How to change your DIC color

[RobertCTS]

Originally Posted by tomm

No, The tint is part of the glass screen as it is in the pictures above with the DIC screen.

I take it that changing out the glass is not practicable nor easy?

[tomm]

Originally Posted by RobertCTS

I take it that changing out the glass is not practicable nor easy?

No the tint is inside the glass and its part of the lcd display so it can not be removed.

[TCSisOFF]

does anyone have part numbers or vendors for the LED's I would need.
i'm just gonna do them all, and if anyone wants the same thing done, just send me your radios and I'll do them for $40 each. I'm a former electronics repair expert, but the philosophy here is really easy... if you've done it before and have the right tools.
Travis 7605784778

[tomm]

Look at my original thread if you need part numbers.

http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums...ghlight=orange (Which one looks better?)

These are ordinary automotive grade surface mounted LED's. Just note the tinted glass will skew your colors slightly so be prepared that if you order white like the mod that I did it will be slightly blue. I also do not know if there will be any warranty issues if you send a radio back if a problem occurs and the screen appears changed.

I would urge anyone that does this mod to pick up a radio on ebay while they are still cheap and mod that one. One other thing to note is that if you purchase a radio on ebay, car-part.com etc. the VIN number will not match your car and you will need to bring the radio to the dealer to program. You might want to do this before you mod it since I do not know what cadillac will say when they power it up and its not orange.

[tomm]

Originally Posted by TCSisOFF

if anyone wants the same thing done, just send me your radios and I'll do them for $40 each.

If you plan on selling your services here you should atleast think about supporting the forum with a donation.

[RobertCTS]

I'm not even a vendor but I support the Forum with donations

[wratran]

i hope that's not $40 for each led..that would get very expensive...

look at the post by tomm "which one's better"... i never solder in my life...and did it...not as bad as you think...

[NYCTS]

Originally Posted by tomm

Its really not that hard and at a cost of $1.28 for each LED it would cost $76.80 to make the color change. I have not done the DIC color change because it would be of no use to me since I am using the NAV now. I just took the unit apart because I had many inquiries wanting to know if the DIC could be done as well.

It took me 10 minutes to swap the 16 LED's in the climate control unit so I would say that it would be around 30-40 minutes if taking your time to do the complete swap on the DIC. There are some great products out there that can help get this done very easy.

If you are not great at removing solder there is a product called chip quik.

http://www.chipquik.com/

This looks like solder but it takes much longer to harden so you can add this product to both sides of the LED and after its applied just lift the LED right off. Using some flux and desoldering braid you can suck up all the remaining solder on the circuit board and you will have a clean surface ready for your new LED.

TOMM- I live in NYC, what would you charge to swap out my LED's ?

[ccclarke]

For the DIY's out there who know how to solder but may not be electronically-inclined: LEDs are polarized, meaning they have to be soldered onto the board in the proper orientation to work properly. Note on the LED package a notched corner --this is the cathode. Make sure it matches the same orientation as the LED being removed. A little liquid flux applied to solder wick (which already has dry flux impregnated in it) will get the solder off the pad with a minimum of dwell time (amount of time the heat is applied to the joint). Use a little flux when applying the solder to get a nice, shiny joint-- don't overdo the solder. Heat is one of the sworn enemies of circuitboards and components, so use as little as possible to get the component on and off the board. ESD (Electrostatic Discharge) is the other. Ground yourself prior to doing this mod or you could end up with a pile of junk. Just sliding your butt over the fabric of a chair can generate the thousands of volts needed to fry or weaken the components, so take care. For those of you who live in a low humidity locale and have been shocked as you exit a car with fabric seats when you touch the door handle you know what I mean.
I've got a spare (eBay-procurred) temp controller sitting around, so I'll try to find time to do this mod and post a step-by-step procedure if anyone's interested. I won't be home for two weeks, but I'll order parts in the meantime. I've got nearly 30 yrs experience as an elec tech (everything from submarines to spacecraft) so fire off any repair questions you might have and I'll do my best to explain and help you folks out.

CC

[NAM1025]

I know this is an old old post.. but I was just wondering...

I'm looking to do the DIC LED light change in my 05 CTS. However I'm thinking of going with something other than white. I was just wondering if this LED...
http://search.digikey.com/scripts/Dk...=475-1315-1-ND
would work. It's a high brightness red with what looks like... no lens.

Here are the specs on the LED light that replaces the one a lot of people have used...
http://search.digikey.com/scripts/Dk...=475-1138-2-ND

[ss4cts]

ccclark,
Before anyone invest in buying LEDs and soldering equipment, I would post couple concerns.
First, did you know that blue and white diodes compared to orange/red run on significantly different voltage and current?
Just replacing them without modifying driver circuit will lead to brightness issues, and or driver/current circuit issues.
LED Diodes, even found in same package will have very different lumen value which should be matched to the old ones!
Also novice should never mess with SMD Components, it is recipe for disaster.
Just couple friendly warnings from
Eng. Elec. Tech.

[NAM1025]

lol.. that post from ccclarke was from 2005... Think it might be too late for a warning o_O

[GT!]

Originally Posted by ss4cts

ccclark,
Before anyone invest in buying LEDs and soldering equipment, I would post couple concerns.
First, did you know that blue and white diodes compared to orange/red run on significantly different voltage and current?
Just replacing them without modifying driver circuit will lead to brightness issues, and or driver/current circuit issues.
LED Diodes, even found in same package will have very different lumen value which should be matched to the old ones!
Also novice should never mess with SMD Components, it is recipe for disaster.
Just couple friendly warnings from
Eng. Elec. Tech.

The soldering looks pretty straight-forward to me. It may me SMD, but it isn't high-density SMD and looks like you'd it would take a really big screw-up to cause a disaster. I'm not saying anyone can do it, but for anyone who's done a bit of soldering in the past it should not be a problem. If no experience, practice on some old electronics stuff first.

-GT

[sivic2k]

Originally Posted by TCSisOFF

does anyone have part numbers or vendors for the LED's I would need.
i'm just gonna do them all, and if anyone wants the same thing done, just send me your radios and I'll do them for $40 each. I'm a former electronics repair expert, but the philosophy here is really easy... if you've done it before and have the right tools.
Travis 7605784778

are you going to be doing the DIC as well as the A/C? can you post pics when your done? Ill give you 40 if you could do the both.

[RightTurn]

Originally Posted by sivic2k

are you going to be doing the DIC as well as the A/C? can you post pics when your done? Ill give you 40 if you could do the both.

Um, that post is 4 years old.