I'm not sure how long this post will be when I'm done, as I'm planning to add to it. I also get really wordy with my explanations.
Cameras are stupid, so the picture looks like there are pretty bad hot spots in the lighting, but it's actually pretty even to the naked eye.
![Image]()
Here's an entire album with pretty much the same explanations of things. I'll be adding radio pictures soon, as I forgot to take them when I had everything apart the first time... Whoops!
This is a relatively simple DIY so long as you have PATIENCE. You'll need a lot of it if you don't want to mess up and risk permanent damage to your parts. Sure, on our cars replacement parts are cheaper due to age, but it's more headache than it's worth, plus you'd be right back at square one with OEM colors. Bleh.
Anyway: I drive a lot at night, and I don't like the aqua back lighting of the radio and climate controls. I've seen some information floating around here and there about the radio, but nothing in-depth about the climate controls. Only that you have to de-solder the entire knob from the PCB. Not the case, but we'll get to that. I also think it's rather stupid to make the lights inside a car brighter. The idea of back lighting is to be minimally intrusive, to not draw your attention from the road. Bright sucks at that. Red, the color I'm using, does a much better job at being minimally intrusive in your peripheral vision, and it doesn't kill the dilation of your pupils with a quick glance, which is important for night driving.
I digress.
The tools you'll need:
The nitty gritty, part 1:
You'll need to remove your radio / climate control assembly to get at the lights, obviously. I'll provide a quick rundown, but I expect a more in-depth procedure with pictures is available elsewhere on the forums. Probably stickied in the DIY thread under radio replacement.
Radio LEDs - Post 2
Climate Control LEDs - Post 3
Cameras are stupid, so the picture looks like there are pretty bad hot spots in the lighting, but it's actually pretty even to the naked eye.
Here's an entire album with pretty much the same explanations of things. I'll be adding radio pictures soon, as I forgot to take them when I had everything apart the first time... Whoops!
This is a relatively simple DIY so long as you have PATIENCE. You'll need a lot of it if you don't want to mess up and risk permanent damage to your parts. Sure, on our cars replacement parts are cheaper due to age, but it's more headache than it's worth, plus you'd be right back at square one with OEM colors. Bleh.
Anyway: I drive a lot at night, and I don't like the aqua back lighting of the radio and climate controls. I've seen some information floating around here and there about the radio, but nothing in-depth about the climate controls. Only that you have to de-solder the entire knob from the PCB. Not the case, but we'll get to that. I also think it's rather stupid to make the lights inside a car brighter. The idea of back lighting is to be minimally intrusive, to not draw your attention from the road. Bright sucks at that. Red, the color I'm using, does a much better job at being minimally intrusive in your peripheral vision, and it doesn't kill the dilation of your pupils with a quick glance, which is important for night driving.
I digress.
The tools you'll need:
- #1 and #2 Phillips screwdrivers.
- Trim removal tool, a taped flat-blade screwdriver, fingernails, or some other device for pulling panels. You choose.
- 10mm socket. Will be easier with an extension, too.
- Soldering iron or gun.
- Tweezers.
- Helping hands (optional, makes everything much easier).
- Multimeter (to verify polarity of existing and replacement LEDs. Different LEDs have the notched corner in different places for some stupid reason, though it should still be on the negative side).
- 8x PLCC2 LEDs of your desired color for the radio. I got all my LEDs from lighthouseleds.com, since they have a wide array of colors, and you can order exact quantities of LEDs.
- 3x PLCC2 LEDs of your desired color for the backlight of your climate control knobs.
- 3x PLCC4 LEDs of your desired color for the indicator lights (Recirculation, AC, rear window defrost). You can use PLCC2 for this if you want, just make sure the positive lead for the LED only contacts the positive solder pad on the PCB.
- 3x 4mm neo-wedge LEDs of your desired color for the position lights (Where the knob is at). I got mine from superbrightLEDs.com.
- PATIENCE
The nitty gritty, part 1:
You'll need to remove your radio / climate control assembly to get at the lights, obviously. I'll provide a quick rundown, but I expect a more in-depth procedure with pictures is available elsewhere on the forums. Probably stickied in the DIY thread under radio replacement.
- Pull your center vents. Be very careful, this plastic is thin and brittle. You can pull from the inside of the vent, but I recommend pulling from the outside edge of the entire assembly. Once you pop it out, but before you pull it away, remember to unplug your hazard/clock switch.
- Next, you need to pull your lower storage box.
- To do this, pull the two plastic "pillars" on either side of the storage box straight out. They're just held in with plastic clips, so they should pop out with no problem.
- Then unscrew your shift knob, and pull up and toward yourself on the plastic shifter surround, the one that shows what gear you're in. The easiest place I've found for this is by pulling inside the slot for the shift knob. You'll need to be in gear to pull the panel backwards, so turn your car on but don't start it, engage your parking brake so you don't go for an unexpected joyride, then put the car in gear to get the knob out of the way.
- Once you've done this, you can turn your car off so you don't kill your battery. You'll have to shift into park to do so. Your car can stay off for the rest of this project, even if we need to shift out of park again (we do), since the brake override button is now accessible.
- The brake override button the small black button next to the shift knob when in park. Push that button to shift back out of park, so you can pull the entire top of your center console straight up. I find the easiest place to start is by the storage compartment under your elbow. You'll need to open that, too, to lift the panel out. Don't forget to unplug the 12v outlet in this panel.
- Once that panel is out, you can remove the two #2 Phillips screws holding the storage box in place and pull it straight out. When the back clears the rest of the dash, you'll have access to unplug the 12v outlet and the AUX port.
- Once both the vents and the storage box are removed, you can remove the four 10mm bolts that secure the radio and climate controls into the dash. Now is also a good opportunity to unplug your climate controls, as it has the shortest harness. That will make pulling the entire unit much easier.
- Once the bolts are out, pull the entire unit straight out. It's also held in with four plastic clips, two on each side, so you might need a small tug. Don't pull too hard though, since the radio is still plugged in.
- When you've pulled the unit far enough out to get to them, unplug all harnesses and antennas from the back of the radio. You will have to reprogram your radio presets when we're done, so you might want to make a note of what they were if you won't remember them.
- Remove the five #2 Phillips screws and accompanying brackets from each side of the unit to separate them. The climate controls will then slide to one side to disengage from the radio. Don't pull the two apart until you've slid them to the side, or you'll break the plastic tabs off, which will likely prevent perfect fitment upon reassembly.
Radio LEDs - Post 2
Climate Control LEDs - Post 3
