t2d2

iTrader: (8)

Now that I have my driver's door lock sensor working and am no longer looking for ways to disable the factory alarm, I'm wondering if it's possible to put a brighter bulb (led?) in the indicator unit on the dash? It's plenty visible at night, but nearly impossible to see during the day. It doesn't provide a whole lot of deterrence if no one can see it.

Is it normal for them to be this dim, or can other people see their's with daylight?

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

Bump...

I did find this:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/7724648-post21.html

Is it like that for everyone? (My windows are untinted.)

BiGEZ

iTrader: (24)

I would easy to add an extra LED, just tap the positive lead from the current one to the new lead and ground the other end. Cut the 2 wires the lenght you want and mount it where ever it is most visible in daylight.

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

That's one way of approaching it, but not quite what I had in mind.

Q 1: Are all the alarm indicators too dim to see in direct sunlight, or is it just mine?

If it's just mine, then I need a new bulb. If it's everyone's, then can the little box behind the panel accept a brighter bulb?

Rhoderman

iTrader: (1)

Got a pic of your alarm module in the dash? I'm not sure if mine is the same.

Mine is an LED, and not very bright.

Why do you want to see it flashing in the daylight?

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

Here are two pictures. The back side is a bit washed out from the flash. There are a couple of screws that hold a back panel on. It might be worth popping that off and seeing what's in there in the way of a bulb.

That's probably the same as mine then. Sort of what I suspected, that it's just a very dim bulb. Which brings us back to the question of whether it can support a brighter bulb, in terms of size and power draw?

Uh...why not? Why have it be visible at night if not during the day? Mine isn't just difficult to see in direct sunlight, you literally cannot tell if it's lit. Let's say a thief knows SCs have factory alarms. He sees no blinky blink and assumes it isn't working, so it's an easy target. Maybe not the most likely scenario with a 20 year old car, but if it's going to be there as theft deterrence, it might as well do just that!

Rhoderman

iTrader: (1)

I guess the best thing would be to try to learn if the series resistor is in the panel, or in the driving electronics.
Once you know that, you should be able to pick a brighter LED from mouser.com or digikey.com for example. You will need to change the series resistor to the proper value you calculate.
LED technology has changed so much recently, and your car is what, 20 years back in technology?

You may be able to drill out the hole and put in a larger LED too. You also want a big viewing angle so you can see it from the sides better.

I will try to help you figure out which LED and resistor to pick if you can take that module further apart.

I just got the EWD for my SC yesterday. My module is a bit different - more buttons, but basically the same. I'll see what I can find there too.

Edit: My book shows the resistor and the LED in the panel switch assy you pictured. That could be a good sign...

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

Sounds like a fair deal. How easy is it to change resistors? Electrical tends to confuse me pretty quick.

What should I be looking for when I pop open the panel? Should I just post another picture to confirm it's the same as what you're seeing in your manual?

Rhoderman

iTrader: (1)

A better focused picture would help a lot.
Take apart what you're comfortable with. If you find a circuit board, post a pic of it.
Maybe you can get this piece from a junk yard to play with?

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

Ok, here are some significantly better pictures. The black casing for the alarm/clock unit has a white sticker with "K 156513 156676" on it and the following part numbers stamped:

84975-24041
5171 08 N
676-1T38

Be careful when opening it up ... the five buttons are not held in by anything and will go flying. Fortunately, they only fit back in one way.

The clear bulb in the center lines up with the back of the RESET and ODO/TRIP overlays for illumination. It looks like the front and back circuit boards could be pulled apart from the white plastic piece sandwiched in-between. That would probably help with desoldering, not that I have the equipment or knowledge/comfort to tackle that.

No SCs in junk yards around here, so it's either road tripping or buying parts online.

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

Also, the partially [flash] illuminated number on the back of the back circuit board is 156513, same as the first number on the white sticker.

Rhoderman

iTrader: (1)

Based on what I see, I'd say your LED is set up to be driven at around 35mA. This means the driver is capable of at least that.

The way you find this is:

Supply +12.6V (fully charged battery presumed)
LED -2V
Diode -.6V
-----------
10V (V across resistor)

Resistor = 270 Ohms

So, 10V across 270 Ohms (10 / 270 ) = 0.037A (or 37mA)

It's pulsed, so you don't need to worry so much about power.


What color LED do you want? How bright do you want it? Digikey makes it easy to narrow down to a few. I can't tell for sure but that LED looks like a 5mm run of the mill size.

It may light up the whole neighborhood at night though. Unfortunately, you get bright or normal, not much way to switch between without more intelligence.


If it was me, I would probably try to break off the LED and top solder a new one on. If that failed, I'd desolder the interfacial connectors and do it that way. You are going to possibly have to change that series resistor depending on which LED you pick.

Put a "wanted for testing" ad in the classifieds here. Somebody has to have one they don't need, and shipping shouldn't be bad at all...

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

Yeah, you just blew my mind. Uh, are you saying I need to hook it up to a car battery and measure something, or were you just noting your calculations for how you got to the 35 mA number?

I think staying with a red LED is best, as that's sort of universal speak for car alarm.

Good guess on the size. It's exactly 5mm at the lip of the base, slightly less along the rest of it. I guess that's considered a "T-1 3/4" bulb? Looking at some of the newark.com listings, replacement bulbs are like 20 cents each, and there are literally thousands in stock. Geez.

It might be worth taking a trip to the electronics supply store. They can probably take a look at it and figure out what I'm working with and what the upgrade options are. Is the idea that the series resistor needs to be +/- a certain percentage of the mA of the LED?

Or I could see if any computer repair places are interested in a tiny side project... Or just buy some desoldering materials and bite the bullet.

If I screw this one up, I could always post a "wanted for bailing me out from testing" classified. I found one on eBay for $20, as well.

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

I picked up a brighter LED and stopped by the computer place the electronics store recommended, but they weren't open yet so I figured I'd follow the store's advice of just clipping the legs off the original LED and soldering the new one on. So far I've managed to burn my finger and not get the legs up from the circuit board hot enough (even with a 40W iron) to get the solder to melt on it.

Bulbs were one for $3 or 10 for $6. I probably should have gotten the bigger pack, because I suspect I'm going to end up having to desolder the original LED and put the new one in that way, but it's got cut legs now... I suppose its legs could be reconnected with solder, though.

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

Success! I got it to hold solid on my third try. I put on a clean soldering tip, but I don't think that had anything to do with it because I still couldn't get the old legs hot enough for the solder to melt directly on them. The main thing I eventually got going in my favor was figuring out how to hold four things with two hands... I wrapped the head of the LED in tape so I had a handle to easier position the tiny little bastard. I was then able to hold it in place well enough to melt solder to it and the old legs.

I wouldn't be surprised if that needs to be refastened down the line by someone with better soldering skills, but it's working for the time being. It's fairly visible in direct sunlight and pretty bright in the shade. It'll be interesting to see how bright it is at night!

Linrose Super Brite LED - B4310CH1
1390 mcd - 5mm RED LED
1.8Vf @ 20mA-VIEWING ANGLE-30
SUNBURST SERIES (#63)

The guy at the electronics store said there shouldn't be any need to change the resistor to match the old combo. Some of the not quite as "super" bright ones have built in resistors for that purpose, apparently. I'm new to the mcd brightness scale, but this one is some 60x as bright as ones that are supposedly an upgrade from the stock one.