Completed interior led color change

[Acree]

Originally Posted by Railgun

Considering I've done something like this several times before, I think you're wrong there. But that has nothing to do with my post nor my point.

Ok, then what would you like to know?

FWIW, I have contributed to communities before in very big and in-depth ways. So I can assure you I understand how they work.

Case in point.

[dinonz]

Originally Posted by Acree

Ok, then what would you like to know?

FWIW, I have contributed to communities before in very big and in-depth ways. So I can assure you I understand how they work.

Case in point.

I'm an electrical engineer, so probably know more than enough about electronics to do this.

However, finding my way into the trim of the car? No idea. I fear prying anything in case I break clips. Reading DIY posts is very helpful.

That's his point. You're assuming that people have to have expertise in electronics and in dismantling cars. Not so.

[cryptz]

Originally Posted by te37

Where did you source the leds from, Mouser or something similar?

i got mine from http://lighthouseleds.com/

[Franko-elias]

Originally Posted by cryptz

i got mine from http://lighthouseleds.com/

What size led did you use for your interior will also do the same

[cryptz]

i dont recall, you pretty much need some of all of the smd leds listed on the site. i think most are 1206 and 0805 but i would pickup a few of the smaller ones just to be safe.

[Franko-elias]

Originally Posted by cryptz

i dont recall, you pretty much need some of all of the smd leds listed on the site. i think most are 1206 and 0805 but i would pickup a few of the smaller ones just to be safe.

Ok thank you And
the wiper of the car. is that the same led or is it another size?

[breakfastlinks]

Jesus... If I lived anywhere near PA I'd ask if you'd take commission to do this for me...

[cryptz]

Originally Posted by Franko-elias

Ok thank you And
the wiper of the car. is that the same led or is it another size?

i never managed to get the wiper stalks apart, only thing on the car i didnt change, i honestly forgot about it, i dont drive my car in the rain =)

[cryptz]

Originally Posted by breakfastlinks

Jesus... If I lived anywhere near PA I'd ask if you'd take commission to do this for me...

ha it would be hard to do on someone elses car, lot of work and large risk of breaking something, id consider it for like 3k nothing less

[Zermatt]

Originally Posted by cryptz

Its a little too involved to do a DIY.

Basically you need to physically remove every part that has an led. Open that part up, I typically used a metal pick to do so. Locate all of the leds on the board. Use a volt meter to light them up so that you can determine their orientation on the board (I typically took a picture of the board with my camera, printed it out, and then noted the led orientation on the picture)

I used a hot air soldering station to remove the existing leds vs a soldering iron. Most of the leds are either 1210 or 1206. Some were smaller but I had too much of a problem working with the smaller Leds so in just about every case I used a 1210 or 1206 even if the stock one was smaller. There is room in every part for something a little bigger.
.....

Im looking to actually do the reverse: My 2018 has the white lighting on the instrument cluster and radio lighting - - I'd like to change them to have the red/amber leds. I haven't had success in identifying the OEM leds. Do you know what the type/part number?

[drgmt]

In simple words - bloody awesome !

[cryptz]

i forget the sizes sorry, what i can tell you is i bought them all from https://lighthouseleds.com/led-compo...nt-diodes.html

pretty much get a couple of every size in the smd category that i linked for the color you want. most of them are just a positive and a negative side. The ones in the mirror are the plc4 variant that has multiple brightness levels. I do not believe the idrive was plc4, i think just the mirrors were.

the leds in the screen/radio area are the bigger ones from what i recall.

[TheShafro]

Originally Posted by cryptz

i forget the sizes sorry, what i can tell you is i bought them all from https://lighthouseleds.com/led-compo...nt-diodes.html

pretty much get a couple of every size in the smd category that i linked for the color you want. most of them are just a positive and a negative side. The ones in the mirror are the plc4 variant that has multiple brightness levels. I do not believe the idrive was plc4, i think just the mirrors were.

the leds in the screen/radio area are the bigger ones from what i recall.

Thanks for the write up. Can you go through your email to find the receipt of all the models you ordered? There's just so many on that website, I don't want to order all of them.

