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

[XR6-VCT-2000]

..REPLACING THE REAR COURTESY LIGHT GLOBES WITH LEDS..
------------------------------------------------------------


Estimated build time:
--------------------
10 to 15 minutes max for each led light.


Parts List:
----------

(From Jaycar)
2x 360 ohm 0.5Watt 1% Resistors (comes in packs of 5, part# RR0561).
2X 5mm Leds / rated @ 3.2v 30mA 1500mcd (Jaycar part# ZD0180).

'Or alternatively' (both will look pretty much exactelly the same brightness anyway).

(From DickSmith Electronics)
2x 470 ohm 0.6Watt 1% Resistors (comes in packs of 5 part# R0171).
2X 5mm Leds / rated @ 3.5v 20mA 1800mcd (Jaycar part# Z3902).


1x A 'BIC' pen/biro, preferably in the clear plastic.
2x Resistor legs/wire (destroy 1 resistor, cut the legs of both ends, 20mm minimum lenghts each roughly).


Tools List:
----------

Soldering iron & Solder.
Something fine, pointy and sharp (the points/tips of a small pair of scissors etc), or a hot pin.
Some basic tools - wire cutters , file , Screwdrivers, hacksaw etc .





PROCEDURE 1 : Getting The original globes out of the rear courtesy lights.
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Using a small flathead screwdriver or butterknife etc, pry carefully about 0.5mm deep into the gap between
the courtesy light mount and the clear lense/cover, on the opposite side of the on/off switch.

After prying the cover up a bit lightly, proceed to pull the clear lense/cover up and out towards you
a bit by hand , the on/off button is connected to the clear lense/cover, so fear not when it comes out with the
clear lense cover.

The clear lense cover and switch only pulls out a bit , and sort of tilts on a 45 degree angle as you lift
it off and pull it towards you a bit. The pulling it towards you a bit allows the clear lense cover to lift.

You can now see the light bulb , to remove it push it in a bit lightly and twist it anti-clockwise, then
pull it out.



PROCEDURE 2 : Making the new Led bulb.
--------------------------------------

*** Note: As I have allready modified my courtesy lights, I used a spare red led I had lying around to make
up a demo/sample for this tutorial. I also had to solder some legs/wires back onto the led so everything
looks original again. So that's the reason for the red led and the solder on the legs. I made the led legs
the same as original length etc, so just ignore the led colour and the solder on it before we even start.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...d_light001.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...d_light002.jpg

1./ Grab your 'BIC' pen/biro and remove the centre ink/pen part, all we need is the cover.
Cut one end off with a hacksaw or a hot knife and clean it up with a file making sure its a nice flat
90 degree angle , or as close as. Also de-burr the inside of the hole with a pointy knife or something
sharp.
Measure from your flat end and cut a piece off with the hacksaw, cut the length about 19mm long to
allow some extra to file it flat, eventually you should have it filed flat & and the inner hole de-burred
both ends, and it should measure 18mm long .
Note: We cut it at 19mm so we could file it to 18mm and flat. Don't forget you need to make 2 of these,
1 for each light. It/they should look like the photo below (im only going to make 1 for the tutorial).

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...d_light003.jpg


2./ With the 18mm length of tube you just cut off, measure 4mm from the end (either end) and scrape a light
line/mark with something sharp, now spin the pen 180 degrees and mark the other side too at 4mm aswell.
The pen is like a hexagon shape , mark the 4mm marks on the centre of the flat surfaces.
Now using a hot pin or a sharp pair or nail scissors etc / something fine and sharp , drill/melt/ream
a hole out on either side in the centre of the flat surfaces at the 4mm deep markers.
The holes need to be about 1mm in size , 3 wires should just fit nice and tight when they are fed in
one hole and out the other, Use some wire to test your hole size. Also de-burr your small holes on the
inner face of the clear plastic pen case . Refer to the pictures below.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...d_light004.jpg

Remove the test wires from your holes when your finished testing.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...d_light005.jpg


