How-To: HVAC Light replacement

latief · Post by **latief** » Sat Feb 09, 2008 10:23 am

thanks guys, so the 10mm one has a wide angle light pattern?

also, what about the defrost button, the same?

thanks,

jT · Post by jT » Sat Feb 09, 2008 10:30 am

its not really wide angle but they do light up the HVAC enough.. i can take a pic if you want (my dark night shots dont really come out good though).

the 10mm is the size of the base, has nothing to do with the LED, just to be clear

dont know about the defrost button but thatd be something i should look into too

latief · Post by **latief** » Sat Feb 09, 2008 10:34 am

thanks for the response, i modified the original leds i got and installed, the light is very patchy.... i was very unhappy with it... hopefully these will look better....

so just to confirm, i'll get the 10mm one that comes with a led, that should be sufficient ?

a picture will be great man, preferably a close up ...
thanks,

jT · Post by jT » Sat Feb 09, 2008 1:43 pm

Yeah get this:

Neo - Wedge LED Instrument Panel Bulbs Type A, B & C
Type B 10mm= 3/8" $2.99 ea.

ill try to get pics tonight when its dark

jT · Post by jT » Sat Feb 09, 2008 2:18 pm

hey Danteneon how did you do the vent LEDs? like where did you connect power from? and do you have any pics of how it looks lit up? thats kinda cool

latief · Post by **latief** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 9:02 am

Ok, so i did this, and ordered the HVAC lights from Auto-Illumination. honestly, i am not happy with the light distribution and spread.

for the people who bought the Vamp group buy light kit (Danteneon), can you provide a close-up picture of your HVAC area with the light on ?

thanks !!!!

Danteneon · Post by **Danteneon** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 9:52 am

jT wrote:hey Danteneon how did you do the vent LEDs? like where did you connect power from? and do you have any pics of how it looks lit up? thats kinda cool

latief wrote:Ok, so i did this, and ordered the HVAC lights from Auto-Illumination. honestly, i am not happy with the light distribution and spread.

for the people who bought the Vamp group buy light kit (Danteneon), can you provide a close-up picture of your HVAC area with the light on ?

thanks !!!!

Sorry for the delayed post...been a little busy

Here are some pics of the items in question...

This is where I put the LED's in the center...

The LED's are more blue than that in person.

Yeah, I have to agree with you about the spread of light in the HVAC. Since there is so little light there to start, what does light up is somewhat sparce. I have a plan in mind to add some more light however...I will keep you posted.

latief · Post by **latief** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 10:07 am

Thanks, this is my second attempt at the HVAC, and i think no matter what one does, the original bulb location is not good enough for led lighting...the spread is not great. FYI, my HVAC has 4 bulb locations which from what I've seen is not standard....i have an extra bulb location in the lower right corner...i guess that might be something unique about 2000 neons.....

I think what will make it better though will be "white" leds....

food for thought ! (quoting you)

Danteneon · Post by **Danteneon** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 10:20 am

I have the same extra slot as well. It isn't cut through, nor is there any contact there. I had the idea of using the type of LED like I have in my vents (see the above picture) and mounting them in the control head (behind the mask, in the white base itself shining through), or using EL lighting. It's been a little too cold to mess with it now, but I will keep a log as I go.

latief wrote: food for thought ! (quoting you)

Yay! My first quote

latief · Post by **latief** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 10:47 am

Danteneon wrote:I have the same extra slot as well. It isn't cut through, nor is there any contact there. I had the idea of using the type of LED like I have in my vents (see the above picture) and mounting them in the control head (behind the mask, in the white base itself shining through), or using EL lighting. It's been a little too cold to mess with it now, but I will keep a log as I go.

latief wrote: food for thought ! (quoting you)
Yay! My first quote

Thats what i mean about the extra slot, it is cut through, and i actually have a working led in it...it does not do much though so i guess that is why dodge canceled it in later years...

i think for me the worst area of the HVAC is where is AC knob is, that is the dimmest on mine...

thanks for the picture, i think i might invest in the Vamp by design kit down the road, i really like the brightness of the leds he uses, way brighter than the ones i have.... unless that is an illusion that has something to do with camera pictures

please keep us posted on what you do

jT · Post by jT » Fri Feb 22, 2008 12:42 pm

i forgot to post up the pic i offered, but im sure your result is the same as mine now

i also have that other bulb location in my hvac but its not cut through the plastic either. not sure if there are contacts there on mine

