The info screen replacement... episode 1
06-18-2004, 12:35 PM
#1
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The info screen replacement... episode 1
In a Maxima, far far away...
Well, it took me all of 15 minutes to remove the LED screen just now, very easy to remove all the panels, etc. Put everything back together 'cept for the screen, everything's operational still despite the lack of information. Anyways, our engineers are going to take it apart this afternoon and figure out what LEDs it needs... I will report when I have more information....
..... TO BE CONTINUED ........
Well, it took me all of 15 minutes to remove the LED screen just now, very easy to remove all the panels, etc. Put everything back together 'cept for the screen, everything's operational still despite the lack of information. Anyways, our engineers are going to take it apart this afternoon and figure out what LEDs it needs... I will report when I have more information....
..... TO BE CONTINUED ........
06-18-2004, 01:42 PM
#4
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Looks like you've got it all under control! Everything carefully disassembled, and a genuine High School grad working on it! 
Looks like pretty standard surface mount LED's there. Should be pretty easy pickins when it comes to color. Give your guy a challenge and tell him you want it switchable between blue and red for day and night, with the switch signal coming from your dash lighting.
Good luck, and let us know how it turns out. Now THIS is something I might go into mass production on.....
Looks like pretty standard surface mount LED's there. Should be pretty easy pickins when it comes to color. Give your guy a challenge and tell him you want it switchable between blue and red for day and night, with the switch signal coming from your dash lighting.
Good luck, and let us know how it turns out. Now THIS is something I might go into mass production on.....
06-18-2004, 02:22 PM
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Episode II has commenced... the purchase of bulbs...
Well we placed an order this afternoon for 5 different blue-colored bulbs, should get here next week, to put in and see which one I like the best. There's no real way to tell what they'll look like, and the price of them each ranged from $.50 up to $4.60 for a super-bright blue LED. Pics will be posted when he gets them put in and we hook it back up...
Well we placed an order this afternoon for 5 different blue-colored bulbs, should get here next week, to put in and see which one I like the best. There's no real way to tell what they'll look like, and the price of them each ranged from $.50 up to $4.60 for a super-bright blue LED. Pics will be posted when he gets them put in and we hook it back up...
06-18-2004, 06:16 PM
#8
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Originally Posted by GrayArea51
Where did you order the LEDs from? I haven't found a site yet that sells them to consumers. A link to the product would be greatly appreciated. Do you know the voltage requirement?
Thanks!
Thanks!
Dunno about the voltage, but whatever you ever wanted to find in LED's can usually be found at www.digikey.com . They sell to anyone. Here's their optics section of the catalog:
http://dkc3.digikey.com/PDF/T042/SectO.pdf
06-18-2004, 09:59 PM
#9
This is a good site for all things LED as well...
http://www.theledlight.com/
http://www.theledlight.com/
06-21-2004, 07:57 AM
#11
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The LEDs we ordered will be here Wednesday, and as soon as they come in we'll install one of them, reattach it to the console and see how it looks. I dont want to post specs of the bulbs yet because I don't even know if these ones will fit, but our engineer was pretty certain on what kind of LED the stock ones are, so I'm hoping he's right, and all I have to do is pick which shade of blue I like best.
I dont want to post specs of the bulbs yet because I don't even know if these ones will fit, but our engineer was pretty certain on what kind of LED the stock ones are, so I'm hoping he's right, and all I have to do is pick which shade of blue I like best.
06-21-2004, 08:27 AM
#12
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chrisaust,
This sounds like something that will void your warranty on the panel?? Have you looked into the consequences of this before jumping in? Is changing a color that important to lose out for the next 3 years on anything that may go wrong with this area?
This sounds like something that will void your warranty on the panel?? Have you looked into the consequences of this before jumping in? Is changing a color that important to lose out for the next 3 years on anything that may go wrong with this area?
06-21-2004, 08:50 AM
#13
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Yeah I know it probably will void the warranty, but I also know that if something does go wrong with the screen, dealerships dont repair the screen itself, they just order a new replacement screen. And when we put in one of the blue LEDs to try it out, I'll have the engineer put the orange one back in just to make sure we can do that, so that if something ever goes wrong, I can replace the original LEDs before taking it in to the dealer.
