Orange backlight on Camry/Solara NAV
- Thread starter gregtay
- Start date
webshot
New member
FYI for those who attempt the LED conversion....
On top of the transister film that the LED's are soldered to is a adhesive layer of foil (black in color but shiny underneith). This layer of foil runs VERY close to, and around the LED's and their soldering points. If you accidentaly get solder on this foil YOU HAVE A SHORT!! This is what caused my dimming problem noted earlier in this thread. I was VERY lucky the short was on the negative side of a LED and not the positive. I do believe the grounding properties of this foil are important though! Don't peel it off.
Please be very careful of this.
On top of the transister film that the LED's are soldered to is a adhesive layer of foil (black in color but shiny underneith). This layer of foil runs VERY close to, and around the LED's and their soldering points. If you accidentaly get solder on this foil YOU HAVE A SHORT!! This is what caused my dimming problem noted earlier in this thread. I was VERY lucky the short was on the negative side of a LED and not the positive. I do believe the grounding properties of this foil are important though! Don't peel it off.
Please be very careful of this.
Toy-Man
New member
webshot
I ordered the LEDs you had suggested, the EPT1608YC (Yellow)from eLED. The turnaround on these was very fast through FEDEX.
Wow those babies are really small which will make the job more difficult.
I have not yet figured how to open up the display unit, just got the Nav the other day and have installed it to make sure it works okay before I do any mods and properly install it. Works great as tested but limited functionality until I connect everything.
Any more info you can give about opening up the display unit would be fantastic. Did you remove the display circuit film completely from the system before you changed the LEDs or were you able to work with it still in tact on the unit?
regards TM
I ordered the LEDs you had suggested, the EPT1608YC (Yellow)from eLED. The turnaround on these was very fast through FEDEX.
Wow those babies are really small which will make the job more difficult.
I have not yet figured how to open up the display unit, just got the Nav the other day and have installed it to make sure it works okay before I do any mods and properly install it. Works great as tested but limited functionality until I connect everything.
Any more info you can give about opening up the display unit would be fantastic. Did you remove the display circuit film completely from the system before you changed the LEDs or were you able to work with it still in tact on the unit?
regards TM
webshot
New member
OK here it goes! DISCLAIMER: Perform this at your own risk!
Part 1
First thing you need is a couple of small phillips screw drivers. You need phillips tips PH 00, and PH 000. These things are tiny! I found one at Homdepot made by Husky Tools which is a combo with all the tips in one driver.
To remove the face:
Tilt the face outward as far as it will go with the tilt button and and then pull the plugs off the back of the NAV unit so it will not go back in automatically. (this is assuming that you have it plugged into the dash plugs in the 4runner)
Remove the NAV unit from the vehicle and find your self a nice table with a towel spread out (to catch boucing screws and protect the NAV unit) and a really good desk lamp for light.
The face is attached to the main unit by two screws at the bottom, a ribbon cable in the middle, and two little wheels at the top that roll inside a track up and down the inside plastic face of the main body of the NAV unit.
The screws at the bottom are held in tightly by threadlock so pulling them off may seem tuff. You will now have to pry a little to get the motorized arms off the metal pivot points where the screws came out. once removed you can pull the face up a little farther to expose the ribbon cable connection.
To detatch the ribbon cable you have to CAREFULLY pry up on each side of the cable interface (Brown in color) to release the ribbon cable. It slides out part way in the direction the cable is feeding into it. You will see the ribbon cable interface plug just inside the opening of the main unit of the NAV. TAKE YOUR TIME!!! Pry a little on each side (alternating sides) until the cable is released. You may have to lightly tug on the cable to pull it from the loosened plug interface.
Once the ribbon cable is released, you can tilit the face left or right to free one of the wheels at the top of the face and remove the face.
You will now have a free face with one ribbon cable comming out of the back of it. Always be mindful of the ribbon cable and be careful with it. NEVER kink or make folds in the ribbon cable.
