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Old 06-02-2009, 12:40 AM   #26 (permalink)
U-235
E=mr2
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
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I just wanted to add a little something...

Runabout93 said that he did the lighter in his, but I didn't find anywhere specifically in this thread that had a "how to" for it.

It is very simple though. My car is a '92 NA chassis, but I'd imagine the procedure would be the same for all.

You will need (at a minimum):
-soldering iron
-small diameter rosin core soldering wire
-small leads of some kind... I used some 26 gauge silicon 2-pair twisted together that I had lying around.
-#74 bulb of your choice (I used the 3x LEDs from superbrightleds)
-screwdrivers of the appropriate size (I believe they were all phillips #13)
-power drill and bit set

Steps:
-Remove the big plasic bezel from the center console (the lighter should come out with it)
-Unplug all the accessories plugged into the bezel
-On the lighter portion, looking at the back-side of the bezel, you'll see a black plastic collar that surrounds the metal of the lighter, and the white plastic portions of the lighter.
-Remove that collar. Mine was held in by a single snap. Basically, you're trying to get to the 2-prong plug with small, parallel connectors (the lighter itself has larger, perpendicular oriented connectors.
-There should be another small, black retaining collar around the bulb/plug. It just slides off.
-When you get to the bulb socket, you'll notice that the bulb is actually soldered onto the leads for the plug.
-Remove the bulb. I just clamped down on it with a pair of pliers. WEAR SAFETY GLASSES! IT IMPLODES! AWESOME!


Anyway, at this point you may notice that the #74 bulb doesn't fit all the way in.

Get your power drill and a 5/64" bit. It should fit right into the empty socket. If you look inside the socket, you can see a divider that was undoubtedly used to keep the light bulb's leads from shorting out.

-Drill out that divider.

Even so, my 3x superbrights were still too tall! Look at the outside of the socket- you'll see two "wings" that are used to lock the socket into the small black plastic collar. I just drilled the bottom of those out (remember: the BOTTOM! Not the part close to the top of the socket!), effectively shortening their length. This allows the collar to slide up the plug further.

Alas, there is still one last problem: the leads on the 3x superbrights are on the FACE of the little PCB they come on. The socket leads are on the PROFILE. Get the soldering supplies.

-solder a small wire lead to each of the leads already on the LEDs.
-bend those leads so that they are going up the PROFILE of the LED PCB.
-Insert bulb into socket.

I will note here that my leads, being so small, were actually getting gnarled and nasty the more I had to "test fit" to make sure they'd work and I had to re-solder them a couple times. However, then I had a "duh" moment.

The socket is universal. After you install the LED, if you get the polarity wrong, unplug the socket from the plug and switch it around. The light activates when the headlights are on, so that's how you can test.

-re-assemble everything.

Took me about 30 minutes to prep, and the actual install took maybe 5 tops.

In case anyone was interested in also doing this... And sorry for the lack of pictures.
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