Blue lighting project - Page 3

calibrax · 31st January 2009, 17:44

Ok, latest update... today I took out my IPK cluster to convert the odometer and the message centre!

It didn't all go to plan. But almost there...

Took it apart and replaced all the LEDs, which took a couple of hours. After reassembling, I took it out to the car, and fitted it. The odometer conversion - absolutely perfect. The message centre... hmmm. Firstly there were a few LEDs not functioning. But enough were working that I could see that there was going to be a problem. For error messages (like 'door open') it lit up in red, no problem. But for the trip computer etc, although it lit up blue as intended, the text was virtually unreadable.

So, as a temporary fix I swapped a few of the LEDs around so that the writing would show up red on a blue backround. The downside being that error messages would show up as a mix of red and blue... but I'll sort that once I've bought some more LEDs. I'll also think about some other alternatives.

Also got an odd problem, the temp readout has gone to -30.0c, I went for a short drive and filled up with fuel and now it's reading to -23.5c... I assume it will sort itself out, or will it need a battery reset?

In the meantime, apart from the few LEDs not working, it's pretty good...

Here's the piccies. Odometer...

Trafficmaster, you can clearly see which blue LEDs aren't working on the top row...

Overall effect...

Error messages show up like this...

I also managed to do the gear selector indicator today...

After I've sorted the message centre properly, there's just the cigarette lighter and the light switch panel to do. Yippee!

EDIT : Oh yes, I'll be replacing the stereo... need to keep it for bluetooth at the mo, but as soon as I sort out a separate bluetooth kit, I'll put my Sony unit in, which has blue/white illumination

Platemaker · 31st January 2009, 17:53

A very , very nice job, your fingers must be cramping after all that soldering

Phil · 31st January 2009, 18:21

That looks ace. Why MGR never did this themselves I'll never know. Sort of made changing the cluster colour pointless as it made it look silly with everything else orange.

Ragman · 31st January 2009, 18:33

Fantastic Steve - when I take the 260 off the road to have the wheels refurb'd I might take my IPK out for conversion if you're interested?

Raistlin · 31st January 2009, 18:34

You're eventually going to do it aren't you?

You're eventually going to get ALL the illumination changed.

Looks great Steve

calibrax · 31st January 2009, 18:42

A quick video...

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=JhNSW3d8g8Y

mantianak · 31st January 2009, 19:01

Looks great! the blue/red bicolour looks far better than I expected. I really can't wait to do mine in white now

calibrax · 31st January 2009, 21:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Messenger

A very , very nice job, your fingers must be cramping after all that soldering

Not bad, I took plenty of breaks... when soldering stuff that tiny it's the eyes that go first, especially working with a magnifying lamp!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phil

That looks ace. Why MGR never did this themselves I'll never know. Sort of made changing the cluster colour pointless as it made it look silly with everything else orange.

I agree - to change the dials themselves to blue means changing 12 LEDs... it wouldn't have been hard to do at least the 10 LEDs for the odometer at the same time. But I guess the suppliers wanted a fair bit more money...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ragman

Fantastic Steve - when I take the 260 off the road to have the wheels refurb'd I might take my IPK out for conversion if you're interested?

Hehe... it's still very much a prototype. The red/blue thing is temporary, as I'm not 100% happy. I didn't expect the text to be unreadable with a blue background, and I don't really want red text, so I need to rethink what I need to do now... maybe something with white LEDs to perk up the text... limited space is the only problem. There's a big risk of screwing up the IPK completely as well, or damaging the message centre screen (while soldering the LEDs it's only held on by a thin ribbon connector)... so I'm not sure I'd be comfortable working on an IPK that wasn't mine, given the expense of replacing it...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raistlin

You're eventually going to get ALL the illumination changed.

Looks great Steve

Thanks Paul, it's getting there! Rear window switches, cigarette lighter and light switch unit are all that's left now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mantianak

Looks great! the blue/red bicolour looks far better than I expected. I really can't wait to do mine in white now

Bear in mind that's not a permanent setup - the bicolour LEDs are a real pain to do, and in the weeks to come I'll try and come up with a more elegant solution.

NOCTURNAL · 31st January 2009, 21:46

Keep up the good work

How ever did you end up with red writing and blue backlight?

It does look ok as you say, but I'm confuse how youve managed it?
I thought the reds/yellows were just backlighting for either
information(yellow) being changed to blue.
oe Warning(red) staying red??
I thought they were just backlighting for a graduated LCD display

Whilst I like the red writing, I want the yellow(now blue) to be blue to prebvent the traction control etc sticking out so much...

also if its a warning, shouldnt they all be red anyway? or have you tracked across...I give up I'm going through too many permutations I'll have to wait for your explaination hehe.

EDIT... posts crossed , but I would be interested as to why you thing the blue writing wasnt showing ?
It seems the PWM has sorted the lighting levels ok though?
is it that the blues are too bright? shining through the graduated lcd?

also can you do a shot of say traction control warning on its own?
this would normally be black screen with yellow symbol in top left corner for instance
Cheers, Nick...
(forgive the 20 questions, but This is the only bit of the car I need to complete , hence my interest

Lates · 31st January 2009, 21:49

Looking good Steve, don't worry on the temp readout it will stabilise over a short period of time. Happens all the time when we removed front bumpers for fan work etc.

