i am wanting to replace my radio with a new pioneer unit that lights up blue. I am fine with how the speedo looks, but i want the clock and hvac controls to match the radio. ANyone know what clor and size led's to get and how many i need and where they are located. I have a friend who can probally put them in, i just need toget them.

 

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The HVAC controls don't use LEDs, anyway.

 

i did a search , and came up with no one solid answer. what do the hvac ue then? just a bulb How do you change color on those then?

 

Well you haven't specified whether you have an xA or xB so I'll just assume that you have an xA like me. The LEDs behind the clock in the dash are not what you think they are. They are very small 1206 LEDs soldered onto a circuit board, you or your friend will have to be very skilled in soldering. Here is what the LEDs look like behind the clock...
**Image courtesy of Garage1217**

Now if you have an xB, here is a guide for swaping the clock LEDs.
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=28496
LEDs are sold here http://www.garage1217.com

On the other hand, the HVAC lights are are much easier to swap out. The HVAC are illuminated by only two small #74 neo-wedge incandescent bulbs. This guide should give you an idea of what I am talking about. https://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=11283
Here you have two options, you can either buy a direct bulb replacement or spring for an LED. But be warned, LEDs are a little tricky to wire up and you will have to mod them to reduce the spotlight effect. shop for these bulbs here http://autolumination.com/74.htm

If you need more info check the Tech section of the site here https://www.scionlife.com/tech/

***Sources: https://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=155707

 

thanks a ton. i have an xb. i like the gauges white, i guess the only led i need to replace is in the clock, how hard is that?

 

The difficulty of the the clock LED swap will depend on how well you can solder and de-solder. If you still want to try, I recommend you use the smallest tip you can find for your soldering iron. That should make it a little easyer. Just remember to be careful, I think i remember someone saying that the circut board is $600 to replaice if you break it. I've beens soldering things for a few fears and have gotten very good at it but I've always been too chicken to try this mod, let us know how it turns out.

Oh and if you fallow the instruction in the guide I linked to, you should be fine.

 

sound like fun

 

well my frined is an electrical engineer, so he is going to try to do it for me at work some time. hopefully those are all i have to do since i am replacing the radio, and the hvac use regular bulbs

 

If you want perfection you might also need to replace the current limiting resistors for those LEDs to better match their brightness to the speedometer. I played with mine for a while until I got it right (and of course I didnt' write the resistor values down.)

You might also need to install some sort of a diffuser in front of the LEDs to prevent visible "hot spots" over each LED. I foud some clear frosted plastic and I bent it up in a upside-down V shape and installed it over the LEDs. I'm quite happy with the way mine came out.

For pics check https://www.scionlife.com/forums/vie...827291#1827291

and the rest of that thread.

Also see thread https://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=28496

 

go on autolumination.com

and buy 2 leds for the HVAC, They are 74's neo wedge based.

http://autolumination.com/74.htm

 

i don't recommend changing the hvac bulbs to led "bulbs" due to the spotlight effect that it'll create.

you will have to use something like led strips that you need to wire in you create an even glow.

as fare as the clock... just becareful taking it apart.. and from then it's just soldering skills.

 

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