3./ We'll modify the led next. File the small lip off the the bottom of the led , all the way around.
Best to even over do it a little bit here / taper the edge in a bit , no lip can remain at all,
as in the photo below.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...d_light006.jpg

Cut the positive (+) leg/wire off the led, 3mm from the body of the led, refer to the photo below.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...d_light007.jpg

Cut 1 side off the resistor wire off, 3mm from the body of the resistor, refer to the photo below.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...d_light008.jpg

Then overlap the (+) led wire and the resistor and solder together, refer to the photo below.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...d_light009.jpg


Bend the (+) and (-) wires/legs on the led (roughly similar) as shown in the photos below.


http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...d_light010.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...d_light014.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...d_light013.jpg


4./ Time to mount the leds into the 18mm clear plastic pen cases.
Grab your pen case , in the end furthest from your small holes, feed the led legs into the hole
in the end of the pen case, first feeding the (+) wire/leg then the (-) while pushing the led
and wires in.
As you push the wires into the case , guide the curled (+) wire/leg into one of the small holes
you made , either hole , doesn't matter . As in the photo below.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...d_light011.jpg

Now grab some long-nose pliers and grab the end of the (+) leg/wire hanging out of the small hole.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...d_light012.jpg

Pull the (+) resistor wire out of the hole while pushing the led down into the body of the pen
case, keep pulling the wire while pushing the led down lightly until the end of the resistor is
pretty much hard up against the small hole you fed the wire through. The led also by now should of
ended up mounted about half the leds height deep into the pen case. Refer to the photos below.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...d_light015.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...d_light016.jpg


5./ Now get your 2 extra bits of wire and feed them 1 at a time through the small holes, in one side
and out the other, leaving an even length of wire roughly hanging out each side. When done you
should have 3 wires hanging out the 1 small hole (thats including the resistor wire too), and the
other side/hole will only have the 2 wires hanging out. The negative leg of the led should be sorta
hard up against the plastic, make sure the wires you feed though all stay on 1 side of the (-) led leg/wire.
Refer to the photos below .

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...d_light017.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...d_light018.jpg


6./ Next get something thin and pointy (I used the end of my small nail scissors), insert it into the end
of the pen case and and push down hard on the wires you fed through the pen, push them hard up against
the inner face of the pen case (pushed hard against the opposite inner face the (-) led leg/wire is
sitting against).
While still holding the wires jammed/squashed down, grab the ends of the wires poking out of the small
holes with your long-nose pliers, and twist them together a few times. Then try to straighten the
twisted wires/pins/legs out a bit so they sit 90 degrees of the outer of the plastic pen case.
As in the photo below.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...d_light019.jpg

Grab your soldering iron , make sure it's not to hot , then braze the wires/pins quickly to give them a
bit of extra strength / 1 at a time / blowing air on it like mad after each 1 to keep it all cool / to
stop the plastic melting. If you melt it a bit don't stress, it will still be ok. Now trim the legs/pins
off about 2mm away from the body of the pen case (so the pins stick out a bit futher than the originals).
It should end up looking something like the photos below, in the end shot it's a bit hard to see the (-)
led leg/wire , but it is there !, it's running hard up against the bottom inner of the case opposite
the resistor, and hanging out the end of the case.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...d_light020.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...d_light021.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...d_light022.jpg


7./ Get some paper , any paper / scrap etc , then rip tiny pieces off and screw them into little balls.
One at a time push the tiny paper balls into the end of the case, use something thin and pointy to
help tuck/pack them down firmly into the case around the wiring, while doing this making sure the (+)
and (-) wires are not toutching , pack plenty of paper inbetween the wires until the case is nearlly full.
Don't pack it too hard in there or you will crack the plastic case, just firmly packed will do.
For the last bit of packing, to totally fill the end of the case flush, and to stop any melting with
the soldering iron in a a few minutes / soak the last tiny bit of paper in some water
(or suck on it a second / spitball!..lol) then pack it tightly and flush with the end of the case.
Refer to the photo below.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...d_light023.jpg