Danteneon · Post by **Danteneon** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 12:52 pm

latief wrote:
Danteneon wrote:I have the same extra slot as well. It isn't cut through, nor is there any contact there. I had the idea of using the type of LED like I have in my vents (see the above picture) and mounting them in the control head (behind the mask, in the white base itself shining through), or using EL lighting. It's been a little too cold to mess with it now, but I will keep a log as I go.

latief wrote: food for thought ! (quoting you)
Yay! My first quote
Thats what i mean about the extra slot, it is cut through, and i actually have a working led in it...it does not do much though so i guess that is why dodge canceled it in later years...

i think for me the worst area of the HVAC is where is AC knob is, that is the dimmest on mine...

thanks for the picture, i think i might invest in the Vamp by design kit down the road, i really like the brightness of the leds he uses, way brighter than the ones i have.... unless that is an illusion that has something to do with camera pictures

please keep us posted on what you do

Yeah, the results look a bit different through the camera. I love the way the cluster came out, but the HVAC leaves something to be desired. I hope my idea will give some folks a option. The Vampdesign bulbs I believe are the same as autolumination's WLED's. You pay for the convenience of vamp putting the kit together with the instructions.

OB · Post by OB » Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:37 am

Minor thread resurection here..

So let me get this straight, all the bulbs in the cluster (speedo/odom etc) are 194's? How many are there total in the cluster? And how many 72's are in the HVAC alltogether?

Danteneon · Post by **Danteneon** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 8:02 am

There are six 194 (or PC194's on certain years, mostly '05 I believe) in the cluster, and only three 74's in the HVAC.

The odometer is not lit by bulbs. To change it's color, you need to put a film over it (between the odo and the speedo mask.

Mat00ES · Post by **Mat00ES** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 9:32 pm

I just did this and some how blew a fuse. Just to make note, its fuse 15 on the inside panel. You lose your rear driving lights too.

Mat

Danteneon · Post by **Danteneon** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 1:10 am

Interesting. Do you know why the fuse blew?

Adionik · Post by **Adionik** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 4:54 am

Maybe he had some turbocharged LEDS

I need to do the hvac...if it's not too much of a pain in the ass I might get to it in a few weeks

Danteneon · Post by **Danteneon** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 12:26 pm

The HVAC controls aren't bad at all. You have to wire the LED to the socket, but it is pretty simple. Plus the fact that the control itself is easy to get to, and that there are only 3 bulbs, makes for a pretty smooth deal.

Mat00ES · Post by **Mat00ES** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 1:47 pm

I couldn't get my fingers into the lower left hand socket, so I used a flathead screwdriver. I don't know if that shorted out the connection and blew it. Its all working fine now, I still have one of the stock bulbs in, because I broke one of my LEDs. Once I soder it back together I'll be done with it, and I can start my gauges.

Mat

Danteneon · Post by **Danteneon** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 6:35 pm

Yeah, that may have done it. If power wasn't running to it, it wouldn't matter. That's why it is recommended to disconnect the battery...just in case.

Good luck with the rest man

Mat00ES · Post by **Mat00ES** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 11:21 pm

Yea, I was an idiot and had power running to it, because I was checking the polarity. I like that vent idea, I think Im gonna try it.

Mat

Danteneon · Post by **Danteneon** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 12:36 am

It is a very nice effect. I wish my camera would do it justice. If you place the LED's in the right place, you won't see them, but just get the full light effect

Mat00ES · Post by **Mat00ES** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 2:11 am

If my 194 leds come in tomorrow, Im going to do it. Did you wire it into the HVAC lights?

Danteneon · Post by **Danteneon** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 9:27 am

Not sure what you mean by that....the LED's just replace the stock bulbs, so they operate the same as stock. If you mean the led's I put into the vents, I wired a separate circuit with its own switch.

Mat00ES · Post by **Mat00ES** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 7:37 pm

I meant for the vents, I was thinking of wiring it into the 4th HVAC socket.

Mat

onewickedkid05 · Post by **onewickedkid05** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 7:57 pm

so for the knobs i should buy 3 #74's

or should i buy 3 of these

Danteneon · Post by **Danteneon** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 8:18 pm

The bottom choice is what you need. As long as that is the right socket, which it looks like it is.

Mat00ES wrote:I meant for the vents, I was thinking of wiring it into the 4th HVAC socket.

Mat

I pulled a 12V constant hot from the power outlet and wired it with a switch.

Mat00ES · Post by **Mat00ES** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 11:52 pm

Will there be a how to in the future on this, because I know I'd screw something up trying to do that.

Mat

Danteneon · Post by **Danteneon** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 12:18 am

If I have time this weekend I may take apart my dash and HVAC and do a detailed how-to.

Danteneon · Post by **Danteneon** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 1:48 pm

Figured I post a pic of the switches...