Idiot Light Relocation Finished
07-14-05, 09:52 PM
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Locust of the apocalypse
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Idiot Light Relocation Finished
Well, After I got the pod done, I put the Idiot Lights down below the stereo...
This was a bit of a PITA. but some people asked to explain how its done..
Well, I don't have enough webspace to house a complete step by step picture narrative, so i'll do the best with what I have!!!
When you take the Idiot light cluste apart.. You find three seperate PC boards.. THe only one you need INTACT is the bottom most board where the harness plugs in.. I ditched the clock and the right sode of the light board all together.
There are 12 lights on the second board.. I only used six.. I used the six closest to the clock control section because there is a handy screw hole here that I will use later to affix the re-wire light board to the housing in the stereo panel.
You need to know a little about circuits before you attempt this.. The lights are all supplied power by one main circuit in the board.. they are turned on by being grounded as the initiating switch ditctates. Therefore.. BEFORE, you cut ANYTHING.. take a GOOD LOOK and the light board and how it is laid out.. Find the lights you want to keep and then see WHERE they are connected to the powerboard and MAKE A DIAGRAM.
On the side of the light board where the lights are.. there are three bundles of wires attaching it to the powerboard. (there are two more for the clock on the right. but these are NOT related to the lights) The third bundle from the left has FIVE wires... Note which wire it is that gets connected to the circuit on the light board that goes to EVERY light.. thats the POWER wire and you will need to reattach it to the exact same place!!!!!!!! (thats another reason for keeping the six lights closest to the clock.. thats where the power wire attaches)
To relocate the main board.. I de-soldered the input jack from the board and made a new harness that runs from the stock connector down through the dash (behind the glovebox) and into the stereo bay in the console) Using the FSM, I chose which lights i wanted to run, found those wire on the stock connector, clipped them and soldered the new wire onto them and ran it down to the main board. There are several wires in the stock connector that are for power for the clock.. you can use these for your new gauges and do not have to be run to the mainboard.
Now, you have to run the power wire and the proper light grounds to the new light board. Just make sure that you run the grounds from the STOCK location on the MAIN BOARD.. to the new location on the new board. There are some diodes and such on the main board that have to be kept in line with the lights. The light board is just a circuit,l you can put them where you want, but you have to run them from the same location on the power board, or the fuel light may come on when you open the door.. Get it??
I then cut the plastic honeycomb with a dremel and used the six light holders closest to the clock (the screw hole to mount the sub board is here) I then cut the stock idiot light stencil board up to make the lights that I wanted and glued them to the front of the honeycomb, a piece of plexi was glued to this and then the whole thin was jb-welded onto the back of the stereo plate .. O yeah, I used the honeycomb as a template and pre-dirilled six holes in the stereo plate prior to mounting the lights!!!
Here’s what it looks like now that everythings buttoned up
This was a bit of a PITA. but some people asked to explain how its done..
Well, I don't have enough webspace to house a complete step by step picture narrative, so i'll do the best with what I have!!!
When you take the Idiot light cluste apart.. You find three seperate PC boards.. THe only one you need INTACT is the bottom most board where the harness plugs in.. I ditched the clock and the right sode of the light board all together.
There are 12 lights on the second board.. I only used six.. I used the six closest to the clock control section because there is a handy screw hole here that I will use later to affix the re-wire light board to the housing in the stereo panel.
You need to know a little about circuits before you attempt this.. The lights are all supplied power by one main circuit in the board.. they are turned on by being grounded as the initiating switch ditctates. Therefore.. BEFORE, you cut ANYTHING.. take a GOOD LOOK and the light board and how it is laid out.. Find the lights you want to keep and then see WHERE they are connected to the powerboard and MAKE A DIAGRAM.
On the side of the light board where the lights are.. there are three bundles of wires attaching it to the powerboard. (there are two more for the clock on the right. but these are NOT related to the lights) The third bundle from the left has FIVE wires... Note which wire it is that gets connected to the circuit on the light board that goes to EVERY light.. thats the POWER wire and you will need to reattach it to the exact same place!!!!!!!! (thats another reason for keeping the six lights closest to the clock.. thats where the power wire attaches)
To relocate the main board.. I de-soldered the input jack from the board and made a new harness that runs from the stock connector down through the dash (behind the glovebox) and into the stereo bay in the console) Using the FSM, I chose which lights i wanted to run, found those wire on the stock connector, clipped them and soldered the new wire onto them and ran it down to the main board. There are several wires in the stock connector that are for power for the clock.. you can use these for your new gauges and do not have to be run to the mainboard.
Now, you have to run the power wire and the proper light grounds to the new light board. Just make sure that you run the grounds from the STOCK location on the MAIN BOARD.. to the new location on the new board. There are some diodes and such on the main board that have to be kept in line with the lights. The light board is just a circuit,l you can put them where you want, but you have to run them from the same location on the power board, or the fuel light may come on when you open the door.. Get it??
I then cut the plastic honeycomb with a dremel and used the six light holders closest to the clock (the screw hole to mount the sub board is here) I then cut the stock idiot light stencil board up to make the lights that I wanted and glued them to the front of the honeycomb, a piece of plexi was glued to this and then the whole thin was jb-welded onto the back of the stereo plate .. O yeah, I used the honeycomb as a template and pre-dirilled six holes in the stereo plate prior to mounting the lights!!!
Here’s what it looks like now that everythings buttoned up
Last edited by YearsOfDecay; 07-14-05 at 09:59 PM.
07-14-05, 10:05 PM
#4
Locust of the apocalypse
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I wish that i had taken pics of the board as i was soldering.. that would have made the whole "what wire go were, and which ones do I need" a bit easier!!!!!!
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