31st January 2009, 17:44	#21
calibrax Posted a thing or two BMW 4 Series Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Rochester, Kent Posts: 1,975 Thanks: 29 Thanked 37 Times in 28 Posts	Ok, latest update... today I took out my IPK cluster to convert the odometer and the message centre! It didn't all go to plan. But almost there... Took it apart and replaced all the LEDs, which took a couple of hours. After reassembling, I took it out to the car, and fitted it. The odometer conversion - absolutely perfect. The message centre... hmmm. Firstly there were a few LEDs not functioning. But enough were working that I could see that there was going to be a problem. For error messages (like 'door open') it lit up in red, no problem. But for the trip computer etc, although it lit up blue as intended, the text was virtually unreadable. So, as a temporary fix I swapped a few of the LEDs around so that the writing would show up red on a blue backround. The downside being that error messages would show up as a mix of red and blue... but I'll sort that once I've bought some more LEDs. I'll also think about some other alternatives. Also got an odd problem, the temp readout has gone to -30.0c, I went for a short drive and filled up with fuel and now it's reading to -23.5c... I assume it will sort itself out, or will it need a battery reset? In the meantime, apart from the few LEDs not working, it's pretty good... Here's the piccies. Odometer... Trafficmaster, you can clearly see which blue LEDs aren't working on the top row... Overall effect... Error messages show up like this... I also managed to do the gear selector indicator today... After I've sorted the message centre properly, there's just the cigarette lighter and the light switch panel to do. Yippee! EDIT : Oh yes, I'll be replacing the stereo... need to keep it for bluetooth at the mo, but as soon as I sort out a separate bluetooth kit, I'll put my Sony unit in, which has blue/white illumination __________________ Steve 2004 MG ZT+ CDTi 160 (sadly now gone!) 2015 BMW 435d GranCoupe XDrive Last edited by calibrax; 31st January 2009 at 21:29..

31st January 2009, 17:53	#22
Platemaker I really should get out more....... MG ZT-T 160, MG ZT 180. Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: N/A Posts: 2,384 Thanks: 27 Thanked 24 Times in 20 Posts	A very , very nice job, your fingers must be cramping after all that soldering __________________

31st January 2009, 18:21	#23
Phil This is my second home Rover 75 CDT Connoisseur SE Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Wales Posts: 12,227 Thanks: 469 Thanked 523 Times in 241 Posts	That looks ace. Why MGR never did this themselves I'll never know. Sort of made changing the cluster colour pointless as it made it look silly with everything else orange. __________________

31st January 2009, 18:33	#24
Ragman This is my second home ZT 260 SE Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Ashington, West Sussex Posts: 3,512 Thanks: 2 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Fantastic Steve - when I take the 260 off the road to have the wheels refurb'd I might take my IPK out for conversion if you're interested? __________________ I've learned that no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.

31st January 2009, 18:42	#26
calibrax Posted a thing or two BMW 4 Series Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Rochester, Kent Posts: 1,975 Thanks: 29 Thanked 37 Times in 28 Posts	A quick video... http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=JhNSW3d8g8Y __________________ Steve 2004 MG ZT+ CDTi 160 (sadly now gone!) 2015 BMW 435d GranCoupe XDrive

31st January 2009, 18:34	#25
Raistlin Banned 75 CDT Connoisseur SE Auto Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Wolverhampton Posts: 8,450 Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	You're eventually going to do it aren't you? You're eventually going to get ALL the illumination changed. Looks great Steve

31st January 2009, 19:01	#27
mantianak I really should get out more....... ZT 190+ Saloon Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Poole Posts: 2,413 Thanks: 6 Thanked 22 Times in 21 Posts	Looks great! the blue/red bicolour looks far better than I expected. I really can't wait to do mine in white now

31st January 2009, 21:46	#29
NOCTURNAL Gets stuck in MG ZT-260SE Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Norwich Posts: 645 Thanks: 17 Thanked 8 Times in 7 Posts	Keep up the good work How ever did you end up with red writing and blue backlight? It does look ok as you say, but I'm confuse how youve managed it? I thought the reds/yellows were just backlighting for either information(yellow) being changed to blue. oe Warning(red) staying red?? I thought they were just backlighting for a graduated LCD display Whilst I like the red writing, I want the yellow(now blue) to be blue to prebvent the traction control etc sticking out so much... also if its a warning, shouldnt they all be red anyway? or have you tracked across...I give up I'm going through too many permutations I'll have to wait for your explaination hehe. EDIT... posts crossed , but I would be interested as to why you thing the blue writing wasnt showing ? It seems the PWM has sorted the lighting levels ok though? is it that the blues are too bright? shining through the graduated lcd? also can you do a shot of say traction control warning on its own? this would normally be black screen with yellow symbol in top left corner for instance Cheers, Nick... (forgive the 20 questions, but This is the only bit of the car I need to complete , hence my interest Last edited by NOCTURNAL; 31st January 2009 at 21:53.. Reason: Post crossing... and making sense of sentance LOL

31st January 2009, 21:49	#30
Lates This is my second home Jaguar XE Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Coventry Posts: 4,321 Thanks: 56 Thanked 59 Times in 55 Posts	Looking good Steve, don't worry on the temp readout it will stabilise over a short period of time. Happens all the time when we removed front bumpers for fan work etc.