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...bulb_part2.jpg

Cover just the resistor and the soldered joint with some electrical tape or heatshrink tube.
Proceed to re-wrap the existing legs/wires back around the base to make the contacts again. Grip the end
of the wires with some long-nose pliers to help pull the wire semi-tight while re-wraping around the base.
Trim any excess wire off the wires/legs after re-wraping them around the base.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...bulb_part3.jpg


6./ Now we have to make a new 'flat' faced light defuser to replace the old 'curved' face we grinded out of
the original thick white plastic light defuser. This part is realy easy !.
Take your piece of white clean unmarked paper and cut a rectangle out of it 32mm wide x 24mm high.
Fold the paper in half along the longest length so it measure 32mm wide x 12mm high (double thickness now).
As you can see by now , the light defuser needs to be at least 2 layers of paper thick.
Fold the crease nice and hard , so to try to stop the 'V' shape happening.
Make sure your hands are clean before you do this. Well thats the new light difuser made already!.



PROCEDURE 4 : Assembly.
-----------------------

1./ Take you modified lamp base and mount/screw it back into the pcb . Take carefull note of the picture below.
With the pcb facing the way i have it in the picture, from the front there the left hand side contact is
the positive (+) contact on the pcb (around the bulb mounting hole in the pcb), also note i have the pcb
upside down in this picture !.
So if you were to spin the pictrue around 180 degrees and look at the rear side of the pcb the right
way up, the left contact on the rear of the pcb ( the right way up ) would be the (+) contact.
Be sure that the contacts are the correct way around when inserting the lamp base back into the pcb.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture026.jpg


2./ Now we need to attatch the (+) and (-) wires on the lamp base to the (+) and (-) contact points
on our plastic 'U' shaped led mount.
Making sure to solder the (+) wire to the (+) contact point on our plastic 'U' shaped led mount,
and the (-) wire to the (-) contact point on our plastic 'U' shaped led mount.
Next put the modified thick white plastic defuser carefully back over the led mount /or/ mount
the 'U' shaped led mount back inside the thick white plastic defuser. You can put this on any which
way , there is no upside down to the defuser.
(ignore the yellow arrows in these photos , they were to point out stuff earlier)

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture034.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture035.jpg


3./ Get the original front black plastic case again, put the lcd in as shown in the photo below.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture036.jpg


4./ Place your paper defuser ontop of the lcd, as shown in the photo below. Making sure not to cover
the contacts on the lcd with the paper defuser.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture038.jpg


5./ Now for the juggling act !. Twist a bit and push the main white plastic defuser flush against the
pcb , roughly in position . Try to look between the defuser and the pcb to make sure your leds
aren't shorting out on the main IC on the pcb. It is ok for the contacts etc to toutch the back of
the IC , just make sure the bare wires and solder on the back of the 'U' shape mount you made
are NOT toutching the 'pins' on the main IC (that big black rectangle with lots of pins is the IC).
Once thats done , put the thick rubber contact strip back ontop of the defuser.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture037.jpg

Now guide the defuser setup & the rubber stip into the front plastic cover, make sure you have the
thick rubber contact strip on the right side of the defuser when lining it up to the lcd !.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture039.jpg

Give the 'M' (minute) and 'H' (hour) button a bit of a light wiggle as you push the pcb flush against
the cover. There will be a bit of force pushing the cover up , this is fine , this is the thick
rubber contact stip doing this. Hold down the pcb as firmly as possible and insert the 2 screws again
and tighten them. Check your buttons on the front of the clock face to make sure they haven't jammed,
if they have , loosen the screws , and wiggle the buttons lighlty while tightening the screws again.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture040.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture041.jpg


6./ Clip the back of the clock cover back on, making sure that the pins for the plug are lined up with
the case correctly before clipping it down . There is more holes than pins, easy to mis-align them
and get the plug pins in the wrong holes , and bend them ! .

