New Mod
05-27-2004, 05:14 PM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Hell (Colorado School of Mines)
Posts: 521
This mod installs two LED's in the idiot light panel so that you can always monitor the ECU's error codes. All of you guys with standalones probably cant use it, but its nice for us stock guys.
I used the same LED's that were recommended here for checking the codes. 2 little red led assemblies that can be mounted in a 21/64 (8.3mm) hole. On my idiot light panel there was one spot at the bottom left that didn't have a light in it. The manual says its for a 'cooling fan malfunction' light on automatics. The empty space was almost exactly the right width for both lights. I drilled the first two holes with a 5/16 drill bit, then used a reamer to enlarge the holes to the exact size I needed.
Behind the faceplate is a frame to separate al of the lights. As it was, it didn't have enough room in it for the LED assemblies. I used my dremel to cut out enough to fit the lights. Behind the frame are the circuit boards. The first board has a hole in it already for the lighbulb that was big enough for the wires to go through. The second circuit board had a smaller hole in it, but there weren't any electrical traces near the hole so I used the trusty dremel to enlarge that hole too. I the back part of the frame, I simply drilled a hole through for the wires to pass.
To wire the lights up to the DCC connector, I used about 10 ft of 4 conductor telephone wire. It was kind of a pain to run it, the hardest part was getting it from the light cluster area down under the dash where I could get to it. Once I had it under the drivers side dash, it was simple to run it across to and through the drivers side grommet. From there, run it however you want across the engine bay to the connector. I only used 3 of the 4 conductors in the phone cable, the common +, DCC1 signal, and DCC2 signal. Basically, I wired it exactly as it is in the above linked writeup, simply extending the wires.
Pics:
Here's where I drilled the first holes
I used the same LED's that were recommended here for checking the codes. 2 little red led assemblies that can be mounted in a 21/64 (8.3mm) hole. On my idiot light panel there was one spot at the bottom left that didn't have a light in it. The manual says its for a 'cooling fan malfunction' light on automatics. The empty space was almost exactly the right width for both lights. I drilled the first two holes with a 5/16 drill bit, then used a reamer to enlarge the holes to the exact size I needed.
Behind the faceplate is a frame to separate al of the lights. As it was, it didn't have enough room in it for the LED assemblies. I used my dremel to cut out enough to fit the lights. Behind the frame are the circuit boards. The first board has a hole in it already for the lighbulb that was big enough for the wires to go through. The second circuit board had a smaller hole in it, but there weren't any electrical traces near the hole so I used the trusty dremel to enlarge that hole too. I the back part of the frame, I simply drilled a hole through for the wires to pass.
To wire the lights up to the DCC connector, I used about 10 ft of 4 conductor telephone wire. It was kind of a pain to run it, the hardest part was getting it from the light cluster area down under the dash where I could get to it. Once I had it under the drivers side dash, it was simple to run it across to and through the drivers side grommet. From there, run it however you want across the engine bay to the connector. I only used 3 of the 4 conductors in the phone cable, the common +, DCC1 signal, and DCC2 signal. Basically, I wired it exactly as it is in the above linked writeup, simply extending the wires.
Pics:
Here's where I drilled the first holes