Part 2 comming up.....
Part 1
First thing you need is a couple of small phillips screw drivers. You need phillips tips PH 00, and PH 000. These things are tiny! I found one at Homdepot made by Husky Tools which is a combo with all the tips in one driver.
To remove the face:
Tilt the face outward as far as it will go with the tilt button and and then pull the plugs off the back of the NAV unit so it will not go back in automatically. (this is assuming that you have it plugged into the dash plugs in the 4runner)
Remove the NAV unit from the vehicle and find your self a nice table with a towel spread out (to catch boucing screws and protect the NAV unit) and a really good desk lamp for light.
The face is attached to the main unit by two screws at the bottom, a ribbon cable in the middle, and two little wheels at the top that roll inside a track up and down the inside plastic face of the main body of the NAV unit.
The screws at the bottom are held in tightly by threadlock so pulling them off may seem tuff. You will now have to pry a little to get the motorized arms off the metal pivot points where the screws came out. once removed you can pull the face up a little farther to expose the ribbon cable connection.
To detatch the ribbon cable you have to CAREFULLY pry up on each side of the cable interface (Brown in color) to release the ribbon cable. It slides out part way in the direction the cable is feeding into it. You will see the ribbon cable interface plug just inside the opening of the main unit of the NAV. TAKE YOUR TIME!!! Pry a little on each side (alternating sides) until the cable is released. You may have to lightly tug on the cable to pull it from the loosened plug interface.
Once the ribbon cable is released, you can tilit the face left or right to free one of the wheels at the top of the face and remove the face.
You will now have a free face with one ribbon cable comming out of the back of it. Always be mindful of the ribbon cable and be careful with it. NEVER kink or make folds in the ribbon cable.
Part 2 comming up.....
Last edited:
webshot
New member
Toy-Man said:
Yea that eLED company is GREAT! they have excellent service! You can test one of your LED's by using a couple of AA bats and some wire. There really cool little lights for being so tiny! They will not light up on any voltage below 2v. Only 2v or abovebut dont exceed 3v! You will fry the LED.
webshot
New member
OK Part 2
On the back of the face you will see several gold colored screws. Remove them all and keep the organized from the other screws you have yet to remove.
Once the screws are removed the top/back plastic piece will come right off. The bottom/back plastic piece will be tuff to get off and may require a little prying with finger nails to release it around the wheels at the top of the face. It is one whole piece that covers the bottom and the sides.
Next step is to remove four screws to release the button/LED portion of the face around the screen. You need to remove two silver head screws about the middle on the left and right side and two more screwed in horizontally at the top (as I recall, may be at the bottom).
Once these four screws are removed you must release the small ribbon cable that
On the back of the face you will see several gold colored screws. Remove them all and keep the organized from the other screws you have yet to remove.
Once the screws are removed the top/back plastic piece will come right off. The bottom/back plastic piece will be tuff to get off and may require a little prying with finger nails to release it around the wheels at the top of the face. It is one whole piece that covers the bottom and the sides.
Next step is to remove four screws to release the button/LED portion of the face around the screen. You need to remove two silver head screws about the middle on the left and right side and two more screwed in horizontally at the top (as I recall, may be at the bottom).
Once these four screws are removed you must release the small ribbon cable that
spyderdoc
New member
Question for Webshot:
First off, nice job on the lights!
Now, I ordered the EPT1608YC LED's that you used. When I look at the green LED's that are in the unit, they seem so much bigger than the yellow ones?!? Did you notice the same thing? The small yellow ones do fit ok? I just want to make sure before I remove all the green ones and end up with NO light at all!!!
Thanks!
Mark
First off, nice job on the lights!
Now, I ordered the EPT1608YC LED's that you used. When I look at the green LED's that are in the unit, they seem so much bigger than the yellow ones?!? Did you notice the same thing? The small yellow ones do fit ok? I just want to make sure before I remove all the green ones and end up with NO light at all!!!