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture016.jpg

7./ Go back to "PROCEDURE 1 : Getting the clock out of the dash to work on." and work in reverse
(bottom to top) to re-install everything again.
After everyhting is installed , put the code back into your radio.
(the radio just pushes/clips back in , you don't need the radio removal tools to put it back in).

And the End results of your clock should look like mine below , thats if you used blue led's.
If you think it looks brighter on 1 side more than the other etc , then you will have to disasemble it
all again and make sure all the backs of leds are flush with the 'U'shape mount, and straight etc.
Might be worth your while before fully installing it again to just plug the clock back in, and turn
the ignition on to test it before you mount everything back in the cfp, incase you want to make any
adjustments to the placments of the leds in the clock.


http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...0/IMG_1053.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...0/IMG_1054.jpg


I hope you find this handy , as it took me ages to documnet it all , cheers . regards from Richard.
If any of the administrators would like to add this to the tech/how to/documents, feel free
to do so. Would be nice to have 'thumbnail' pictures in the document too , instead of text links.
I originaly tried to use image tags but was informed my document used to many images .
Anyway ... Enjoy ! . Feel free to ask any questions .

[Papa Smurf]

I must say that this would be the most detailed Mod I have seen. Congrats to you XR6 for a job Bloody-well done.

[Yum-Yum]

MATE!!! AWESOME step by step guide, I plan on doing this sometime this weekend along with the interior and dash mod. Biggest problem I've had so far is trying to find LEDs. The people at Dick Smith were no help at all. So I've got a handful of 3mm 1200mcd 3.2v 20MA Leds and no resistors as they had no clue at all, does anyone know what size resistors I'm going to need for these? I also have 2 16,000mcd bright white ones for the map lights from memory they are 5mm 3.0v 20MA.
Mate don't empty your photobucket anytime soon LOL

[XR6-VCT-2000]

Originally Posted by Yum-Yum

MATE!!! AWESOME step by step guide, I plan on doing this sometime this weekend along with the interior and dash mod. Biggest problem I've had so far is trying to find LEDs. The people at Dick Smith were no help at all. So I've got a handful of 3mm 1200mcd 3.2v 20MA Leds and no resistors as they had no clue at all, does anyone know what size resistors I'm going to need for these? I also have 2 16,000mcd bright white ones for the map lights from memory they are 5mm 3.0v 20MA.
Mate don't empty your photobucket anytime soon LOL

Message/PM has been sent to you regarding the value resistors needed.
Just 1 led for each value resistor though (like in the dashlight mod led lights), don't wire your led's in serial like i did in the clock mod or those resistors values i gave you will be the incorrect value !.


Oh , and thanks guys for the kind words , very much appreiated as it took me ages to do this tutorial . cheers .

[RspecAU]

That awsome both the clock and the step by stip guide. So how much do u charge to do this for other clocks? lol Maybe Casper could add this to the aufalcon site with the pic mods u mentioned.

[Olympus]

Excellent job, very well documented.

[XR6-VCT-2000]

Ty Ty ... If only i had a dollar for everytime someone said "nice job" .. I'de have about 10 dollars by now ...lmao ! .

Though as i said , thanks again , the nice remarks are very much appreciated ;) .

If anyone wants to do this mod, make sure the leds you buy are 3mm leds , any bigger and they wont fit .

If anyone happens to get different voltage & milliamp rated leds than what i stated in the document, then just give me a yell and i'll tell you what resistor to use np . Any 3mm led's can be used really for this clock mod.

Oh, also when buying your leds , get the salesman to put them in the led tester so you can check the colour of your 3 leds. I have noticed a few leds have a slightly different colour to others of the same kind. This can make a huge noticable terrible difference in the even blue glow across the clocks lcd.
Took me and the salesman a few minutes to sort though a few leds and test a few until i was satisfied with exact matching colours.
I have noticed the clear lense coloured leds tend to vary in colour a bit mainly. So choose wisely .lol

Cheers.

[GK]

Great mod, so well photographed and documented.

Congratulations!

