Actual pink leds will fade in the next 3-6 months to a ugly color. The only proper way to do it is to use a white led and make pink lenses with the vinyl I sell. That way the color will last.

How much time would you guys estimate this to take? I am going to do the gauges, HVAC, and needles. 2 hrs? 5 hrs? a whole day? a whole week?

For someone that has never done one, 5-6 hours would be a good estimate.

^^ Well, thats not too bad, probably try to knock it out in a weekend.

New problem, what about the '07 HVAC LED failure problem? I don't want to start this and have that problem arise and have a warrenty issue. Any suggestions? Bought the '07 car in May 2007

It is not an LED problem but a board problem. Some fail and some do not. No way to tell if they will or not as it is totally random. Some fail with an led swap and some fail without an led swap. Just happens and stinks.

So making the swap will void the warranty and not allow me to get the HVAC replaced from Toyota, even though the cause is not from that? Are they douches or just techinical?

You modify anything electrical to the car and it will void warranty. They have no idea or no way to prove if you did somthing or if it flaked out.

if i were to do this myself how much would i be looking at for all parts for gauges and hvac in blue and white with reversed lcd screens?

Usually comes out to around $50-$60 in parts if you order everything possible to do.

Hey, Jeremy: after doing the HVAC LED swap, the three button lights on the top right (defrost front, defrost rear, and mode, I believe) were dim or did not light UNLESS I pushed on the circuit board. This led me to believe that I had a weak solder connection on one of the LEDS or the new resistor (the 43 ohm one at R304) installed on the rear portion of the circuit board. I went through and re-soldered them, but now none of those lights work at all. I'm not sure where the breakdown is in the circuit, since I believe they're run in series and I can't test the LEDs or resistor individually. My best guess is that I may have fried the resistor by overheating it during re-solder. Any ideas? If it's the resistor, where can I find just one of those? Thanks!

Have a great night,
-Radar

If they all stopped working, it sounds like you have a more serious issue. Do the gauge cluster lights work? If so the best bet would be to send it in and have me to an eval on it.

Sorry, I wasn't very clear with what I was saying there... Just those three lights (Mode, front defrost, and rear defrost) are inoperative. All of the other lights on the HVAC are working properly.

If the resistor was bad, would that cause all three to burn out (since I assume they're wired in series)?

take a detail pic of the area on the board n post it up?

I could tomorrow (I'm on duty all night tonight), but the board looks just like any board that's had the LEDs swapped... Only those three lights don't light up. That, and you can probably look really closely at my soldering job and tell why I don't do it for a living. ;)

that was my problem, I had a splash of solder on some parts and bridged a cap, i was gettin a lil carried away with the solder sucker. If you have a multimeter you should be able to test the led's individually(in circuit), I was able to with mine.

I half-heartedly checked the LEDs with a multimeter, but I didn't really see if I had a good connection. I'll have to try again in the AM. Thanks for the help!

Sounds like a bad solder joint or an led was nuked upon install / if one is overheated / toasted then all 3 will not work in the series.

quick question. i'm about to buy some leds and resistors from you garage, but if i want a nice dark blue would it be better to do white led with blue vinyl or just use blue leds

white led with blue vinyl, would be my bet.

I would just use blue leds, the vinyl will match blue leds anyways. If you want it darker, you could do the vinyl and then double layer it...

hey garage.. i've emailed you a couple of time but i guess you didn't get them.. yea but i want a two tone blue and white.. so i'll order soon and send payment..

Hello, I was out of the country, I literally just got home :) I will be catching up on emails in the morning :)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p54/electrongeek/My%20Ride/interior2.jpg
After hours of cursing and a six pack, I'm finally done with my swap. I bought all my stuff from garage.

My radio will go under the hot iron next after my leds come in. Overall its been a fun project that I'm so proud of. I love driving at night!

reminds me to do my steering wheel hehe. those screws are tight

so did you do white leds with blue vinyl or blue leds with blue vinyl.. because your numbers look white but the glow behind the needles look a little blue

I used white leds with blue vinyl.

Finally finished


http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u106/izedaman/P1050686-1.jpg

Looks hot man congrats!

garage i placed an order about 2 days ago and payment sent via paypal

Appreciate it :)

Monday BUMP!

Well, I decided to fly down to see Jeremy [Garage1217] and have him do my Cluster, HVAC, steering wheel, door locks LED swap. The results are amazing, and I had to post some pics of it.

