by JSvert240sx
Overview:
Since I’ve kinda been scattering random pictures around this forum of the LED mod i did the other day and have received some interest from fellow members, I figured I’d just post a quick how-to that should compliment Attwater’s. His instructions helped me, and I made sure to take a decent amount of pictures while doing it.
I purchased the 4 pack of the LEDs that come pre-wired with a resistor at Advanced AutoParts, but most auto stores should have them.
Difficulty: **
Time: 1-2 hours
Cost: $8
Tools:
– screwdriver
-soldering iron
Materials:
– solder
– LED’s
Procedure:
First thing to do is to remove the HVAC unit. to do this you must first remove the radio below it then after removing the 4 screws securing it, you can turn it and fit it through the hole after removing the 3 harnesses attached to the back.
There is also a metal wire that connects to the back of this that adjusts the heater core I’m assuming when u adjust the hot/cold slider. to remove this I just used some needle nose pliers to twist it out since it’s got a hook on the end.
The slider knobs need to be removed first, they should pull right off, but you may need a screwdriver for a little leverage.
By pressing these two tabs in on either side the entire HVAC unit should pull apart into two pieces.(there are good instructions for disassembling the HVAC in the FSM, but this is essentially all there is to it.
The bulbs can technically be removed without pulling this all apart and soldered in, but it give you a good chance to clean some dust out of there and also to check the clearance for the LED’s since there isn’t too much room.
The two bulbs are located under that clear plastic panel sitting behind the HVAC in that picture.
With the two bulbs removed and the unit flipped over you can see where the LED’s much be inserted and soldered to.
Here is the LED after i cut a significant amount of the wire to shorten it to close to the size of the bulb.
Insert the two LEDs in the same position as the original with one wire on each side of the whole and solder it in place making sure that the two wires and solders don’t touch one another. Please pardon the sloppy soldering, I was using a 40 year old iron and thats the best precision I could come up with, lol.
Here’s a view of the LED’s after they’ve been soldered in place.
Put everything back together, plug the HVAC back in and don’t forget the metal wire that attaches to the back and it should look like this:
