LEDmod

I was told by one of my customer.
I'm assuming he purchase the kit from eBay..

From his seller, there is new version that doesn't require resistor and voltage regulator..

I'm don't think there is any simple way to make the blue, white, green LED to light up bright without the resistor/VR swap..

Hope that other LED swapper can enlighten me..

O5_TRD_tC

I havent heard of it. But I think thats Paul LEDmods that is selling the kits on ebay.

Anyways, the current way works great.

engifineer

I spent a lot of time mapping that circuit out when I created the HVAC mod years ago. With the stock regulator and resistors, running 3V leds (white, blue, green, etc), you have an 8V supply running series branches of 3 leds. This means your voltage drop across the series branches of leds totals 9V with an 8V supply... which we all know means the leds are not dropping 3 V, even with a short across the resistors. So they will be super dim no matter what. And yes, I made a schematic of it as well back then



Thats actually for the stock leds (not after them mod with the blues.. I just left the blue labels on them.. and they transistor part numbers are not the correct ones.. just put them in for reference)

The only way around it would be if someone found some magic blue, white, green leds that drop less than 3 V. And I have never heard of such an animal. And chances are, they would be much more expensive than the current ones (just like when the standard blues were $1.50 - $2.00 each 10 years ago ) and it would just be worth it to use the leds we have now and spend the extra 5 minutes to swap the resistors and regulator.

Paul (and other douchebags) have been known to sell people just the leds (and for close to a buck each too) and call it good.

Maybe they were confused and were just told they didnt need it with the red led swap? That would be true of course

LEDmod

I did my own diagnoses and there is no way to make it light up at optional brightness without those swaps..

I thought someone came out with an magical LED...

chicotunner07

^lol LED gurus unite!!!!!!!

i always wondered what the need for resistors and regulators on led swaps was! so why are no resistors needed for the guages

engifineer

It runs on 13V (11ish while the engine is off), not 8V. So the leds are still dropping the correct voltage. The current is lower than with the stock leds because the stocks drop less voltage, but the output is higher with the blue, whites and greens we use so it evens out and looks fine.

The key is to remember that diodes are not linear devices. A diode will drop the same amount of voltage for the most part regarless of how high the supply voltage is.. if the supply voltage is too low to create that voltage drop, they become very dim.

engifineer

You can also look for my thread on led design info on here to get a better idea of how an led works.. makes more sense then

ScionJim23

iTrader: (1)

Yea no chance at the magic LED. I have read Engifineers design guide and tutorials a long time ago. Very informative i must say.

darkflare999

yea i have the so-called "no resistor" leds which is bs!.....the gauges do light up way brighter then the hvac unit....in the day time you cant see em at all but you can still the gauges light up not the hvac...s0o yea you still have to change the resistor and the vr for the hvac

ScionJim23

iTrader: (1)

Another person screwed over by Paul. Sorry man.

engifineer

Poor workmanship, cut corners, super high prices and an all around thief when it comes to business.. I thought he was finally gone. What name is he selling under now? I have a guy that just ordered an hvac kit from me because he spent $30 on 35 leds and they dont include the mod kit. To compare, they would have paid about 25 bucks (including shipping) from me or some of the others for the same leds AND the HVAC kit. Whats bad is that most people wont know the difference when they see the ebay add and end up screwed.

My favorite comment from their sale:

"IF YOU ARE GOING TO BUY THE LED'S IN ANOTHER STORE IT COSTS FROM $3 TO $5 FOR THIS KIT. THE TOTAL IS ABOUT $192.00 TO $320.00 AND THEY DON'T INCLUDE INSTRUCTIONS, SO YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING. NOW IF YOU BUY FROM HERE YOU SAVED OVER $300.00"

Outside of terrible communication skills.. who sells these leds for $300? So now someone is making up bs to make people think they are saving hundreds? Hell, I do the gauges, color changing needles, tach swap, hvac led swap, head unit led swap, steering wheel controls and door controls (me supplying the parts AND labor) for less than $300.. so this guy is on crack.

ScionJim23

iTrader: (1)

x2^. that ebay ad is a joke. It's a complete scam and seems to be working. Retards seem to keep buying and leaving feedback thinking they got a deal.

engifineer

On the side of the people buying them, most dont understand (or havent seen the forum threads) the difference in the circuits and that you do not need a kit for them. They see a product and buy it. That is the worst part; he is taking advantage of this fact.

Now why they install them and post positive reviews after is another question. It is a pretty noticeable difference, and is why people were not doing the hvac swap until the mod was out there.

w_kary

engifineer...

Garage 1217 recommended I contact you, I live in Minneapolis as well and would like to mod the lights on my 2008 xD. I had custom leather put in Black with Blue inserts and stitching. I also have the mood lighting installed by the dealer. I would like to make the Tach and Tach Needle RED, as that and orange are the only options. The rest of the cluster would be blue, except the code lights, which I would want red. I have the Nav system, and the base HVAC, so not sure how big a deal it would be to make all of those lights blue as well. I would also like to change to overhead and Map lights to Blue LED bulbs if possible. Any suggestions, guidance, kit prices, directions for DIY or do you do mods for cash?

engifineer

Just messaged you back!