Bl_asd

ok..i got 3mm LED for my nonbose radio. I have put LED in my climate control and it works great. Now i just have a problem with the radio circuit board...i don't know how to decide the polarity nor positive or negative side on the circuit board.... Please tell me how to look at it... there's no [ mark on the board.. i think [ mark means negative.. thx in advance

Pri63

hey I think you pmed earlier this week i've been pretty busy, the radio circuit board doesn't use LED bulbs, they're incandescent and converting it to LED was the hardest LED swap i did(took about 5 hrs, hopefully with a write up it'll take everyone else less time).

I'm not sure if you've taken one of the bulbs out yet, because it's a b*tch to get them out, and once you do get one out it'll prevent all the others from working. This happened to me so I tried soldering it back in, trust me trying to put the bulb back in is even more of a PITA.

However, for the LED conversion you need to take at least one bulb. It'll be make more sense why I say this once I get a write up drafted(this weekend definitely, once I free up).

The final product(pretty damn nice, if I say so myself)

Bl_asd

please be patient to read..thx a lot

ok...I'm dumb...I tried to swap the bulbs in 5th gen nonbose radio to LEDs..I think i messed something up. The LED wouldn't light up in either polarity and i left 1 orginal bulb there so i could know if the thing supposed to light up. Something burned... i don't know what burned thou..a little smoke came out.

So now non of the lights in the radio light up. I decide to go aftermarket DVD plus flipout screen system if nobody could help me figure out my radio problem.

For people have 5th gen (I am not sure if 4th gen or 6gen have the same plugs and wires for non-bose) have aftermarket stuff, which one do you have in your car. If I install aftermarket stuff...are they plug and play? Are the plugs the same? I want something light up at night with blue color bottoms and red screen( it's ok if screen is not red..I will make it red with sharpie) to match my car....please give me some directions and suggestions for the brand and which aftermarket system, also the price or website if possible. THANKS IN ADVANCE

Bl_asd

it was easy for me to take out all the original (except the one can't be taken out) and i can make them fit in the holes pretty well... see please read..here how i thought it would work. here's my throey.

I take out the face and the board but leave the radio in the car with the plugs on. Therefore i could simply test the polarity of each bulb by putting the board on (i mean one by one...). If it lighted up, i could soilder it on the board.if not just take off the board and change the sides. The first time I did it, the one origial bulb lighted up but not the Led..so i took off the board and switched the side of the LED. When I put it back on, I saw damn smoke came out of the board.. After that, the original bulb never light up again and so was the LED no matter which side I put on. The radio still works fine with only the board attacked on the 2 little plugs inside the radio. So, i messed something that has to do with light i guess... Coz the LCD and all the bottoms still working alright.. Yes, i sent you pm..I thought you completely forgot about me.. so i tried to do it with my own idea...sigh..

Bl_asd

hmm as long as i take 1 bulb out the rest are not supposed to light up? weird....i just need to know the sides on the board so i could soilder all the bulbs on. i could make the fit in the little holes no problem...sigh....urs look damn nice

Bl_asd

comon now..don't tell me nobody knows how to put led on circuit board correctly...

Pri63

ok when I put the led's in my radio it was a custom install, they're wired independently, I just took one bulb out of the radio so that the radio doesn't light up the board lights(as you mentioned). Plus I don't think you can just soldering the led's cuz they'll need resistors. Put up some pics, and I still have to upload my pics, I can definitely help but it won't be til this weekend

ZeRo MaX

iTrader: (4)

is this the same method as the 4th gen?

Bl_asd

so your power source is not from the board. i thought about it too. I wanted to use the power from the little light in the ash tray....but I'm not sure if it would light up whole day long...so i had to try to replace the original bulbs. Actually i could fit the resisitors and bulb into the little space there since the led is only 3mm. Well....guess i'll wait for ur write up, or you could simply tell me where you get power source and i think i could figure it out. Thx for replying..ur are a life saver.

woosh

i hope this helps a lilttle. A LED is basically a diode, polarity sensitive device. It will alllow current flow in one direction but not the other. They can withstand a voltage range of approx 1 - 3.5 v, hence the need for a resistor to help limit the current in a 12v circuit.

If you look at the led from above you should notice one side has a flat end by one of the pins, that side should be connected to (-) polarity of your circuit. The other side to the (+). You should get a meter from radio shack. I think they have one for as cheap as $10. I think sears had a unit on sale this weekend also. This way you can at least tell if the point you're tapping has any voltage at all.

Bl_asd

huh, so the point which has flow is positive side then. The problem is i used battery (9v instead of 12V) to test my bulb and resisitor and it was ok. But when I put it on the board, it wouldn't light up even i tried both sides on the board. I know how to tell the sides in led and i wire resistor on the positive side.

woosh

Sounds like you burned out something but all is not lost because you say everything else works.

You can then simply tap the power-on line but depending how/where is damaged the logic of your illumination being on or off may be incorrect.

Get a meter and measure the voltage at the point you're tapping. You can always return the meter if you don't wish to keep it, but it wil make life real easy right now.

Bl_asd

i tried the meter..it shows 0.032V on the board with either side..weird, maybe it's burned...i'm sure i used it correctly..and yes, i returned it. i'm not crazy enough to spend 30bucks on a meter for 1 time use. The guy was pissed...

well....guess i'm wait for Pri63's writeup..