AC control cluster... Color change?

Cubert said:

Since the day I purchased my 1.8S cube, I always thought the lights on the AC cluster were a little out of place... Orange? Really?

So I'm thinking about taking mine apart and changing it to shine blue.. I think there should only be one or two bulbs in there, however looking at the diagram for removal, it looks like a pretty decent undertaking.

Anyone else either thought about about doing this or done it?

Click to expand...

I looked into this a couple of months back. I had the entire ac/heat cluster apart but didn't take any pics. They are surface mount LEDS. There are some companies that will do the work for you. However the knobs have orange stems so no matter what color you put behind it it's going to look a bit funky. On top of that blue(my color choice) along with several other colors of surface mount LEDs have different voltage ranges then white, which is what our cube is using. The voltage would have to be stepped up or down depending on your LED selection.

It can be done though. There are plenty of links for how to articles on swapping LEDs on bike clusters, scion clusters and other vehicles. What stopped me was the orange plastic that makes up the back of the knobs. I think the only one that wouldn't be effected is the fan knob. If I remember correctly that one was clear/white.

Word of advice is to work the knobs off slowly. They have clips at the base of the stem. I didn't see a good way to release them other then slowly working them off from all sides. Also watch out for the gearing on the right knob. The knob is connected to a gear which spins a pot towards the center. Be sure to not twist it while dissembled and just leave the gear alone. That was my biggest mistake. I just had to mess with everything and thought I broke it for a minute.

Edit: This was the manual AC/Heat controls that I was messing with. Cube Model 1.8s.