Thanks!
Mark
spyderdoc
New member
Thanks for the reply...
Seems like they do fit...I did a test run on the old HU by removing the stock LED and soldering the new LED in place, and the contact points fit well...I just have to plug it in to make sure they light up...Make sure I got the polarity right, etc...
It sure is a pain to remove the old LED's. Since I am not going to be re-using them, I think I am just going to burn through them so both contact sides heat up simultaneously and remove quickly and easily....We'll see how that works on the lab rat (old HU). I sure want to make sure that I have it down pat before tearing into the NAV unit...
Mark
Seems like they do fit...I did a test run on the old HU by removing the stock LED and soldering the new LED in place, and the contact points fit well...I just have to plug it in to make sure they light up...Make sure I got the polarity right, etc...
It sure is a pain to remove the old LED's. Since I am not going to be re-using them, I think I am just going to burn through them so both contact sides heat up simultaneously and remove quickly and easily....We'll see how that works on the lab rat (old HU). I sure want to make sure that I have it down pat before tearing into the NAV unit...
Mark
spyderdoc
New member
Holy cow! What a job that was. 8 hr job to do the bulbs. Thank you webshot for those great instructions. I now have orange lights! It was worth the $1300 gamble.
I ended up destroying the old green LED's to remove them, but it worked well....All the lights work, and they even dim...I just have to hook up the speed sensor wires and the antenna power and I will be set! Thanks again...
Mark
I ended up destroying the old green LED's to remove them, but it worked well....All the lights work, and they even dim...I just have to hook up the speed sensor wires and the antenna power and I will be set! Thanks again...
Mark
Toy-Man
New member
Sweaty Palms but finally Success
After following this thread very closely I decided to take the plunge and change out the LEDs. I followed webshots directions to the letter, excellent step by step procedure webshot - thanks. I had a problem while trying to remove the ribbon cable which is very difficult to see properly, left alone, get a small flat end screwdriver in the release the cable. I managed to pry the whole connector completely off of the board. You can image my surprise and eventual disappointment as I realized what I had just done. I had just taken one of the best fully functional navigation systems and made it into a not too decorative doorstop.
Not to be lose faith, I continue to do the LED swap anyway. I remved the faceplate and got down inside the front bezel following webshots instructions. I noted the polarity of all the original LEDS, drew a diagram, double checked its accuracy then proceeded to remove the Green LEDS.
To remove the LEDS, I took a tip for my soldering station, made a groove around it with a file and twisted some 18 guage copper wire around the groove and pulled it out towards the tip of the iron. Cut the wires so they stick out about 1/4 inch in front of the tip. I spread the wires apart about the same as the length of the green LED contacts, tinned the wires and used this setup as a desoldering instrument. This allowed me to heat both sides of the LED at the same time and the LEDS came right off.
I replaced the the green LEDs with the yellow EPT1608YCs from eLED as recommended by webshot. Before I started soldering the yellow LEDS I doubled checked that I had the polarity right by using two AA cells in series to light one of the green LEDs I had removed. I noted the battery polarity when it lit, then verified that I understood the markings on the yellow LEDS by lighting one of those and noting the polarity of the battery. No surprises here but worth the time to check before you solder all 36 LEDS into place. Once all LEDS were installed, I put the faceplate back together. This part of the job is complete.
Now to my other problem. This ribbon connector has about 50 pins spaced so close together the chances of successfully resoldering this connector using standard soldering station/iron without bridging the pins is close to nil. Fortunately I did not destroy any traces on the main board nor did I bend any of the pins during the extraction. I am still surprised at how easily it lifted of the board in the first place.
Fortunately I know someone who works as a technician doing circuit prototyping for a high tech firm and he has all the tools including hot air reflow solder equipment. He was able to fix the system during his lunch break in about 15 minutes - Whew - and this only cost me a 24 of beer.