The new gauge faces are made by BlackCatCustom, which I bought on eBay. They are white during the day, and two-tone blue at night. Enjoy.

http://i462.photobucket.com/albums/qq348/dade49/Car_Gauge1.jpg
http://i462.photobucket.com/albums/qq348/dade49/Car_Gauge2.jpg

I'd like to note that Jeremy does incredible work, and is priced for the quality. He's also not the most expensive either. I would reccommend him to anyone.

Nice setup. I need to finish/post picks of mine. I havent done the steering wheel controls or the HVAC yet. I am also not very happy with my needles (I did them myself). The lights are very good though. Good job Jeremy.

Back up and running! All order shipped out over the weekend since I was closed last week because of travel. Appreciate all the support fellow scion owners!

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bump for info

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How did you get the needles to be white. I painted mine white but they pick up the blue from the guages. Did you have to change color of the LEDS nearest to the needles to achieve that look?

You use white leds & apply my blue translucent self adhesive vinyl to the back of the gauge faces. So the white light shines through on the needles, while you see led blue on the gauge faces. That simple :)

Thanks for the info. Was hoping I could just paint them white. Looks like I will have to go with a diiferent color. When i have the OEM orange needles they seemed to work. You think red will show up?

Red will look mostly red with a hint of purple depending on the paint.

Depending on the paint? What paint do you suggest? I used acrylic model paint when I painted my needles white.

Will have to look up the exact color when I get home, but I use Kustom Kolors brand.

im actually doing my led mod today :silly: do i have to pain my needles in order for them to be the color of my lrds when they are lit up? :tap:

Painted mine white and they lit up the same color as the LEDs.

Gloss white is the color I use. Turns out stellar :)

Happy Holidays from garage1217!! Get your orders in by tomorrow for a possible before Christmas delivery or just after!

Merry Christmas everyone! Hope it rocked for all of you!

New year bump!

Ordered a resistor kit from you yesterday, now get it here! Lol!

Already shipped :)

You rock!!!

No YOU ROCK!

Ok, maybe just a little bit, lol!

Why can't we both rock? Lol!

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Weekly bump!

What would cause the numbers to be all mucked up on the screen on the hvac after you install everything back?
Did in blue with the resistor kit that you offer.

Sounds like you cracked the display screen. Other than that, not sure?

Usually occurs when solder merges from one pin on the LCD screen to another on the screen. Make sure all pins have their own solder and no two are accidentally connected....lol.....A local person in my area did this and I fixed it for him. His HVAC screen had all sorts of wierd things displaying. He accidentally let some solder connect to prongs.

Just got done reading all 16 pages of info and I am definitly excited to start this project. I have a couple of beginner questions before I order all the equipment from Garage1217.

On an automatic, shifting from Park to Drive and so on lights up that letter green. I am not sure how this occurs considering I have not taken it apart yet, but will this effect cease when you change out the LED's?

My plan is to use white LED's with a couple different vinyls. Meaning I have to swap resistors. Now does that mean I have to change out all the LED's including the warning lights? I don't really mind the tire pressure and engine being amber.

And last of all, I noticed that on alot of the two tone pictures it looks like the blue is kind of blue/white blended. Is it often that you would need to double up the vinyls to create more of a blue look?

Thanks in advance for your time :o

The lights on an automatic are just amber LEDs. simply change them to white and use any vinyl you want. Just for a heads up, there is no need to swap resistors on the gauge cluster...they are only needed for the HVAC. you can use them on the ckuster to make them brighter if you want but they are bright already as they are supplied with a 13volt power supply. the HVAC needs the resistors as its power source is only 8volts.

Just for a heads up, there is no need to swap resistors on the gauge cluster

Thats a relief. I know on one of the diagrams I saw it said that when using White LED's to switch the resistors. But if thats not necessary all the better.

Usually occurs when solder merges from one pin on the LCD screen to another on the screen. Make sure all pins have their own solder and no two are accidentally connected....lol.....A local person in my area did this and I fixed it for him. His HVAC screen had all sorts of wierd things displaying. He accidentally let some solder connect to prongs.

Yeah, this was the problem. When I was desoldering it, some solder fell through the hole and was touching 2 of the prongs and I didn't see it when putting it back together. Whew, easy fix, glad it wasn't nothing major.

I'm real careful with the screen, treat it like a baby, so hope I never crack any.

Just freaked me out a bit cuz this was probably my 9th tC HVAC I take apart and that's the first time that's happen to me.

Thanks everyone, and sorry I just getting back to you.