8./ Grab your long-nose pliers again and twist the negative (-) wire of the led into like a small circle,
then push it flush and firm against your last bit of moist packing. As in the photo below.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...d_light024.jpg

Get the soldering iron again and put a semi generous blob of solder onto the wire circle.
As in the photo below.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...d_light025.jpg




And the End results of your rear courtesy lights should look something like mine in the photo below,
thats if you used blue led's. You could use whatever colour or brightness(mcd) 5mm LED for this
project realy, although imo anywhere from 1000mcd to 2000mcd is bright enough for the rear courtesy lights.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...d_light026.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...d_light027.jpg


And a photo of 1 of my blue led courtesy lights powered up in my car............

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...0/IMG_1073.jpg

(I also have the centre roof light done in that pic too as you can see, that mod/tutorial is also coming soon).



I hope you find this handy ,it's one of the easiest mods i've done so far , 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.
Anyway ... Enjoy ! . Feel free to ask any questions .

[Yum-Yum]

DOH!!! You snuck this one in when I wasn't looking LOL this'll be me tonight I rekon,
Your a champ mate.

[XR6-VCT-2000]

Originally Posted by Yum-Yum

DOH!!! You snuck this one in when I wasn't looking LOL this'll be me tonight I rekon,
Your a champ mate.

lol , you was probably in bed like most normal people when i posted it around 12.30 am early in the morning. hehehe :

[HLC]

looks like my work is cut out for me.

[AUIII XR8 MAN]

Very well done. Might try to give this one a go.

[XR6-VCT-2000]

Yeah they are easy to make , don't let the size of the documents/tutorials daunt you !, they only look large sorta because i have tried to put as much detail into the documents as possible , so anyone / even with no electrical experience can make them .

cheers .. happy DIY'n .

[Yum-Yum]

LOL I gave it a good bash, but my sausages for fingers got the better of my patience pmsl so ended up slodering them into the sockets mehhhhh it works lol so in total I have the Festoon, Courtesy lights and the gear selector done. I'm going to rip into the cluster today as I'm fast running out of LEDs I have to order some more in from Dork Smiff again and do the clock mod and the vent controls later, very much worth the effort though
Did you figure out what to do with your needles on the cluster Rick?

[AUIII XR8 MAN]

Originally Posted by Yum-Yum

LOL I gave it a good bash, but my sausages for fingers got the better of my patience

I glad i'm not the only one who has this problem :

[XR6-VCT-2000]

lol sausage fingers ... lmao . I suppose it would be a bit fiddly with really fat fingers , mine are semi fat but i use the longnose pliers to hold most stuff etc.

As far as the needles in my cluster , i still havent done anything about it yet , ill either hone the face off the red dials leaving the clear/whitish plastic underneath visible / should allow the light to pass through it then ... or ill end up tryign some fo the glow in the dark paint on them . To busy to do either at the moment..
i also gotta add some extra white leds to centian spots in the dash and cfp , just the blue alone kills any red parts that are supposed to be lit up .

[Yum-Yum]

Originally Posted by AUIII XR8 MAN

I glad i'm not the only one who has this problem :

BWAHAHAHAHA!!!

Originally Posted by XR6-VCT-2000

As far as the needles in my cluster , i still havent done anything about it yet , ill either hone the face off the red dials leaving the clear/whitish plastic underneath visible / should allow the light to pass through it then ... or ill end up tryign some fo the glow in the dark paint on them . To busy to do either at the moment..
i also gotta add some extra white leds to centian spots in the dash and cfp , just the blue alone kills any red parts that are supposed to be lit up .

