YES

scroll all the way down for pics

I have too much time on my hands while I'm working again. I bought this clock in/out thermo unit and modified it. I made a little cover for it and put it where the clock goes. I used the vent open/close roller switch that is just to the right of the clock to control settings (clock, inside temp, outside temp; but the inside selection doens't work all the time, I need to solder it better).
Looks pretty good, cost $10. It has a light but that is shorting on something right now but I should fix that tonight.

here's the info (on my page of course) :


I bought a "slimline clock, in/out thermometer" made by Bell automotive. They have this unit at Target and KMart for $10. Here is the product in the bell online catalog.
I took the thing completely apart so that I could seperate different parts of it: display/main board, battery holder, switch. I had to cut up the circuit board a little to do that so I solder some wires to the board to complete the broken traces. I also soldered on my own switches for the time setting so I could put them somewhere accessible since they were originally on the back on the clock which I can't reach now that it's installed. Also, I soldered a jumper wire in to hardcode the Farenheit selection for the temperature.
If you know how to solder and know some basic stuff about electronics, you could probably do something similar without too much work; if you dont, it's probably gonna be a huge pain and not worth it.
I cut a small black piece of plastic out for the display and mounted it where the stock clock was. The buttons didn't look right on the front display so they are just hidden in my dash for now since you dont really need to set the clock all that often anyway. I was going to use some circuit to convert 12V to 1.5 for the clock but I decided it wasn't worth it and also this way it wont drain the car battery while it's left on.
It came with a slider switch to select modes - in temp, out temp and clock. I hot glued this to my vent next to the clock on the backside. Then I disconnected the linkage from the vent so that it will always be open. Now the little rolling switch just to the right of the clock is used to control the settings of clock/thermo; if you push it upward, the clock will be on, if you push down, the thermo comes on.
The outside thermometer has a temperature sensor that mounts in the drivers side door jamb and is only 1/2 inch by 1/4 inch or so. I haven't had a chance to compare the reading to a known temperature but it seems to be fairly accurate.
It has a light built in to it that I hooked to the parking lights of my car. Right now I have a short in the light somewhere because it keeps blowing a fuse so I'll have to take a look at that tonight but it should'nt be a problem.
Anyway, here are the pics
original package and unit

display on with slightly modified unit

some of the wiring

Something told me when I read the title of the thread that you would actually try to do something like this - especially wtih you being the grand wizard of everything electrical.

clock display on


thermo display on


vent switch

i'm suprised you don't have push button ignition or something

looks good and clean craig

thanks christopher

I've thought about the push button; the wiring obviosly isn't a problem

I've seen many miata guys do it nicely in the cig lighter spot but that would be kind of weird in our cars; maybe some day I will do it but not right now

MAN OF MANT IDEALS

Very impressive! Clean install on that puppy. You the man Craig!

Craig, did you not have the digital climate control? I've gota clock, and a thermometer all OEM.

You can see his manual AC controls in the pic.

It's a fix for broken clock, and for those that don't have a thermometer.

ooh...my bad ...you know what...my clock is dead too...maybe i'll give this a shot, I might reverse the LCD so it's inverted, that would look kind of cool, maybe /w a backlit blue led

That is a great mod. You would not happen to have a step by step guide would you?

Looks very clean

nice job

that some tight sh*t. at first i thought that was kinda cheesy but after i thought about it and looked at the pics, thats phat. i dont know if it will work on a 4th gen though.

Once again Craig, you never cease to amaze.

thanks everyone

I did get the light working last night. It has a green minilamp (the same kind for the rest of the switches, but with a green cover on it). I wired it to the parking lights and it is a nice backlit green that looks pretty stock when it's on.

ngthing - 3rd gen US SE's did not have the option of digital climate control; I've looked into converting it and it is NOT at all an easy task even for someone who knows a thing or two about electronics and wiring

craig, great job man!!!

keep up the good work!!

Uh oh..... I feel the wheels turnin'!

great....i was kidding

that would be cool though...