hey guys, after reading quite a bit about using LEDs in my automatic shift bezel, i've decided i'm going to do it.
Ordered my LEDs from Oznium.com (can't remember who suggested them in another post, but props to that person, for SURE!)
got 4 pre-wired RGB LEDs (that cycle through colors by themselves, and are already wired with resistors) for 2.79$ each
can't wait to put these in..
how it all started was when i bought the car i realized the shifter lights did not work.. which i thought was odd, because i figured it LOOKED like they lit up.. anyway, so i searched the fuse box thinking it was a bad fuse, with no luck. a few months went by and i was realizing how dirty the console was, mainly the slider/cover things for the shifter, and the e-brake boot and such.
so i took it apart (only 4 bolts on my sunfire) to remove the console, so i removed it and cleaned it up.
i figured while i was down there i should inspect the shifter element to see if/how it lit up, and then if the bulb was blown i'd replace it.
sure enough the bulb was burnt, so i grabbed another and replaced it.
Then i read about putting LEDs in.
and now i'm hooked.
they should be here on wednesday or thursday, and i'll be throwing pics up and making a 'write-up' i suppose.. i guess you could never have too many of those right?
so today i took the console apart again, remembering that since i have a pontiac everything lights up red (cool at first, but is kind of old now) so i needed to make the shifter letters/numbers clear, so the LEDs would cycle through all the best colors
i just scraped the red 'film' off the shifter bezel from the inside, and took a sharpie to the bulb.
i don't know if the sharpie will ruin the bulb, but hey, i figure i only need it for a day or two, and this will let me know if i did a good enough job on removing the red film.
Whew.
anyway, just thought this might be helpful if i write something up about this.
i'll take 'before' pics tonight after it gets dark out, of the 'scraped blue-sharpied-bulb' setup.
and i'll post more info as i install the LEDs.
Yeah, the temp setup results aren't even worth posting a picture of... so now we play the waiting game...
Still waiting on my RGB leds from oznium, however i did get my 30 LED weatherproof led strip from superbrightleds.com and i'm thinking about using them in the shift bezel. (they're UV/purple colored)
okayyyyy, sorry about the delay, i got carried away with stuffing LEDs everywhere in my sunfire... anyway, i completed the shift bezel lights, which was super easy, and i have a few pics to show
shifter unit with leds installed
same
night shot
another night shot
so all i did was cut the wires to the bulb socket (as close to the socket as possible) and then simply twist the led strip wires to the corresponding wires from the stock wiring, and then put everything back together.. has been working great for a week now.
it's not that bright since i used UV leds but it looks just like a black light which i think is pretty neat.