NEW Interior LED Mod Thread
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 5,987
Likes: 18
From: DuBois PA
St. Jude Donor '11-'12-'13-'14-'15
YLO Z06 Did you remove the power board and flip it around to check? The other side is usually what gets hit.
I've never seen anyone fry the display board! Pretty wild...
Anyway, get to a Radio Shack or similar and get some very small gauge wire. Remove (scrape it off) the green coating over the track at each end where it is still good and also adhered to the board and tin those areas. Then solder in the repair piece of wire and check for continuity... Basically splicing around and replacing the bad sections of the burnt track with some wire.
THEN find the short that caused this problem in the first place!!!!
Tim
I've never seen anyone fry the display board! Pretty wild...
Anyway, get to a Radio Shack or similar and get some very small gauge wire. Remove (scrape it off) the green coating over the track at each end where it is still good and also adhered to the board and tin those areas. Then solder in the repair piece of wire and check for continuity... Basically splicing around and replacing the bad sections of the burnt track with some wire.
THEN find the short that caused this problem in the first place!!!!
Tim
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 2,501
Likes: 177
From: Houston, Texas FEAR THE BONES
2023 C5 of the Year Finalist - Modified
YLO Z06 Did you remove the power board and flip it around to check? The other side is usually what gets hit.
I've never seen anyone fry the display board! Pretty wild...
Anyway, get to a Radio Shack or similar and get some very small gauge wire. Remove (scrape it off) the green coating over the track at each end where it is still good and also adhered to the board and tin those areas. Then solder in the repair piece of wire and check for continuity... Basically splicing around and replacing the bad sections of the burnt track with some wire.
THEN find the short that caused this problem in the first place!!!!
Tim
I've never seen anyone fry the display board! Pretty wild...
Anyway, get to a Radio Shack or similar and get some very small gauge wire. Remove (scrape it off) the green coating over the track at each end where it is still good and also adhered to the board and tin those areas. Then solder in the repair piece of wire and check for continuity... Basically splicing around and replacing the bad sections of the burnt track with some wire.
THEN find the short that caused this problem in the first place!!!!
Tim
Yes, I flipped the power board over and just as you said, there was another burned trace on that side in the lower left. So last night I removed all 3 bad traces and replaced with new copper wire as seen below. I ran a continuity test on all 3 with my multimeter and all check out fine. I did not epoxy the new wires yet until I plug the unit back in and ensure everything works.
I did not find any reason for the burned traces other than I installed one replacement fan speed LED backwards. That is the only thing I changed the other night. Before that, the unit was working perfectly (other than the fan speed LEDs not lighting up). So I soldered in new LEDs, but since there are 2 LEDs going into the one slot on the PCB, I had one of the LEDs in backwards (+ and - were switched). When I plugged the unit back in, that is when it got fried. So the LEDs on the fan speed switch is the only thing that changed and must be the source of my previous failure. Fingers crossed. I will plug it back in today.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 2,501
Likes: 177
From: Houston, Texas FEAR THE BONES
2023 C5 of the Year Finalist - Modified
Plugged the HVAC head unit back in and everything lit up and all functions work 
! I covered the copper wire repairs with silicone sealant to protect them from getting damaged. Thanks for all of your help (again), Tim!
! I covered the copper wire repairs with silicone sealant to protect them from getting damaged. Thanks for all of your help (again), Tim!
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 5,987
Likes: 18
From: DuBois PA
St. Jude Donor '11-'12-'13-'14-'15
Hey good job! And really nice pictures also!!!
I was worried about that one blob of solder on the power board next to that diode but if all is sealed, working and functioning, you did GOOD!
Tim
I was worried about that one blob of solder on the power board next to that diode but if all is sealed, working and functioning, you did GOOD!
