qat727

Fixed up to the bulbs in the holders tonight. I'm tired so I'm going to stop for now. I'll work on it more another time.

TweedZ

OP

can you get the pictures rehosted? i'd love to print this out!

Thx!

qat727

WTH? I just rehosted these.... grrrr....

I need to figure out why they aren't showing up now.

qat727

Ok... I finished editing the original post with the new URL's. Every picture link goes to an active file on a good host. However, after a refresh, nothing shows up. When I open each link separately, they show up fine. If you press show image, they also show up.

I'm blaming it on H-T. My host is working, and after a lot of effort, it's showing up on my computer. Hopefully it'll start working right.

chris42192

yeha i cant c the pics at all.

qat727

Just for the sake of checking, can somebody get the URL of one of the red X's, open a new window, and see if the URL produces an image there? I'm thinking it's H-T, not the pics.

TweedZ

yup.


For anyone who cant see the pics heres what you do if you want to print this sucker out.

right lcick the red x and get the url. open a new window and paste it and open. now go back to this page and right lcick the same red x and click show picture. willl take a couple min but tahts the only way to get it to work.

qat727

Thanks. I've no idea why it won't work right. Glad there's a work around.

tdnapa

I took the holders out but they broken when i was putting them back in anyone know where i can get the holders for the bulbs?

qat727

Best option is to rogue them from a junkyard. Nissan also uses bulb holders that are nearly identical. Other manufacturers may follow suit.

Another option is to buy a new bulb/holder assembly from the dealer. Last time I checked, they were like $6 each, so a junkyard might be a better option for you.

tdnapa

so the bulb holder comes with the bulbs? I have already ordered the bulbs from the dealer and i was hoping it came with the holders.

qat727

If memory serves, part 35851-SM4-003 BULB, NEO-WEDGE (14V 60MA) (TEC) is the part for the small bulb and the plastic housing.

00 Coupe EJ8

iTrader: (1)

Does anyone know the base size of these bulbs? I know a site that makes neo wedge leds but the smallest bulb size they make is 8mm these are smaller then 8mm's arent they?

qat727

They are grain of wheat bulbs, or equivalent sized. I'm not sure the base even has a designation, as it's more of a holder than a typical base. I had considered modifying the switches to use LED's, but as I saw it, there were a few problems.

1) mounting vs. light output. - The way these work as is, the light is pointing sideways and the side of the bulb provides the illumination of the switch. With an LED, the light is coming from the front. So you'd have to find a way to get a wide angle LED, point it forward, and then get it to install without twisting out of position.

2) Voltage swings. In a car electrical system, the supply can swing from 8-18 V under normal operation. That kind of swing presents some problems when picking a current limiting resistor for the LED, and depending on the route you take, you either decrease the lifespan of the LED or decrease the light output. The alternate solution is to build a "buffer" circuit of sorts with a transistor to even out the current the LED sees despite the voltage swings, but to include that, you'd have to do some modifications to the switch.

Overall, given the fact it's a cheap standard sized bulb with minimal heat output and current draw, I didn't see where the benefits of going to LED's would outweigh the headache of adding them, considering the original incandescents took nearly 10 years of normal use to fail.

fungus mungus

^x2. I tried putting in an LED for the backlight and it wasn't visible, so I just went with the incandescent.

This is a great writeup btw...I'm surprised I hadn't found this sooner.
fm

00 Coupe EJ8

iTrader: (1)

Hmm, it seems you thought i meant the size of the bulb. Sorry i meant the neo wedge base that it comes in. But you do make a good point in the light output of an led being minimal. Im just trying to make a matching interior. Right now i have a jdm(lights up amber) clock, amber lit cluster and amber lit climate control. Im just trying to make my fog light switch rear defroster and cruise control light all light up the same color. The same website that makes leds(autolumination.com) also makes incandescent neo wedge bulbs that light up different colors also. Worse case i might just light it all up red because i have red out tape that worked ok in the past but id like to have everything match if at all possible which is why i was curious of the base of the neo wedge bulb. Thanks tho for the info

qat727

An alternate solution you might try would be buy an amber studio lighting gel and cut out a small piece to use behind the switch cover. I experimented in this area some with good results, though my final reason for abandoning the project was the fact that my partial colorblindness made an exact match between the gel and the existing lights nearly impossible.

There is already a layer of blue/green added to the USDM switches. I'd suggest fighting the temptation to attempt to remove it. While the effort was marginally successful, the fact that the separation between the color layer and the outline layer is very slim leads to blurred outlines and crappy results. I ended up buying replacement switch covers.

As an alternative, see if you can identify the colors necessary to add to the blue/green shade to approximate the amber of the JDM switch. Get a gel of that color and use behind the switch face. If the output is then too dim, you can overcome this by swapping to a bulb of lower rated voltage and overdriving it. The lifespan will decrease, but if you use something on the order of an 8V lamp, it probably won't blow very quickly. And once you've changed the bulbs once, it's no huge deal to change them again.


Still another idea for you. My memory is a bit hazy, but I don't think the indicator lamp changed color between USDM and JDM. I think it is just the backlight. This is fortunate, as there is a decent amount of room inside the switch itself to play with. If a person had the notion to spend some time on the project, I think some good results could be had.

If you read over the LED section here, you'll find a schematic for a LED protection circuit like I mentioned. If you tune that circuit with different resistor values and a variable DC power supply (I realize not everyone has these things lying around), you can perfect it for a 8-18V swing. If I find the version that I built again, I'll post up here with the revised resistance values.



Either way, if you use something like that circuit and a wide angle LED, you could tuck the LED, circuit and all inside the empty spot in the switch, run the leads out to where the bulb goes, and solder them in place. If everything works as it should and no premature product failures take place, the result should outlast the car.

The only problem I see with that solution is matching the color of the result with the existing amber. This could potentially be overcome by combining the LED modification (using a or other shade of LED) with the lighting gel to perfect the shade. I am aware that this is a lot of work, but for someone who really cares about the lighting aesthetics of a vehicle, it might be worth it.