How To: LEDs in the Stock Radio and Slave CD Player

[95C1500]

I'm not a huge fan of aftermarket radios. I like the features (bluetooth, aux input, different colors, hands free calling, etc..) but I prefer the look of a stock radio. Since the rest of my interior is green LEDs, I decided to try installing LEDs in my stock radio. Unfortunately, it is not plug and play like the rest of the interior.

First. Here is the radio I'm talking about

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So the first thing you do is remove these little screws - 2 gold and 2 silver on bottom; 2 gold on the back (bottom left stays)

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Next, lift the cover off. this is what you MIGHT see. (Every video I've seen, the radio does not have this circuit board; mine did?)

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If you have that circuit board, remove these 3 screws

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The one on the side

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and this last one on the back

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Pick up the board and disconnect this connector

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Now unhook these two connectors

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Flip the radio over to the faceplate and pull the power/volume and the tune knob off

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and remove this screw from the power/volume knob

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Now take a small flathead screwdriver and carefully pry up on the tabs while pulling the faceplate from the radio

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Feed the wiring through the slot in the radio and sflip the faceplate over

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Now remove these 8 tiny screws

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and here's your circuit board

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Notice the 10 bulbs

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Flip it over and remove the bulbs and the solder from the holes

The bulbs I used were 3mm 12v LEDs with built in resistors. I bought them from www.lc-led.com. I bought the sample order of 15 bulbs. It took a week to process the order and about 3 days to get to me once it processed. But they are great quality.

https://www.lc-led.com/Products/department/34

The resisitors are on the positive side of the LED (the longer leg)

The black marks are the POSITIVE side

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(Thanks to a video on youtube)

Now solder in your new bulbs. BE CAREFUL AROUND THE WIRING CONNECTORS. Make sure they are perpendicular to and about the same height from the board as the stock bulbs. The stock ones have a plastic "spacer" while the LEDs do not. Only use ROSIN CORE SOLDER.

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When you test them out, it should look like this (minus the 2 bulbs that I switched right after that)

Now that is as far as I got ^^^

I went back in the shop and put it all back together and took it to the truck and plugged it in. I didn't have volume control, and some of the number buttons and one or two others did not work. All of a sudden I heard a pop and smoke came from the radio and my Ill fuse (10a) blew. So I got very close to this being successful. I'm going to get another radio and try again. All I can say is be very careful with the circuit board while soldering. I'm sure I scatched it, got solder where it didn't belong or some other stupid, careless mistake. I got a little close to the connectors with the iron and they melted a little. Not to the point they were unusable but it was getting close.

Good luck guys.

 

[dmr22]

Great write up, thanks for doing that!

If I wanted to replace the bulbs with oem style bulbs, anyone know what bulbs I would need to order?

 

[Dr.Zoom]

Great write up, thanks for doing that!

If I wanted to replace the bulbs with oem style bulbs, anyone know what bulbs I would need to order?

Less than 60 mA incandescents. I used them a while back and they made the buttons hot and when I converted to leds, I noticed some minor melting going on inside the radio. They were part number 7219 from radio shack. So I don't know what to use, but I know what NOT to use.

And I successfully did the LED conversion(with the exception of one bulb that didn't light, but I'm sure it will after I retouch the joint), so even though 95C1500 smoked his radio(just busting your balls), I know it can be done.

I ordered white LEDs with built in resistors from Amazon. $14 shipped for 10 bulbs. I need to get more to do the lights inside all my switches now that they're making LEDs with built in miniature resistors.

Well done on the write up.

I still need to do the instrument lights, but HVAC controls and radio match pretty good.

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BEFORE: (was still missing a bulb on the left hand side.)

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[95C1500]

Thanks guys. Got another radio coming soon and I'm going to try it again... hopefully with a better outcome

 

[95C1500]

Finished product

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[Dr.Zoom]

Alright!

I'm curious how close the green is to the clock/display color. The way the "white" LEDs show blue, I'm not in love with the interplay of the blue/green display and the new radio illumination.

 

[95C1500]

Nowhere close. It bugs me a lot. But I don't know how/if there is a way to change it

 

[Cokeman95]

Is there room to put a piece of colored plexiglass inside the case over the display?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

[Dr.Zoom]

Is there room to put a piece of colored plexiglass inside the case over the display?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

There's enough room for what they call a lighting gel which is basically a colored film. Figuring out what color gel to get the right match would be the trick.

 

[95C1500]

There's enough room for what they call a lighting gel which is basically a colored film. Figuring out what color gel to get the right match would be the trick.

Where do you get it?