Tim
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 2,501
Likes: 177
From: Houston, Texas FEAR THE BONES
2023 C5 of the Year Finalist - Modified
Well, I thought I was done. Drove the car to work today and noted that the HVAC stays lit up even after I shut the car off. It did not do this yesterday. I wonder if the fix on the power board really is too close to that diode and is causing my issue? Any ideas as to where to look for the problem? Thanks, Tim.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 2,501
Likes: 177
From: Houston, Texas FEAR THE BONES
2023 C5 of the Year Finalist - Modified
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Drifting
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 1,823
Likes: 757
From: Marysville Washington
Hey all, been lurking here for a long time, so I figured I would finally ask a question. I had JW Motoring (who don't seem to be in business anymore) modify my hvac unit a year ago to red LED's, and it's acting up pretty bad now. There are 1 or 2 that are out all the time now, and almost ALL the rest are intermittent (seems to be heat related, as most of them are on when I first start the car up). It's really starting to bug me, and I don't have the stomach, or facilities to safely disassemble the unit, so I ask, do any of you do the light conversion for people? Or is there a place that does this work like JW used to do?
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 5,987
Likes: 18
From: DuBois PA
St. Jude Donor '11-'12-'13-'14-'15
Hey all, been lurking here for a long time, so I figured I would finally ask a question. I had JW Motoring (who don't seem to be in business anymore) modify my hvac unit a year ago to red LED's, and it's acting up pretty bad now. There are 1 or 2 that are out all the time now, and almost ALL the rest are intermittent (seems to be heat related, as most of them are on when I first start the car up). It's really starting to bug me, and I don't have the stomach, or facilities to safely disassemble the unit, so I ask, do any of you do the light conversion for people? Or is there a place that does this work like JW used to do?
Tim
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 5,987
Likes: 18
From: DuBois PA
St. Jude Donor '11-'12-'13-'14-'15
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 190
Likes: 36
From: Evansville IN
So I installed the door and mirror switch LED's, in bright white, and was expecting them to make the letter show up white. Unfortunately all it did was make them brighter but still have the yellowish hue to them. I tried cleaning them but no luck, what would be happening? Especially the power mirror buttons more than the others. The colors are all different shades of white and yellow.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 3,498
Likes: 680
From: The beautiful Alabama Gulf Coast!!
Oh no!
Thanks for all you've done to help so many of us!
Will you still be repairing HVACs for your old customers?
Last edited by Mickeyrx70; Jan 25, 2016 at 01:22 AM.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 1,008
Likes: 57
From: Kensington MD
So I installed the door and mirror switch LED's, in bright white, and was expecting them to make the letter show up white. Unfortunately all it did was make them brighter but still have the yellowish hue to them. I tried cleaning them but no luck, what would be happening? Especially the power mirror buttons more than the others. The colors are all different shades of white and yellow.
Instructor
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 128
Likes: 1
Hello, so I want to replace the burned out bulbs in my C5 with leds. I read the initial part of this thread were they refer you to the oznium leds. However, it appears in the comments that these leds do not work well for C5s at all. Is there a current best place to get leds to replace the factory interior lights with? Thanks guys!
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 2,501
Likes: 177
From: Houston, Texas FEAR THE BONES
2023 C5 of the Year Finalist - Modified
Originally Posted by tstar
I've decided to "bow out" of the Forum, I don't have the time anymore... I want to thank everyone for a fun and educational time!!!
Tim
Tim
I want to say thank you for all of the help and advice you have provided to us over the years and for the blood, sweat and tears you put into the lighting mods on our beloved cars. And for the hands-on work and expertise you provided when you actually modified customer components for JW (my radio and HVAC among countless others). I wish you and your family great blessings and joy, and hope your life is lived to the fullest. Thank you again for all you have contributed to this forum and its members. You will be missed, but not forgotten. Jason
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 1,203
Likes: 21
From: centennial colorado
Cheers to you Tim and Thank YOu.
Intermediate
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 29
Likes: 2
From: California
Hello, so I want to replace the burned out bulbs in my C5 with leds. I read the initial part of this thread were they refer you to the oznium leds. However, it appears in the comments that these leds do not work well for C5s at all. Is there a current best place to get leds to replace the factory interior lights with? Thanks guys!
I will post pics when I get them put in. Hopefully they are not junk.