06-21-2004, 09:29 AM
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hehe, he's a sucker for Costco hotdogs, so he said just get him a Costco hot-dog lunch Gotta throw in a case of beer at least! He's almost more excited to be working on this project than I am... he said last friday that he didnt feel like looking in the catalog to find some bulbs, that he'd do it this morning... well, 20 minutes later he came in to my office with the catalog and five different bulbs highlighted hehe
Gotta throw in a case of beer at least! He's almost more excited to be working on this project than I am... he said last friday that he didnt feel like looking in the catalog to find some bulbs, that he'd do it this morning... well, 20 minutes later he came in to my office with the catalog and five different bulbs highlighted hehe
06-23-2004, 09:17 AM
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definitely not! the bulbs are arriving today, maybe they're here already... so we'll put one in, make sure it works, then i want him to remove that one and put back in the orange one just to make sure they still work in case i ever need to remove the blue... then we'll put all five in and see which color blue looks best... i'll have pics later today
06-24-2004, 01:36 PM
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the LEDs were bought on mouser.com When I pick the one that we go with, I'll post the exact Part #. We put one LED in, I'm going out to put the screen back in the car to see how it looks... I'll post pics in a bit
06-24-2004, 02:01 PM
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well just my luck... now that I have no factory radio, the upper left corner of the screen has no function, and therefore does not light up, which is the one LED that we replaced, so I have no way of testing the blue color until we move the blue LED to another position on the screen. So it'll have to wait until tomorrow, because the eng. that was helping me is out sick this afternoon. Here's a little picture for you though, oh my gawd, someone broke into my car and unplugged everything!
06-25-2004, 10:50 AM
#29
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the one we are putting in first, which costs $4.60 per LED (x18), is on www.mouser.com
Part #: 696-SML-LX2832USCB
Manu: Lumex
2.8 x 3.2mm surface mount
Part #: 696-SML-LX2832USCB
Manu: Lumex
2.8 x 3.2mm surface mount
06-25-2004, 10:56 AM
#31
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when i get all 5 in, I'll post a pic of the screen with all 5, and each one labeled so you can tell which LED is which... hopefully you'll be able to see a difference between them in the images and then decide which you like best..... *crossing fingers, hoping the engineer is feeling better today and comes back to work!*
06-25-2004, 11:05 AM
#32
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Originally Posted by chrisaust
the others we ordered are all about $1 or less
638-1121BHCAP2R12T
512-QTLP670CIBTR
696-LX2832SISUGSBC
78-TLMB3100
all were from mouser.com
638-1121BHCAP2R12T
512-QTLP670CIBTR
696-LX2832SISUGSBC
78-TLMB3100
all were from mouser.com
now i would love to see how it looks on the screen before i do it myself,
are the volt usage of the new ones the same as the old ones???????
06-25-2004, 12:44 PM
#34
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Well it doesnt look like it'll be done today, the engineer is out sick again today, so I've gotta wait till Monday. THe voltage should be all the same, everything worked fine when I plugged it back in with the one blue LED installed, nothing fried, so it was compatible.
Maybe someone knows, is there some sort of reset button or test button that you can press to make every possible indicator on the LED screen light up all at once?
Maybe someone knows, is there some sort of reset button or test button that you can press to make every possible indicator on the LED screen light up all at once?
06-26-2004, 08:49 AM
#37
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Angry, I work at a TV station so I'm having one of our engineers, the electrical guru, do it for me... I figure if they can successfully mess with millions of dollars of video equipment, he can replace a few simple LEDs. He had no problem replacing the first LED for a blue one, the only problem is we replaced it in a position that doesnt light up anymore on the screen since I've taken out the radio, so we cant see what it looks like.
He had no problem replacing the first LED for a blue one, the only problem is we replaced it in a position that doesnt light up anymore on the screen since I've taken out the radio, so we cant see what it looks like.
06-27-2004, 12:22 PM
#38
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Originally Posted by chrisaust
well just my luck... now that I have no factory radio, the upper left corner of the screen has no function, and therefore does not light up, which is the one LED that we replaced, so I have no way of testing the blue color until we move the blue LED to another position on the screen. So it'll have to wait until tomorrow, because the eng. that was helping me is out sick this afternoon. Here's a little picture for you though, oh my gawd, someone broke into my car and unplugged everything!