Thanks

[cryptz]

Originally Posted by TheShafro

Thanks for the write up. Can you go through your email to find the receipt of all the models you ordered? There's just so many on that website, I don't want to order all of them.

Thanks

here is the original order. that being said I know for a fact the rear view mirror ones are plcc-4 and that is not on this order. i did go back and do that after the fact:

Item Sku Qty Subtotal
PLCC-2 SMD Blue - Ultra Bright 1210 / 3528 LED PLCC2SMDBLUE 50 $11.50
PLCC-2 SMD Cool / Clear White - Ultra Bright 1210 / 3528 LED PLCC2SMDCOOLWHITE 100 $22.00
1206 SMD Blue - Ultra Bright LED 1206SMDBLUE 50 $9.50
1206 SMD Cool Clear White - Ultra Bright LED 1206SMDCOOLWHITE 100 $18.00


i cant tell you the exact counts anymore sorry, the leds are fairly cheap though prob best to overspend. the center console has the bulk of them, once you get that done you are only talking a couple leds per device. From what i recall the idrive may have called for smaller leds, but i used what i had and made them work. do the idrive near the end, you want to get practice on the easier stuff first.

The media center/radio has mostly larger leds, good place to start learning.

[Spun Crankhub]

You guys are beasts for doing this! I’m a big diy’er, but this seems super involved!

[9M71]

Quarantine bump... i dont mind the orange but might have a try on soldering the M1/M2 buttons to RED leds or (not a fan of red buttons). Need to visualize how this would look.

And maybe swap out the push start LEDs to red as well. Anyone try this combo but leave the orange

[cryptz]

hey saw your comment. a piece of advise, dont try to solder anything (atleast not with an iron). you need soldering paste and one of these: https://www.amazon.com/Estaci%C3%B3n...9590413&sr=8-4

here is a video that shows what you kinda need to do:

but to be real, the leds in the ac control unit are fairly big, but alot of the other parts of the car are way smaller than whats pictured in that video.

[9M71]

Originally Posted by cryptz

hey saw your comment. a piece of advise, dont try to solder anything (atleast not with an iron). you need soldering paste and one of these: https://www.amazon.com/Estaci%C3%B3n...413&sr=8-4

here is a video that shows what you kinda need to do:

but to be real, the leds in the ac control unit are fairly big, but alot of the other parts of the car are way smaller than whats pictured in that video.

interesting. super helpful and much appreciated you sharing. I've done SMD conversions in two prior cars using wielding dual soldering irons and borrowing a pair of medical loupes. wishing I knew about this sooner hah!

[Daggers]

Interesting you should bump this post - I have a hot air station (no, not the wife, an actual soldering station) and have a little experience with it. I'll give this a go on a few smaller items that are easy to replace if I get it horribly wrong first.
£20 total ($30 USD) for the LED's and nothing else apart from my time - should make for an interesting project.

[Daggers]

LED’s arrived this morning. Thought I’d start with something cheap to replace if I bugger it up.

Took about an hour to do the 5 LED’s in this switch panel. For sure you would benefit from some soldering experience but it’s straightforward. Like it was said earlier, my bigger worry is dismantling the part to get to the actual LED, not soldering/reworking it.

For anyone thinking about it and wondering - the yellow dot in the next photo is an LED - you need to solder both ends onto the circuit board you’re working on. Keys for size reference.

[9M71]

Originally Posted by Daggers

LED’s arrived this morning. Thought I’d start with something cheap to replace if I bugger it up.

Took about an hour to do the 5 LED’s in this switch panel. For sure you would benefit from some soldering experience but it’s straightforward. Like it was said earlier, my bigger worry is dismantling the part to get to the actual LED, not soldering/reworking it.

For anyone thinking about it and wondering - the yellow dot in the next photo is an LED - you need to solder both ends onto the circuit board you’re working on. Keys for size reference.

Looks good!!! keep us posted on the rest of your progress.

[cryptz]

keep in mind the polarity of the led matters, there are some areas where bmw reverses it compared to an adjecent led. i checked each one with a multimeter to light the led to determine polarity. i found it best to take a picture with my cell phone, print it out and then mark led polarity for the large pcbs that have alot of leds on them.