Just got done reading all 16 pages of info and I am definitly excited to start this project. I have a couple of beginner questions before I order all the equipment from Garage1217.

On an automatic, shifting from Park to Drive and so on lights up that letter green. I am not sure how this occurs considering I have not taken it apart yet, but will this effect cease when you change out the LED's?

My plan is to use white LED's with a couple different vinyls. Meaning I have to swap resistors. Now does that mean I have to change out all the LED's including the warning lights? I don't really mind the tire pressure and engine being amber.

And last of all, I noticed that on alot of the two tone pictures it looks like the blue is kind of blue/white blended. Is it often that you would need to double up the vinyls to create more of a blue look?

Thanks in advance for your time :o

- If you use a white led in the shifter area, it will look much better & also keep the colors which are printed on the auto tranny area. If you use any other color, some letters look funny or dark.

- With any two tone, I recommend the resistor kit. It makes the overall two tone effect look much more defined. Every single one of my in house swaps have full resistor swaps performed on the gauges, hvac & steering unless they are going with a red theme.

- Only one layer is needed with the vinyl unless you are going with the sky blue "very light blue color" The normal blue that I offer is a very very close match to a blue led. And the white areas will be very bright white. Looks stunning in person!

Usually occurs when solder merges from one pin on the LCD screen to another on the screen. Make sure all pins have their own solder and no two are accidentally connected....lol.....A local person in my area did this and I fixed it for him. His HVAC screen had all sorts of wierd things displaying. He accidentally let some solder connect to prongs.

Yeah, this was the problem. When I was desoldering it, some solder fell through the hole and was touching 2 of the prongs and I didn't see it when putting it back together. Whew, easy fix, glad it wasn't nothing major.

I'm real careful with the screen, treat it like a baby, so hope I never crack any.

Just freaked me out a bit cuz this was probably my 9th tC HVAC I take apart and that's the first time that's happen to me.

Thanks everyone, and sorry I just getting back to you.

Stellar! Glad Jim got it straight for ya! I had not seen this before so kind of hard to picture and troubleshoot.

Yea, I only learned from that one cluster I fixed for a local person. Other than that I would of been lost to without seeing it. haha.....as for resistors in the cluster, they definitely make the colors more pronounced with two-tone swaps...I just wanted to clarify that It was not needed if he did not feel like doing it, But yes, it makes it look better with two-tones.

Correct, not a must, especially with single colors, but with two tones, it adds the magic touch!

Ok I will go ahead and swap the resistors. If I'm gonna do it, I want to do it right :o

If you use a white led in the shifter area, it will look much better & also keep the colors which are printed on the auto tranny area. If you use any other color, some letters look funny or dark

So if I switch out all the gear LED's to white on my cluster, will it still light up green to tell me which gear I am currently in? I know it's not necessary (as you should know which which gear you are in) but I am just curious.

Thank you for your replies.

no if you switch them to white on the cluster they will all light up white when you go from one gear to the other. the current leds that are on the cluster are green.......switch them to white and you will be set.....I think Jeremy may be talking about the actual Shifter area in the center console area?

I see now, thanks for clearing that up.

And I think you might be right about what Jeremy was speaking of. I was getting that impression as well. All though I haven't seen any diagrams or info for changing the lights in the center console area.

Correct, on the cluster, each letter has it's own separate led on the auto tranny area. You can make them any colors you want :)

I was speaking about the shifter area.

Anybody know what would cause just the speedo needle not to do the sweep?

And yes, I've checked to see if it was on to tight. It's just bearly on, but no movement from the post itself even when the needle is off.

Do all the other gauges sweep?

Got it. For some reason the sweep had turned itself off. Turned it back on and also found out that you can turn the seat belt buzzer off, WOO HOOOOO!!!!!

Thanks!

do you have a diagram of the resistors that are needed to be swapped on the gauge cluster.. i bought the resistor kit but i'm not sure of the resistors that i need to replace

nm.. i found it

any posts on how to remove the HVAC? I don't want to break anything.