GK

[XR6-VCT-2000]

Originally Posted by GK

Great mod, so well photographed and documented.

Congratulations!

GK

Thanks mate ;) - makes a huge difference now i have got a decent digital SLR camera .... at last ! .. long overdue .

[alpineau]

Mate Bloody awsome guide,

You could make a killing selling pre made clocks so all people had to do was take out there orignal clock and fit the new one,

Cheers
Alpineau

[XR6-VCT-2000]

Originally Posted by alpineau

Mate Bloody awsome guide,

You could make a killing selling pre made clocks so all people had to do was take out there orignal clock and fit the new one,

Cheers
Alpineau

Cheers heaps..ty .... If only i had enough time to make them on the side ! , The days aren't long enough ! , Which is the reason i made the document , so everone can do it themselves .
All up there is only about $6.50 worth of parts to do this mod.

Allthough if someone was still unsure on how to do this mod though, i would probably do a few on the side for a reasonable offer / no rip offs / just enough to cover my time a bit and cover the parts .

I"ll be realeasing a document on replacing the all the interior lights with leds soon too, and also a document on how to mod the odo/dte lcd display with leds in the speedo cluster , the same as the clock to match .

cheers .

[GK]

Originally Posted by XR6-VCT-2000

I"ll be realeasing a document on replacing the all the interior lights with leds soon too, and also a document on how to mod the odo/dte lcd display with leds in the speedo cluster , the same as the clock to match .
cheers .

This is the sort of stuff that makes the forum so awesome! Step by step instructions with pics, make the ham fisted car owner into the tinkering and happy modder! :1syellow1

GK

[AUIII XR8 MAN]

Looks great. I might that a go myself. Thanks for the step by step to do this.

[XR6-VCT-2000]

Thanks again everyone . Seeing everyone seems pretty pleased with that tutorial/layout , i just added another tutorial !... lol

"The Blue Led AU Rear Courtesy Lights Mod, with details and photos. Tutorial. "

And there is still a few more led light mod tutorials to come ;) .

Happy DIY'n , cheers .

[XR6-VCT-2000]

Just came across these while having a browse ,

http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView...Max=&SUBCATID= .

They are green 3mm 500mcd leds , although they are a lower mcd rating , they have a light output angle of 70 degrees ! , thats huge compared to the blue led's i have come across , you'de probably find your displays would be pretty much as bright due to the high angle light output , it would also help remove hotspots even more / i barely have them now / but imo with these i recon you would have none at all.

Just an option anyway if you don't want blue .... Im thinking about green / just to break it up a bit from the blue dash lights and cfp lights a bit , etc etc ( i want all the lcd's a different colour really ) . But im still deciding due to the old saying "blue & green should never be seen " , or the "red & green should never be seen" scenario.

These 3mm green 500mcd led's are only 1.7v @ 30mA , so if you want to use these instead , use 3 of these leds and a 98ohm resistor wired in serial as above in the document instead . ( or 100ohm max / or lower down to 80 ohm minimum , i based this off 14v , so you have a bit of play safely either way ) .

These 3mm green 500mcd leds can handle up to 2.4v @ 160mA 'each' before frying , thus allowing you to go as low as a 80 ohm resistor safely with 3 wired in serial, try to stick to around a 100 ohm though or just below if you want to use these green leds instead / and to have them running around there standard voltage and milliamp rating .

You could actualy go to as low as a 15omh resistor with the 3 wired in serial but you would be pushing the leds on the verge of frying. Even anything below 80ohm sorta is starting to push the leds past their limit , possibly causing a shorter led life or fyred leds.

cheers .

[bondy99]

Awesome work XR6-VCT-2000 ,

My clock's light has also crapped it. Been about 3 months now. I'm glad to found your post. Great effort in making it, I know it would have been lot of work done tp produce it.

I would like to get mine working also. As I'd like to keep the LED's going and would like to get a green LED time read output instead of black. What brightness and Ohm resistor should I get. I'm not electronic savvy.

Any help on this would be welcome . Thanks Bondy