ESh

Look what I just did:

GCL

iTrader: (1)

Love the new LEDs on the reading buttons.

But, what is the function of the new white LEDs? I think you said you that they are on all the time?

nevernu

so the 2 larger lights are to replace or supplement the six reading lights or...?

ESh

No, they will be on all the time just like the green lights, they will illuminate the front seats, cup holders...not too much, just a little bit.

GCL

iTrader: (1)

I see. Kind of like the LED under the rear view mirror that shines a bit of light towards the cupholder console area.

ESh

That's correct. But that one under the rear view mirror is so weak.

GCL

iTrader: (1)

I took apart my overhead console last night, just to assess the amount of work involved.

The disassembly was very easy and I now know how to do it all. It is quite straight forward per your pictures (thank you).

A couple of questions.

- Where did you get the thin gauge wires? I was thinking that I could get some from a cat5e cable.

- It seems that you had tied all the LEDs via a parallel connection, rather than series. Did you encounter differences in LED brightness that way?

- A LED resistor calculator suggests about 100 ohms for 5 LEDs - is that roughly what you used?

Thanks.

ESh

Gauge wires are from HDMI cable, but you can use LAN cable too.
Parallel. No difference.
Tht's what I used.


I can give you my iMessage number/Viber if you need any help.

GCL

iTrader: (1)

Thanks.

I'll be OK. Your posted DYI is clear enough.

ESh

Any updates?

GCL

iTrader: (1)

update coming soon!

I have been working on it, off and on, and should complete soon.

Some thoughts and progress so far.

1) You do need to use the clear silicone as a "lens", otherwise the light from the LED is not diffused enough and would look too weak.

2) I have dremeled a notch into the button housing to allow clearance to the wires.

3) I dremeled flat the "nib" on button 2, and then drilled through it. That allowed the LED lights to be more centered on the buttons.

4) I am spending a lot of time to reduce the amount of wiring running to the LEDs. (Just my preference, not really necessary)

5) more updates to come,

ESh

That looks brilliant.
Can't wait for more pics...

GCL

iTrader: (1)

More pictures... I still need to glue the LEDs into place, reassemble the module, and then add a resistor (outside of the assembled module) Having the resistor on the outside will allow me to quickly change the resistor value to adjust the LED brightness, if required.





Picture of the LED wiring in series (positive to negative to positive to negative, etc.).<br/>





Wiring layout

ESh

That looks clean.

GCL

iTrader: (1)

Thanks.

The other thing that I did was to drill the holes slightly smaller for the Homelink buttons (~1.5 mm) versus the Reading light buttons (2 mm). It will help to differentiate the buttons slightly. Although I know which buttons are which, this will help my wife who drives my car less frequently.

The main thing with having the illumination is to prevent me from accidentally hitting the sunroof buttons when I'm trying to open the gate. This has happened a couple of times, when I was tired heading home. Luckily, it wasn't raining.

Being able to quickly hit the Reading buttons is also a big plus.