Slight modification to the switchgear lighting

I finished off a little project that I've had in mind for a long time. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQhXF6xYu44


Cheers,
-Alex

awww its not workin Alex

same here

ok it worked, but ican't understand??!!

cool did you use the led colour changing ones like on ebay?
nice one
gav
i wanted red ones in my uno

Video seems to be working fine?

I used red LEDs for the hazard and rear fog light switches. I used an orange LED for the heated rear window switch. White LEDs for the front fog light and the 'mystery switch'.

But I couldn't decide what colour to use for the lights/wiper switch markings themselves - so I used colour-cycling LEDs These were a few dollars each from Jaycar (www.jaycar.com). I believe that Jaycar is now open in the UK?

-Alex

Hi Alex, never heard of Jaycar sounds a bit like Maplins we have here.

Was it difficult rigging up the LEDs? might be something for me to try on the Strada when I start to strip it down, the backlighting is very poor.

Jaycar quotes prices on their website in GBP, so I think they've opened a shop in London (it was going to happen for some time). It's an Australian outfit.

The colour-cycling LEDs were very difficult to get working right. First, I referred to the datasheet available from the website, and I calculated the resistor value (R = V / I) with V = 12 - 2.13 (forward voltage required), and I = 0.023 (forward current required, 23mA). That blew up the first LED.

The forward voltage drop varies slightly for each colour, so a one-size-fits-all resistor didn't seem to be possible for 12V. I could get the red, the green, and the blue, but the next three colours are supposed to be red+green, green+blue, and red+blue - I got red, green+blue, and red... the final colour is 'white' (red+green+blue) and again I would just get red. Increasing the resistor value (to dim-down the LED as desired) would just stop the colour cycling completely; I would only get red!

So the final solution involved wiring two red LEDs and a 300 Ohm resistor in series with the colour-changing LED (series wiring brings the voltage down), and then wiring the second colour-changing LED in parallel with the first. This is a lot more complicated than normally necessary: the white LEDs, for example, just have a 1k Ohm resistor in series with each one, and most other LEDs require a 300 - 560 Ohm resistor in series.

I had to wrap the colour-changing LEDs in white insulation tape, to reduce their intensity. You might wonder why, based on the video, but remember that is a camera - in real life, the switch legends lit up the car otherwise!

If you are putting LEDs behind the crystal-clear lights/wipers legends on the Uno, you're generally better off with normal-intensity (i.e. diffuse coloured) LEDs; otherwise the black background starts to glow! High intensity works better for the square push-switches which are quite diffusive by the white material used. In my experience anyway - I've done four Unos now!

Be aware that white and blue LEDs are special cases - if you decide to use these, be prepared to experiment with resistor values (and buy a few spare LEDs). Green, yellow, and red LEDs are a fraction of the price and much more tolerant of current and voltage.

Basically, you need a handful of 560 Ohm resistors (a few pence each?) and five LEDs (for a standard Uno), plus some spare speaker wiring etc. and some heatshrink tube (two sizes, one to fit over the LED leads, and one to fit over the LEDs themselves). This makes the LEDs a press-fit into the switch housings, which are designed to accept the fibre-optic end fittings standard on the Turbo and 70SL (and probably used on the Abarth 130TC as well )

-Alex

Really cool Alex many of my background lights dont work so i was considering led replacements. Hope thoe are regular leds as i may have quite a few lying around. You saved me the research.

Nice work Alex i'm impressed!! Now all you need are a few strobe lights, a smoke machine and a few ladies and you got your very own mobile disco hehehe

F R O $ T Y

Thanks Frosty!

See attached pics. I've been cruising the streets
More accurately I drove to Auckland and spent an hour and a half in a traffic jam - not cool - I don't know how people live up there...

...then it started HAILING and lashing down as hard as you can imagine so that the wiper couldn't cope, the roads flooded (giving the underside of the Uno a good wash) and I couldn't see any road markings, ended up somewhere completely different from where I was trying to go (Pt. England instead of Pakuranga, if nzdownunder's reading!)

The Uno coped really well with all this (hopefully the carpet underlay's not soaked ) and though I missed the shop that closed an hour before, I did eventually get to the second place I was trying to go, to drop off $30-worth of old Amiga monitor, and drive home.

Cheers,
-Alex

Alex Alex Alex, please tell me that's a inspection lamp under the car and not something else..........you were checking for signs of rust after your wet road trip right

Yes I'm sorry it looks a bit like an inspection lamp. I really need a few more of those cold-cathode fluorescent lights to make it brighter, two isn't quite enough. That's what the 'mystery switch' (middle, on the left) is for, you see

I'm surprised that Chas hasn't replied yet.

-Alex

The LED upgrade to the dash is cool and like the orientated button for the neons nice touch LED is definately on the list for the Strada if I ever get time to get the restoration off the ground.

If I did the led thing I wouldn't need to try and find a replacement bulb for the fibre optics. I put an ordinary bulb in (4w) and while it works it is not bright enough.