S13Freek

Does anyone know how to change out the bulbs on the A/C Control Panel for a 1995 S14? Mine seem to be going out in certain areas on the panel, and I would like to know if is possible to change out the bulbs or LEDs for new ones? Thanks!

cmhadley

there are 2 tiny lights that light up the cluster, you just take off the top surround (pressure clipped) and the climate control is held in by 4 screws...then take out the cover on back and you can unscrew the lights. ...here is a pic of everything apart, I am going to do an LED conversion on mine, I just finished my friends civic si



the arrow is pointing to the stock bulbs that light up the cluster...hope this helps



The picture doesnt do justice, it is really a deep blue that isnt too bright, looks stockish.

l2aine

cmhadley - what's the specs for the LEDs needed to do the conversion? I assume there'll be some soldering too, which I can handle... I want to do the same mod to my car as well

cmhadley

I pretty much followed This Write-up word for word, my friend paid for everything and it uses 15 3mm leds for the climate control and 3 for the indicator lights (rear defrost, a/c, and recirculation) but i'm sure you can get away with using less. He purchased the LEDs at www.superbrightleds.com and got the RL3-B2030 model. Bad news though is the 240's cluster is way tighter than the si's so 15 led's will not fit, but i'm almost positive the same look can be had by using half that. another thought is if you sand the top of the LED flat, it disperses the light more and eliminates the bright hot white spot the rounded top makes. As for the green indicator lights, they are easy to replace, just de-solder stock LEDs and resolder new ones in. the 3mm fit perfect, 5mm is too big.

Here is the 240's green indicator LEDs, I hope to start this project pretty soon, I was thinking of using white for my climate instead of blue and using blue for the indicator lights where the green ones are now, and converting my speedo cluster to white leds...Also i found this site and they sell LEDs for cheaper, but we had already ordered from superbright when we found this
i'll make a write up whenever I get it done, but if you beat me to it maybe i'll use yours...

l2aine

Now that I think about it... the only color worth doing for my car would probably be green again... since the center console of my car is a bunch of green stuff (Pioneer head unit, Tein EDFC)... damnit.

LOL

DaPCWiz

oh snap! this thread is maaad useful.

I was was just talking to Raine on aim about this the other day. Great info. I'll get started on it soon!

that hvac unit you have pics of.... is that the S14 unit the civic unit?

cmhadley

the pic i posted is of my s14a unit, and everything fits way tighter than the civic's, so be forewarned, and also, taking apart the 240s unit is a pain in the ***, it feels like you will break it because everything is so snug. ALSO I just remembered this site the guy does a full LED conversion on an accord and provides a very in depth how to with tons of useful info...he also talks about sanding the led's...good luck

l2aine

...hmm... wondering what it would look like if I did all red LEDs...

...which means I'd have to get rid of my current cluster gauge faces and switch back to OEM SE faces...

...which means I'd have to find someone who'd want to trade my gauge cluster for their OEM SE cluster...

...which means I'd have to LED the cluster now, and all the control buttons... to match the HVAC controls...

...which means, being **** like I am I'd end up tearin gthe EDFC apart and changing all the LEDs in it to red also...

...then install an illumination kill switch for my Pioneer since it's the only thing I can't change colors with...

...and it would be a lot of work, but it might actually look good. Hmmm.

see what you started cmhadley!!!!!!

DaPCWiz

white/red with the cluster u have wouldn't be bad...?

cmhadley

My friend bobby (civic si) is the one that started it, be mad at him LOL...I love the way his looks so now I HAVE to have it in my car too, don't feel bad if you have time, check his car out at car domain

EDIT: Raine, you could just swap out your pioneer for an alpine like mine the buttons on the side change 512 diff colors, the blue matches perfectly with LED blue

l2aine

You got 512 different colors...

... but my Pioneer has pics of my girlfriend on it.

cmhadley

lol well I guess it matches your car perfect when she is in the car, you got me beat there

DaPCWiz

that's my cluster with LEDs from superbright LEDs. Looks better than the picture in person.

sw20>>s14

i was doing this before i saw this thread and had a little trouble. stupid question, but when you take the unit out, there are three things connected. one on left (white) and two on right (black; one big and one small). no problems with the white, but the black ones are a pita (for me at least). tried flat head, messed up my fingers, etc. any tips on removing the black ones? tried for like 20 mins, but didn't want to break anything. looking forward to not having to turn on the interior light every time i need to change climate functions! thanks

l2aine

They're just like the other harness - if you look carefully you'll see a small tab in the center of one of the flat sides of the plug. Push the tab, pull the whole plug out. It might take some effort to actually get the plug out - remember our cars aren't exactly "factory new" so chances are you're asking something to move that hasn't moved since (most likely) it left the factory.

DaPCWiz, yeah I was thinking something like that - but with white needles