So what did I learn.
1. The ribbon connector is easily removable from the circuit if you pry the wrong way, it even feels/looks like it is doing what it should.
2. The dark coloured release mechanism should be gently pryed in the direction of the ribbon cable not up from the board.
3. This is not a project for the weak of heart, it is fairly difficult and there is a medium risk of failure.
4. In the event of a failure, see if you can find someone who does reflow SMC soldering and has the tools to do it. I thought about using one of those little butane flame soldering torches but they run way too hot (1200 F) and would probably make matters much worse. I'm led to believe you need something that provides heat at around 600 F
After a few nerve wracking days and sweaty palms, I am happy to report the my Solara Nav system once again installed in my 4R and working perfectly now with matching LEDs, voice amp and console bezel.
Thanks to those who went before me. I learned through the info they shared on this board.
Regards TM
After following this thread very closely I decided to take the plunge and change out the LEDs. I followed webshots directions to the letter, excellent step by step procedure webshot - thanks. I had a problem while trying to remove the ribbon cable which is very difficult to see properly, left alone, get a small flat end screwdriver in the release the cable. I managed to pry the whole connector completely off of the board. You can image my surprise and eventual disappointment as I realized what I had just done. I had just taken one of the best fully functional navigation systems and made it into a not too decorative doorstop.
Not to be lose faith, I continue to do the LED swap anyway. I remved the faceplate and got down inside the front bezel following webshots instructions. I noted the polarity of all the original LEDS, drew a diagram, double checked its accuracy then proceeded to remove the Green LEDS.
To remove the LEDS, I took a tip for my soldering station, made a groove around it with a file and twisted some 18 guage copper wire around the groove and pulled it out towards the tip of the iron. Cut the wires so they stick out about 1/4 inch in front of the tip. I spread the wires apart about the same as the length of the green LED contacts, tinned the wires and used this setup as a desoldering instrument. This allowed me to heat both sides of the LED at the same time and the LEDS came right off.
I replaced the the green LEDs with the yellow EPT1608YCs from eLED as recommended by webshot. Before I started soldering the yellow LEDS I doubled checked that I had the polarity right by using two AA cells in series to light one of the green LEDs I had removed. I noted the battery polarity when it lit, then verified that I understood the markings on the yellow LEDS by lighting one of those and noting the polarity of the battery. No surprises here but worth the time to check before you solder all 36 LEDS into place. Once all LEDS were installed, I put the faceplate back together. This part of the job is complete.
Now to my other problem. This ribbon connector has about 50 pins spaced so close together the chances of successfully resoldering this connector using standard soldering station/iron without bridging the pins is close to nil. Fortunately I did not destroy any traces on the main board nor did I bend any of the pins during the extraction. I am still surprised at how easily it lifted of the board in the first place.
Fortunately I know someone who works as a technician doing circuit prototyping for a high tech firm and he has all the tools including hot air reflow solder equipment. He was able to fix the system during his lunch break in about 15 minutes - Whew - and this only cost me a 24 of beer.
So what did I learn.
1. The ribbon connector is easily removable from the circuit if you pry the wrong way, it even feels/looks like it is doing what it should.
2. The dark coloured release mechanism should be gently pryed in the direction of the ribbon cable not up from the board.
3. This is not a project for the weak of heart, it is fairly difficult and there is a medium risk of failure.
4. In the event of a failure, see if you can find someone who does reflow SMC soldering and has the tools to do it. I thought about using one of those little butane flame soldering torches but they run way too hot (1200 F) and would probably make matters much worse. I'm led to believe you need something that provides heat at around 600 F
After a few nerve wracking days and sweaty palms, I am happy to report the my Solara Nav system once again installed in my 4R and working perfectly now with matching LEDs, voice amp and console bezel.
Thanks to those who went before me. I learned through the info they shared on this board.
Regards TM
