VZ Interior Lighting

[aussiesvz]

Hey guys,

Have been changing the interior lighting from a boring old green to a nice, lively blue and I really love the new look.

I have changed everything - cluster, a/c controls, additional gauges, head unit, pwr button, trip buttons, window buttons, etc etc...
...but I can't for the life of me figure out how to get into the light switch on the right hand side of the steering wheel!

I did one for a mate (VY) who had the standard switch and i just clicked apart no worries but mine has the fog lights as well (SVZ) and just doesn't seem to come apart.
It's the only green-coloured thing left in my car

Someone help! Much appreciated!

 

[MYVESSV8]

try elec section or google on here

 

[sadgasm]

Pull out the dash fascia and get your hand in beside it, there's a metal tab at 9o'clock and one at 3o'clock and 2 plastic pieces at 6 that don't move,

You have to push the 2 tabs in to slide it out however it will still get stuck on the vinyl of the dash so you'll have to get a screwdriver or something to carefully come in from the front and hold the tab/s down.

Once you get it the first time its pretty easy
As for pulling it apart once you get the cover off the back and you can see the chipboard you just have to use a pair of pliers to pull the shaft out and the rest comes out easy as.

 

[Spawn-8-1]

What types and how many of each of the leds did you have to buy, this is something i want to do aswell but dont want to pay someone to do it when im sure i can do it for a fraction of the costs

 

[aussiesvz]

Thanks, sorted this out the other day.

As for the LEDs, I used:
27 x blue 3528 SMD LEDs (in my cluster and A/C controls.)
8 x white 3528 SMD LEDs (behind the needles in my cluster, makes them look awesome get super bright ones)
8 x 5mm blue led (window buttons, auto shifter [on veroboard to spread light], mode/trip buttons)
7 x 3mm blue led (rear window buttons, pwr button and light switch)

the LEDs in the cluster and A/C controls are simply solder off, solder on. Use tweezers and make sure you get the polarity right. The LEDs look like they have little triangles pointing to one side. just observe that for each one and make sure you replace them with the correct polarity. You will also need to desolder the screen(s).
The ones behind the screen are 'upright' LEDS, which I got around by holding a standard SMD led upright and soldering it in place like that.

I had new rear window buttons, which had LEDs already so I just desoldered those and put the blue ones in
The front window buttons are the same. just desolder the old ones and make sure you match polarity, then bend them into shape.

As for the mode buttons, PWR button, possibly T/C button (would be an extra LED) you need to click out the old globe and I simply soldered the LED onto the contact tabs where the old globe sat. These need resistors in the line connecting the LED, since it is 12v and the LED only requires about 2-3v. I can't remember exactly which ones I used, but Jaycar will be able to help you with that (maybe 470ohm?)

Lastly, the light switch. I used the 4 LEDs and upon testing with a multimeter, the voltage across the old globes jumped between 12v and 14.8v when the car was running and when I gave it a rev - not ideal for LEDs. I used a 7809 regulator on veroboard with a 75ohm resistor and they are bright as hell, almost too bright. maybe use the next level of resistor.

The only thing I haven't done yet is the ring around the key.

The whole process probably took me 2 hours. I will be doing a mate's VY in white and red soon, and will post a thread containing pictures and information about how to do it all yourself.