My new HVAC is installed and working like new.

My old one also showed up and I noticed the repair guy tried to replace all of the 241 resistors.

Funny thing is, he did a real crappy job at it and one of them is even installed backwards. I doubt it matters. At least her admitted he could not fix it and refunded my money. I did such a clean job at soldering my 241's over a year ago he probably couldn't even tell it was done.

I will probably just keep my eyes open for a used HVAC so that I can try my LED display. I am not willing to crack open my brand new $320 HVAC and tinker around.

I am pretty sure I know how I fried the old one. DO NOT apply power to the display board with the power board attached. One wrong touch and the voltage goes backwards to the power board and will damage it since the voltage does not get reduced by the resistors that are on the power board.

I still want to do my door buttons soon. Just need to order some more LED's.

Thanks for all your help

-Jason

 

Yeah to the best of my knowledge no one has the board schematics for any of our stuff (C5 Delco) which makes component level troubelshooting pretty tough. I suspected these repair guys knew as much as we do but you never know...

When you do the LED mod on your new HVAC (which model number did you get?) follow this order for testing;

1. Ohm out the LED connections for continuity and shorts.
2. Apply a 9 volt battery to the back of one fo the LEDs and verify all of them are working.
3. Hookup the power board and do a full test. Check all your buttons verifying that the orange indicator LEDs turn on. For buttons without an indiator LED make sure the display shows your input, fan speed bar moves up and down, the different Modes cycle through, Auto works ect... The AC will not operate but should flash several times and then go out. at rest the HVAC should read 69 degrees.
4. Pull the power lead on pin 16 to verify all the LEDs go out.
5. Put it back together and make sure all the buttons operate smoothly then install the damn thing because you'll be sick of it by now!

If you decide to not to bother playing with your old HVAC in the future give me a shout, I'm always in need of parts!!

Tim

 

I certainly will

 

ttt

 

Aloha,

Here's some pictures of my blue LED mod to the PRNDL lighting.
I did this mod about a month ago and tstar requested I post it up. I couldn't say no after all the help I've received from him and others here.
After taking the shift boot apart I took a quick exploded view of everything. I included a couple of extra LED strips in the picture to illustrate a few things.



I took a vertical LED strip (from Oznium) and cut it to 6 LEDs or two segments. These are cutable to three LED segments just like the popular horizontal strips. Unlike the horizontal strips the LEDs are mounted to a thin metal strip making them flexible to a point, but not pliable. You'll notice they come from Oznium with quick-connect leads already installed periodically along the strip. This quick-connect will have to be de-soldered and removed because of the limited space inside the wave guide/gear indicator housing. I included a picture of a three LED segment (I'm gonna install inside my center console) with new quick-connect soldered in, as an example. You'll also notice they come from Oznium with exposed solder points and leads. You'll need to be careful when testing these before installation as they WILL short bulbs if contacted by any metal.



I installed the strip with double sided foam tape. There is a bit of fitting that needs to occur as the square strip needs to be angled somwhat at the bottom to fit the angle of the bottom of the housing. I also needed to file a little of the bulb pictured on the left to clear under the wave guide. The foam tape also works as an insullation for the exposed leads. I ran the quick-connect out the existing 194 bulb holder opening and sealed the opening with a strip of sheet metal seam tape. (what I had handy...)



The wave guide will need to be modded to fit back over the new LEDs. I used a dremel cut-off wheel to remove the portion of the plastic that (weekly) transmits light from the bulb to the surface indicator. I put some blue painters tape over the top/white portion to protect it while cutting and then sanding the back smooth.



After sanding the wave guide will sit as before. The orientation of the new LEDs is almost directly beneath each gear indicator. After verifying the wave guide fits ok, I re-assembled the gear indicator and ensured it slid smoothly through the gear positions and put leather back on the frame.



I spliced/soldered the other end of my quick-connect to the wiring in place of the 194 socket connection. This was easier than you'd think as this part of the wiring harness can be removed from the vehicle and done at your bench, rather than in the car. Sorry, I didn't get pictures of the wiring but it's pretty straight forward. Quick-splice's would have worked too.
Reconnect and reassemble...



For those that have never been inside that area of your car, the 194 bulb holder in mine was a bit cooked from heat. As you can imagine that area gets a bit warm and the heat from that 194 incandecent bulb has nowhere to go in that very confined space. The OEM bulb holder was so brittle from heat (it in fact shattered in my hands when I tried to remove the OEM bulb) I never would have been able to use a standard 194 LED replacement bulb. Some things just work out...

Alot of work for a single bulb replacement, but matches the HVAC pretty well!!

 

Tons of help here! thanks

 

Kudos to mtndv8!!! I wish i'd done that.

 

I can't believe you didn't!!

Looks great though.

 

Thanks, guys!
Happy to deposit something back into the corporate knowledge bank...

 

Looks good Micheal! I dont have an auto but can appreciate the work you've done. Any progress on the underhood lighting you started? Always good to see more mod options from our friends on the forum!

 

Thanks Tom!

Good point!
I don't know how this would work for a 6 spd.
I've never noticed if the setup is similar?
I'll look into it...

Yes, as a matter of fact I think I have an idea you might like.
Think adjustable viewing mirror like you'd use to see behind your motor...
I'm in the process of giving the lights something to shine ON right now and will send you pictures soon.


Michael

edit- sheesh, Tom. All I had to do was look at yours or tstars avatar and SEE there's no light down there.

 

My C4 is all torn apart right now - And I'm driving the C5 at least once or twice a week..
Guess I know deep down that Im about to rip everything out of her too! HAHA!

Watch out Tim
Rain

 

The results speak for themselves on this one!!!

Great job Michael!

Tim

 

LOL You don't scare me mister!

Tim

 

Tim

This ha'umana is honored!

Mahalo Brada

Michael

 

If I chose to put LEDs in my fender cowls could i run a power wire off my headlights? i thought that it would be easier than the instal that Spd kilz has on his site. is this way feasable?

 

Sure, it might be easier tapping one of the relays. We've found that it's advantagious to be able to turn them off at will, like if for instance a LEO starts following you for no reason...

The Fog lights make a good on/off switch...

Tim

 

that sounds like a much better way. the fog lights go out when your brights are on. when you have your low beams on you can turn your fogs on/off.

 

which LEDs would be good to put in the fender cowls? the pics on spd kilz look good. which LEDs would be as bright? i was thinking about going with red because of my red calipers. i am going to put all blue LEDs in my interior. do you think that will clash? or would blue LEDs in the fenders be a better match to my interior.

 

Check out this site, its a easy quick way to get it done! I've got a red kit and a blue kit mounted next to each other.The red is controlled by the fog button and the blue by; the remote.Turn them both on for purple!
http://www.shop.jwmotoring.com/produ...4&productId=28