blue interior led (pics)

[nemesis]

finally got all my interior lights blue. what you think?

[boosting98]

i'm a fan! reminds me of a VW!

[archemedes]

looks great, what did you do for the cluster, and knobs?

[ayman]

what kind of LEDs did you use? If they are LEDs...


that looks sweeet

[SyntheticShield]

Bud, God as my witness, if you dont post up how you did that and what you used, I will come hunt you down, LOL

That is awesome but a write up is definitely needed. I wanted to do this myself. There was a thread on clubgp some time ago about this but I dont think any of the images remain so its kinda lost its usefulness.

[copterdoctor]

what I want to know is how to make the HUD red instead of green...... I havn't found anyone who knows how to do it.

[nemesis]

it's a volkswagon monte carlo, lol! i wish i knew how to do this. i had a guy from the monte carlo/impala club done it. he took all the stock light out and solder the color of your choice led: blue, green, purple, red, white, or mix color. here's his web site i'm not sure if he will do the gp, but you can ask him. i think some where on his web site he have a write up.

BBEngineering

[David99GTP]

That is really sweet looking. 2 thumbs up!! Great job!

[sassygtchick]

I so want that done to my car!

[Sabrewings]

I'm working on the same thing right now, with BB's help.

BB did my cluster and HVAC, and I'm doing the rest.

Somewhat a how-to. This is the first switch I did since the bulb was burned out. This is for the Chevy Impala/Monte buttons, so for the Pontiac buttons YMMV.

Our subject:


Cover removed (simply snaps on):


The original bulb in its blue sheath (the bulb glows a weird color, so the blue sheath was used to give it the right color from the factory):


Closeup of removed bulb:


Pulled back shot so you can see just how small the components are:


New LED and resistor:



Initial testing:



In the car:


Factory colors:


Back to the other side:


I've gotten a lot more switches done and I'm waiting on more LEDs and resistors to arrive.

Hope this helps. The resistor value depends on the Vf of the LED.

If you guys need more details in the writeup, just ask and I will go back and edit.

[ayman]

ohhh ok see that was one of my next mods and i wasn't sure how you knew the resistor value. What size LEDs are you using?

Like check these out for example... 100 pieces for $7!!!!!!

http://www.ledshoppe.com/Product/led/LE1015.htm

Do you think those are too small? too big? It says 5mm LEDs. They have different sizes. 3, 5, 10mm. what ever it is.

LEDs are cheap as hell. So i'm thinkin to buy somethin like that but then i would need to know the right resister values i need.

[Sabrewings]

May not be bright enough. I use 3mm 13k+ MCD LEDs.

[PitchBlackSS]

dindt know you were doing that too sabre, nice job.

I am sending the cluster and HVAC to BBE in May for a blue upgrade. Gotta match the headunit, dual aeroforce and trans temp in the a-pillar pod. I'll do the rest myself.

[nemesis]

sabr, are you using the same led as bbe? the one on the pic is not brite blue like mine.

i need to install my guages too.

[Sabrewings]

sabr, are you using the same led as bbe? the one on the pic is not brite blue like mine.

I order from the same supplier he usually does. As a matter of fact, the LED I used for the first switch (seen in this thread) he sent me. The difference is probably in the cameras used. You can see the picture of my stock lighting isn't bright either, but we both know its brighter in person.

Pitch, I've been quiet about it since we have a member who keeps offering the service (besides BB). No need to ruffle feathers. I'll post a full thread when I'm done. Just waiting on more LEDs to come in. All the way from Hong Kong...

BB is going to do silver faced gauges for me, all white LEDs (instead of the red tach I have now) which will glow blue from the new gauge overlays. Today I'm hopefully putting in my silver faced and blue screen Interceptor gauge.

[jacobmh27]

How do you find out what Resistor to use by the VF?
and how do I get in contact with someone do mabey do this for me I want Blue as well

[Sabrewings]

How do you find out what Resistor to use by the VF?
and how do I get in contact with someone do mabey do this for me I want Blue as well

You use Ohm's law:

I=V/R

(I is current, V is voltage, R is resistance)

For our situation, we would reorder it to be R=V/I. So, the equation would look like this.

(14.4V-[Vf of LED])
------------------
[current of LED at Vf]

That will give you the resistor value in Ohms. I'd bump it up just a tad as well. For my 3.2V Vf LEDs, with 20mA of current, I use 620Ohm resistors.

As far as someone doing it, I've considered doing it for about $10 a switch (plus shipping, you provide the switches) but I've never opened Pontiac switches. I'd assume they're similar to the ones in the Impala/Monte, but I'm still learning those.

[GOINDEF]

What's this company called BBE, that does the engine light clusters? do they have a website? or is there a How-to on doing the lights on all the dash pieces?

[GeddyLee]

I sent them, BBE, an email this morning to see if there was any possibility of them considering doing the GP's Dash and other components. Their site primarily deals with Chevy products from the looks of it. But who knows, maybe if he gets enough people in the GP community, he will consider it.

I have yet to hear anything back from my email, but I will keep everyone posted And I think Sabre needs to throw in a few good words

[archemedes]

I sent them, BBE, an email this morning to see if there was any possibility of them considering doing the GP's Dash and other components. Their site primarily deals with Chevy products from the looks of it. But who knows, maybe if he gets enough people in the GP community, he will consider it.

I have yet to hear anything back from my email, but I will keep everyone posted And I think Sabre needs to throw in a few good words

I have something in the works hopefully in the next month or so they will be available (then I will tell where)