For the second time, the illumination on my driver's seat heater switch failed. Since, I'm no longer under warranty, I wanted to find a different solution than replacing the whole switch (since it will only burn out again anyway). I decided to use the extra LEDs I had previously purchased to replace my clock lights. I wanted a change in look so I used blue LEDs.

I didn't go into detail about removing the switches, but that part is pretty straightforward. The following is a DIY on what I did...

First, remove the switch from the console. Carefully pry the top of the switch off the posts using something pointy (I used a knife). Then pry the contents out of the switch. I pried each side out one at a time and inserted toothpicks to keep the plastic apart until I could pull it all out.












Then out everything back together...




Total time was about an hour for the two switches. It's a lot brighter than it was before. I'm going to do this mod every time another light burns out anywhere inside the car..

 

AWESOME!! i'm gonna do this w/ mine.. my driver's side went out a couple of weeks ago...

great write-up slider...

 

Thats hot, i wouldn't mind doing this if i would do the whole interior swap heh

 

Nice!

 

Nice!! what kind of LEDs are those?

 

I started with replacement LEDs for our clock lights from http://autolumination.com/74.htm type "B". I bought a few different colours when I needed clock lights. I had these left over - I used the white ones in the clock.

 

Nice

 

Very nice work.

 

very nice man, I wish I saw this before I bought new switches

 

My driver's side is out as well, I will do this over the winter!

 

Looks awesome. One thing I'd like to do with those heater switches is light up the top and bottom portions that indicate high or low heat so you know which is which in the dark. Just getting an "On" indicator isn't good enough. My CX-7 had them setup that way and it was quite handy.

 

i know you got type b led's but what size were they. is it 3mm?

 

I really found the article to be very helpful. I followed the steps and had only minor problems. Here are a couple of additional pointers. 1. With the switch body still removed from the outer housing and the slider removed, take the switch to the car and partially plug it in. Then you can turn on the lights to see if the LED lights up. If it does not, turn off the lights and reverse the polarity of the lamp. Try it again to make sure you have good connections on both terminals. After a sucessful test, then fully reassemble the switch and fully plug in the locking connectors. You have a 50/50 shot at getting it right the first time. 2. If you want to get to about the same level of brightness as the other bulbs, you will need to get some grey bulb dye to reduce the light. Left as they come to you, they will be much brighter than the buttons. Not bad, just different. 3. I used white bulbs in the clock and I like that. I never could read the darn thing at night, and this fixxes it. I used the higher power light from www.supperbrightleds.com. They were very responsive and cost was reasonable. Have fun, enjoy your car!

 

nice job

 

Looks good i might try it myself

thanks