HVAC
1. Take off your shift knob by twisting it counter clockwise many times.
2. Pull hard on the lower console towrds the back of the car and slightly up. Will pop out.
3. Unplug cig lighter from lower console
4. Shut the radio door
5. Pull off entire top console
6. Unplug hvac wire harness
7. Take out 6 screws that hold on the hvac unit.
8. Pull hard on the HVAC unit box "backside of console" and the temp knob will pop off

cool thanks man.

are there 2 different kinds of polarized film?? my hvac lcd blue is a different blue from my cluster lcd... both are backed by white leds and i've turned the film many different ways and it still won't get right.. i'm just wondering

It will be a slightly different blue as the gauge cluster LCD is backed with a silver lining & the HVAC is backed with a white plastic lining. They should be close, but not exact. I have been contemplating removing the silver backing from the GC & useing two layers of white paper or plastic under it.

ok... i have good news and bad news... good news.. i took the backing off the cluster lcd and put a piece of polarized film there and put a piece in front and got close to the color of the hvac lcd... now if we could put a solid piece of white plastic behind that on the curve to get rid of the reflection and it would be perfect... now the bad new.. my middle 2 led for the knob aren't working.. sometimes they work and sometimes they dont'... now i did kinda mess up the ic power chip and this could be the problem... but all the other ones work... any way i can get a new ic power chip and any way to trouble shoot that.. thanks in advance

yea... you need white plastic i tried paper and it didnt' look right but some plastic/// to me it seems like you need something to polarize behind it for the polarized film to work on front... that's why i put film on front and back

You do not need anything behind it to change the front. Honestly I am not understanding why yours is so different, I do a ton of these and they are all super close, just a hair off color wise. Nothing drastic. Shoot me pics via email to jeremy@garage1217.com so I can see whats up :)

will do... but i already change my gc lcd... but i'll shoot you a pic of my hvac one and my gc was way darker than my hvac one.. give me a day

Weekend BUMP!

So, I bought my resistor kit from you, and I don't think they are correct? Can I e-mail/pm you bc none of mine are the correct values, jw if they're supposed to be off. Thanks!

They are correct values :) Reading a resistors read a little funny. Examples are...

430 = 43 ohm
131 = 130 ohm
561 = 560 ohm
681 = 680 ohm
4220 or 422a = 420 ohm

bwahahahaha, thanks. I am le retarded. And to think I took electricity and optics ... my physics prof would be upset. Thanks!

hey jeremy did you ever end up making those "replacement" needles?

Hey no prob! Just shoot me a pm if you have any other questions!

Actually the most common complaint I get is "You did not send me a 681 or a 561.... You sent a 189 and a 195" And I have to tell them to rotate them 180 degrees and re-read the resistor value :) Happens to the best of us!

I did not, the local manufacturer never came through with my order after 3 months. He was quite busy and the product was good but I had to ask for a refund as I was hoping to have them in the first few weeks. I am not sure if he still makes them at all.

Sunday BUMP!

Friday BUMP!

pics arent working for me

^^ i'd blame your dial-up connection.

Is there anything like this that shows the placement of the gauge resistor upgrade and steering wheel resistor upgrade?

Yes, check my website :) And on the steering wheel controls, it only has one resistor on it from memory...

http://www.garage1217.com/album1_004.htm

:bow: Thanks!

Almost the weekend BUMP!

its prolly been mentioned before but what r the LED's the go in the door locks and steering wheel controls, they are smaller than the gauge face ones, im looking to buy them but dunno their name/part #.

You can use plcc-2's in the door locks. They are technically 1206 sized, but as stated, plcc-2 works just fine & are brighter :)

The steering wheel controls are normal plcc-2.

Just did the resistor upgrade for the steering wheel controls, and gauges that are both swapped with blue led's. Looks much better now!

That is what I am talking about :D

Monday BUMP!

so all the LED's in the gauges are plcc-2's right?

So i would only have to buy however many i need of those?
and no resistors or anything else. all I think i'm gunna do is swap some out for blue.

Yes they are plcc-2. I highly recommend the gauge cluster resistor kit & the hvac resistor kit is a must if you plan to change those.

is that the two dollar part on your site?

the resistor upgrade? or is there a different resistor kit that i need and thats just an upgraded one from that

Correct :) The $2 kit on my site.

Evening BUMP!

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Almost FRIDAY bump!

awesome post!

No charge for the awesomeness!

Monday BUMP!

Hey there Garage

I did the resistor swap on my hvac which i have white LEDs in already and for some odd reason when i switch the headlights on on the car the hvac wont light up but when the headlights are off the LCD screen lights up.

Note: i did some how manage to lose the 130ohmresistor in my stupid shag carpet would that effect it?

Do you own an 2007..?

Nope i own an 06

That is very bizarre... Does the gauge cluster light up fully..?

I did an LED swap and resistor swap on my gauages and they light up/work just fine

Not sure man, something is not right, that is for sure! Without seeing the unit first hand, I could not diagnose it. You are welcome to send it in. Just shoot a PM for specifics.

