jcrome04

Hey guys I'm just looking for some more detailed info about the backlighting of the stereo and climate display on my 97 LS.

The LCD screens are fine. I just have a dark spot on my climate and stereo backlighting.

I called Lexus of Seattle. The guy in parts told me that..

In the Climate screen there are 8 bulbs. 5 bulbs are #84999-60460, and 3 bulbs are #84999-60450. $11.91 a piece. (I found them at lexuspartsonline for $8.20 a piece, cheapest yet)

He said the bulbs for the stereo unit itself were NOT replaceable... is this true? I find that hard to believe they would be IMPOSSIBLE to change...

pfantom68

In the climate control, 5 bulbs have a green cover, and 3 have a blue cover. That's how it is in the first-gen LS's, and would not be surprised if it's the same way for second-gen LS's too.

For the cost, there are other alternatives. I soldered in some 12V LED bulbs in for my climate control and they look and work great. If you're handy with a soldering iron and know a tiny bit about electronics, it's not all that hard to do.

The stereo lighting is surface-mount LED's if I recall correctly. While it IS possible to replace them, it involves some precision soldering and stuff. Plus, you have to find the LED's from an electronics supplier, Toyota will not sell them separately.

jcrome04

Ok so that sucks about the stereo unit

And on lexls.com the tutorial for replacing climate control bulbs he used T1.5 twist lock style bulbs from www.superbrightleds.com for the climate.

The stock climate bulbs between 1st and 2nd gen are different.

Would the T1.5 LEDs still work for a 2nd gen?? Has anyone done this on a 2nd gen?

jcrome04

also...did you solder them into the twist lock thing??

pfantom68

I tried using normal auto LED's (I think #74) that I bought on ebay in a lot of like 10. They would not fit in place of the standard bulb in the twist lock socket thing, so I just soldered them straight onto the metal contacts of the board they screw onto.

I know, it's not what most people recommend, but it's worked fine for me for months now, had no problems at all.

jcrome04

You can get those things at radioshack too for dirt cheap. How did they turn out? What colors did you chose? Do you have any pics of this? day? night? or both? I'm very interested in this. Soldering is easy peasy.

pfantom68

Ebay is cheaper... RadioShaft sucks for automotive LED's IMO.

I can take pictures of it... I decided to do "Bright White" which actually has a slight blueish tint to it, but it's nicer than having only two of the original 8 or so bulbs that still worked.

jcrome04

Pictures would be awesome! I'd really appreciate it!!


Does your climate screen have a "spotlighting" effect because of the LEDs? I read about that being a problem on the lexls.com tutorial.

Do yours still dim??

jcrome04

also did you use the 3mm or 5mm single LEDs

Did you also solder them in for the LCD back lighting?

pfantom68

There is a little spotlighting, but it's not bad at all... it really depends on what kind of bulb you use, and what angles the light is projected.

I used #74 wedge-base bulbs that should be direct fit into the little plastic wedge things, but did not work in my case. There would have been clearance issues anyways, so it kinda worked out in my favor.

Example:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/10-Bu...spagenameZWDVW

Mine's were from another ebay seller, but looked very similar to those. They have the 12v resistors and everything in them and are ready to go.

I soldered them in for the LCD backlighting and most of the buttons. I used one for the lighting next to my gear shift lever and one for my key trim ring too... ahh the joys of buying a lot and having spares.





(I don't have pics of the climate control from when I did it, but I will take some this weekend)

In person, they're a little less blue-ish than in the pictures, though for some reason, the plastic in the gear selector has a blue tint too, so that appears to be light blue in person.

Overall, I would say these LED's were the best $12 I spent, made a pretty big difference in the car's interior.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

how hard was the shifter light to change, ive been thinking about doin something a little different with it...

jcrome04

So is it better to get a high degree of viewing angle?? I found some pure white 360 degree viewing angle bulbs. What exactly does that mean?

Were the LCD backlights harder to get to? Did you buy those T5 LEDs?

And the lights look pretty good! I was thinking about replacing all of my interior lights with LEDs

jcrome04

So we've figured there are 8 "twist lock" bulbs in the 2nd gen climate control unit.

How many are in the stereo unit? I'm too lazy today to pull everything apart lol.

and how many single LEDs will replace the LCD backlighting? I might as well bust out the soldering gun!

pfantom68

Unless you got a real precision soldering iron and know what you're doing, you're not going to be able to change the surface mount LED's in the stereo... sorry to burst your bubble.

The climate control is another story.. the LED's that I showed you should solder right in place... anything similar pretty much. Wide viewing angle is best... I'm not sure what angle you exactly need, but something pretty wide would do you well. Also, you want some bulbs that already have resistors for 12v, and that size I showed you is perfect, don't buy the "raw" LED's in bulk 3mm or 5mm.

I have been slacking on the pictures... I will try my best to find my camera and upload some pics soon.

jcrome04

Yeah I just tore the stereo all apart and saw! crap! I really don't want to get an aftermarket stereo.

Where can I get a new stereo head unit from? Does anybody here have a used one I could buy?

And unfortunately now there is an "ink blot" on my climate LCD unit now... Does anyone have, or know where I can buy one of these???? I may have been a little too rough with it . . .

anyways... I'd really like to get this all fixed up ASAP!