I got the cluster out and only managed to break 1 tab that holds the clear screen lol tried to pry the needles off and ended up scratching the face with the fork grrrrrr there was a lot of creaking while trying to pry them off so left them where they are : the needles actually look like red plastic but if it's only a red film thought about scraping the under side and painting it with a bright white paint I picked up from Spotlight and leaving the rest red, probably going out on a limb here but thought the light would reflect off the paint at night and still having the look of the red needles during the day (anyone have thoughts on that logic LOL) I also think my leds might be too bright as I'm getting the blue spots on the face and was think of filing the head of the LEDs down as in the clock Doco but who knows LOL I've got the cluster sitting on the couch atm :Reverend:

[XR6-VCT-2000]

yep , for sure , file the head off a bit if your led's are too bright , i only used 900mcd blue lights for the dash , worked alsmost perfect , any brighter and i would of had major hotspots (i have very faint hotspots / and i still wanna take them out again to file the heads ), the filing of the heads flat a bit does help to difuse the light a bit though / removes the hot spots heaps . ;)

I had the plastic cover off the speedo lastime i had it out , i too tryed prying at the needles with a fork , but i put some plastic under the fork to stop in marking the speedo face , but i couldn;t get them off either , and i was prying pretty hard ! , and harder and i would of broke them , im still debating over the glow in the dark paint , even the light from the blue led's should be enough to keep the paint charged/glowing of a night imo , we'll see ...

cheers .

[Yum-Yum]

Well I filed the LEDs back, checked on Ford Mods they have a heap of threads on this, they call it frosting lol makes sense upon looking at the out come. I tried the painting the needle but am under the impression that there is too little light source to reflect from the paint, tried to pry the needles off again but am freaking about breaking something lol but I did manage to get the black center caps off only to find that by my reckoning that the needles DON'T have a film over them but are actually a red plastic and no amount of sanding will take the red off. The under side of the needles look to have a thin white coating which is why I'm probably getting a faint reflection a 1/4 of the way down the needle. I'll keep trying to find an easy way to get more light up the needle...if there is such a way. Might as well while the clusters still out LOL

[Yum-Yum]

Well at least no-one else will have to waste there time doing what I've done LOL
Can't get enough light in or around the needles to illuminate the paint, so that theories out the window, even went as far as to paint under the center caps with bright white...don't work. What about a little bit of tin foil to help reflect the light...nope no go LOL. So what have I found that doesn't work, please take into account that my needles are from a Series III XR...

1, Sanding Needles - The needles are an actual red componant hence all the sanding in the world won't make it clear.

2, Painting Needles - There's not enough light coming through the shaft of the needles to reflect off of the paint, also applies to light surrounding the cluster, no thanks to the red filtering or absorbing most of it.

so what are we left with...

1, maybe changing the needles to another colour but by the sounds of it, there's not alot, if any needles that could be interchanged with the Series II & III AU's plus my needles are jammed hard and am thinking if they even do come out LOL

2,If your able to remove the needles, placing some LEDs in spots where your able to get illumination by/around the shafts.

3, Painting the needles with glow in the dark paint, as Rick had previously suggested.
Perhaps with all the daylight the cluster is exposed to, it may help to keep the needles illuminated and with what little light is shone at night, may be enough to keep it charged.

So I'm off to see if I can track some glowing paint down hmmmm...it's Sunday...small town...how hard can it be Bwahahahahaha!!!

[naughtyfalcon]

xr6,,how much to make some up,,say five in red?

i am useless at this stuff

[XR6-VCT-2000]

naughtyfalcon ..... I personally haven't got time to make stuff on the side at the moment , alot of family dramas happening latelly .
But to make them yourself, the pack of 5 resistors cost about 35 cents , and red led's go pretty cheap compared to the blue and other colours , probably $1 each max , and everyone has a BIC pen lying around that can be butchered..lol , so all up about $1 each to make / and a bit of your time .

Yum-Yum .... Sounds like you've had some fun playing with the needles ! ..lol , thanks for confirming the needles are solid red with only a white base ( i thought they were a white needle covered in a thin layer of red ) .. anyways .. looks like the glow in the dark paint might be the next try , you can get it from SPOTLIGHT material shops / in the craft section, or large auto paint supply shops sell it too , but only in 'point of a litre' minimum usually , and cost a tonn from auto paint shops , is cheap from spotlight .