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Monday BLUES bump!

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The highly desired aluminum ringed 194/168 bulbs will be back in stock any day now! Get yours before this next large shipment sells out again! Oh and BUMP haha :)

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Has anyone tried using different colored leds for the LCD Display in the HVAC unit before? It takes 3 LEDs, so for example, if someone changed the left-most one to blue and the right-most one to red. (maybe left center as orange? or white? i dunno). How does that make the LCD look. Any pictures?

I have years ago, but not on the tC. It was on an xb1. It was actually a red / white / blue fade with reverse screen. You can see it on this page. And below it, was a red, white and blue not faded, but cutoff sharp.

http://www.garage1217.com/album1_009.htm

i have on a tC.. no pictures though of the hvac.. effects are similar like mentioned above.

here's a blue and green on the speedo and odo lcd
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b28/SquallLHeart/LED%20swaps/DSC_0336.jpg

Ahh so that's how that effect was done. Was trying to decide how to do my HVAC colors. maybe everything on the left side (buttons and left half of temp display) blue and everything on the right red. Then I was looking at the lcd screen and wondering if doing a fade from blue to red would look decent there too or if it would just look weird. I'm not really feelin that faded look i guess. oh wells.

Thanks for the example! :)

i have on a tC.. no pictures though of the hvac.. effects are similar like mentioned above.

here's a blue and green on the speedo and odo lcd
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b28/SquallLHeart/LED%20swaps/DSC_0336.jpg

Ohh, the 2 led change does look pretty nice.

Maybe for the HVAC one using 3 white leds with colored film over it would work. blue-purple-red. That might blend pretty well.

Holidays are coming BUMP! I would sure love to earn your business! Hit us up anytime via PM, Email, Aim or Yahoo! I have been around for years rocking the scion community & plan many more years of quality LED work & products!

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Hope you all had a safe & fun holiday!

Christmas is coming BUMP! Cannot wait! get your orders in asap for a quick delivery!

Happy Holidays! I hope everyone stays safe on the roads and may you all have an excellent Christmas!

Weekend bump! Wow 2010 already?

Been a very busy few weeks with the new products on the website! Do not forgot to check out the new flagship LED dome lights! They are wicked!
http://store.garage1217.com/new-flagship-36-chip-dome-light-36led-output-wi3636.html

We also now stock a longer festoon for the xA as well!
http://store.garage1217.com/new-aluminum-3175-festoon-bulb-color-matches-the-194168317519416839.html

And for those that have older clusters with twist style bulbs, we have our custom built led replacements that cast a very even light! Mr2 guys are going nuts for them! I bet the Lexus guys will catch on quick as well!
http://store.garage1217.com/custom-twist-socket-aluminum-ringed-high-output-bulb.html

Monday BUMP!

how do i remove the plastic thats attached to the gauge cluster? and to the lcd screen? i took it all apart but that one plastic that is there dont let me get a clear shot at all of the gauges.

Which plastic are you speaking about? The clear front, black surround or white back?

its the last plastic that is in betweek the lcd screen and the leds. cuz i could see all the gauge leds but really cant get to them and the rest of them are covered by that plastic.

would you like for me to take a pic?

Oh I think I know what you mean. You actually have to take the white back plastic off the cluster. Also remove the needles & LCD itself. Then remove the circuit board and place it into the white plastic backing while you work on it. Hope that makes sense.

Friday BUMP! This week has gone by way to slow!

Almost Friday bump!

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Bump! PLCC-2 LEDS JUST 0.49 CENTS!!!

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sooooo i know im gonna sound like a total noob... probably because i am when it comes to this stuff... but is the hvac mod like the heater knob and buttons and such?

No worries and you are correct. HVAC = AC / Heater control unit.

awesome thanks! ive been spending a lot of time on ur website lol next time the car is in the shop im pullin it all out and sending it your way for sure!

2011 Already BUMP! Hope all of you had an excellent new years!

Bump!

To note, all colors of all bulbs are back in stock! And of course all other items are in stock and good to go! Browse around our web-store at http://store.garage1217.com/

Hope you all had a great Presidents day weekend!

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Hope this helps !

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Merry Christmas / Happy holidays to all my friends & customers on here!

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Random April BUMP! Hope you all are doing awesome!

Hello Friends! Within the hour, Many select LED's and LED bulbs will be on a drastic sale on my website for Memorial Day. I am talking BIG Discounts!

A direct link to my webstore: http://store.garage1217.com/

Sale will go through Tuesday the 29th!