LED replacement in mirror
#1
Burning Brakes
Thread Starter
LED replacement in mirror
I have replaced all the interior lights with LED, however is there an LED replacement for the tiny light in the rear view that shines down on the console?
#3
Supporting Vendor
It depends on the mirror. The standard mirror has replaceable incandescent bulb. This mirror is characterized by rocker-style switches that turn on the map lights.
In contrast, the auto-dimming mirror has a built in 5mm 6-LED array (green and amber of all things) and is not designed to be replaced. It CAN be cut and removed but the lens will also need to be modified or replaced as it is also specifically designed for the LEDs. The leads going to the array are a 12v power and ground. It is a tremendous pain and IMO not worth it.
In contrast, the auto-dimming mirror has a built in 5mm 6-LED array (green and amber of all things) and is not designed to be replaced. It CAN be cut and removed but the lens will also need to be modified or replaced as it is also specifically designed for the LEDs. The leads going to the array are a 12v power and ground. It is a tremendous pain and IMO not worth it.
The following 4 users liked this post by TheRadioFlyer:
#4
Burning Brakes
Thread Starter
Good to know, I do have the standard mirror.
#5
Burning Brakes
It depends on the mirror. The standard mirror has replaceable incandescent bulb. This mirror is characterized by rocker-style switches that turn on the map lights.
In contrast, the auto-dimming mirror has a built in 5mm 6-LED array (green and amber of all things) and is not designed to be replaced. It CAN be cut and removed but the lens will also need to be modified or replaced as it is also specifically designed for the LEDs. The leads going to the array are a 12v power and ground. It is a tremendous pain and IMO not worth it.
In contrast, the auto-dimming mirror has a built in 5mm 6-LED array (green and amber of all things) and is not designed to be replaced. It CAN be cut and removed but the lens will also need to be modified or replaced as it is also specifically designed for the LEDs. The leads going to the array are a 12v power and ground. It is a tremendous pain and IMO not worth it.
#6
Advanced
The standard mirror does have an amber-orange T1 LED that shines some light down on the shifter console.
Unfortunately, you will have to completely disassemble the standard rear view mirror to get to it.
Luckily the circuit has its own voltage dropping resistor for the older amber-orange LED.
That same resistor would be compatible with a standard red, yellow, or green T1 LED.
If you are going to un-solder the existing LED and replace it with blue or white you will need to change the dropping resistor to accommodate the larger voltage drop of blue and white LEDs.
My fear when looking into this was the disassembly of the mirror to get to that LED recessed in the passenger side of the mirror.
I was afraid of that seven years of bad luck thing.
Unfortunately, you will have to completely disassemble the standard rear view mirror to get to it.
Luckily the circuit has its own voltage dropping resistor for the older amber-orange LED.
That same resistor would be compatible with a standard red, yellow, or green T1 LED.
If you are going to un-solder the existing LED and replace it with blue or white you will need to change the dropping resistor to accommodate the larger voltage drop of blue and white LEDs.
My fear when looking into this was the disassembly of the mirror to get to that LED recessed in the passenger side of the mirror.
I was afraid of that seven years of bad luck thing.
The following 3 users liked this post by Dads2kconvertible:
#8
#9
Burning Brakes
Thread Starter
Well that does it, after reading these posts suddenly the amber light looks pretty good.