Help with LED

[BonnevilleBill]

I have been checking around on the forum for a while and I cannot find a part number for the small LED's in the heated seat switches. I have the bulb number but I would like to change the color of the small HI/LO LED's. Thanks

[nos4blood70]

Andrew would know, hopefully he sees this and chimes in.

[ddalder]

No idea what the manufacturer/part number is that Invotronics used. Basically, because of the physical size of the switch and printed circuit board you'll need to find a replacement with the same case style. These are referred to as an SMT Gull Wing package. I'm also not sure what the electrical characteristics are. To get an "exact" replacement (without having to change the current limiting resistors) you'd need to do some measuring and a little math. Having said that, these should be a standard intensity LED and many of them will have similar electrical characteristics. Electrical properties do tend to vary with different colours though. You'll need to do a little legwork.

[BonnevilleBill]

Thanks guys. I found these and I believe they should work.http://lighthouseleds.com/1-8mm-2mm-led ... right.html

[ddalder]

I think you're going to have problems with those... The lead configuration is wrong and you need to remember that the LED's sit behind a plastic lens. Space is tight. Those are ultra bright and may produce an annoying amount of light at night.

[BonnevilleBill]

Hmmmm. You may be right. I will keep looking.

[ddalder]

This is more what you're looking for...

http://www.digikey.ca/product-search/en ... ageSize=25

Based on a couple of options I selected, I only came up with amber and red. I know there are other possibilities though. You can also try http://www.mouser.com for options.

What colour are you looking for?

[BonnevilleBill]

Thanks. That's a step in the right direction. I was hoping for green.

[ddalder]

Here are some options with different filters applied...

http://www.digikey.com/product-search/e ... ageSize=25

[ddalder]

You must pay attention to the minimum order quantity. Many you can purchase as singles, a few are 1,000 or more. In this list, there are also numerous levels of intensity. For standard brightness you'll likely want to stay toward the lower end of the millicandela (mcd) rating.

[BonnevilleBill]

What do you think would be a good millicandela rating?

[ddalder]

I'm thinking 200mcd would be reasonable. These aren't overly expensive so I'd suggest buying a few of three or four options. Experimentation may help but that value is probably where I'd start. Depending on viewing angle, once you get close to 1,000+ you're more into the high intensity LED's.

[BonnevilleBill]

Great! Thanks so much for your help. I will order a few different ones and let you know how it goes.

[ddalder]

You're welcome. I'll be curious to hear how this works out.

[BonnevilleBill]

I got my LED's from Digi-Key.com today. These are the ones I feel that had the best results.





Please excuse the fact that the bulbs in the switch's are burned out. That was the main reason I even took all this apart in the first place. I figured since I am replacing the bulbs I may as well see about changing the color of all the LED's. With help from ddalder I think it's a home run. I did mess up the copper trace for the HI LED on the first switch I did so I will need to replace that board. Next will be the Traction control, Window Lock and Fog Light LED's. What do you all think? It does match the rearview mirror now.






I also replaced all the bulbs in my radio and the bulb in my Floor console.





Thanks again ddalder and I am going to pm you about a replacement switch.

[ddalder]

Looks really good! Don't forget the HVAC control

[BonnevilleBill]

I forgot about that one