I noticed something today. The light works fine in the morning, while the temperature is cool, then as the temperature rises during the day, it goes out. I remember the old 4th gen fuel relays would do the same thing, and it was a solder joint on the PCB that would crack. I might not get to it today, but I have a three day weekend after tomorrow, so I will definitely work on it over the long weekend.

 

OK, I didn't see anything wrong with the circuit board or the wires. I know the wires are getting power because if I push hard enough on the cover I can get the light to come on. Is there any way I can just connect the red/red&blk wires directly to the LED bulb? I don't use the home-link, so I could completely do away with it, and just sit the LED in the hole with the wires connected directly to it. Would that work, or would it be way too much voltage/amps?

 

1. You can directly install a different LED; but, you need to add a resistor. Practically most LED you find in stores will not be able to handle 12 volts.

2. Another option is to pick up a used Homelink/Ambient Light Module from ebay or a salvage yard. I seen them as low as $30; but, most sell for more.

3. From this thread, the guy added the module from an Odyssey to his Civic. Picture no. 4 shows the LED and a surface mount resistor.

Another DIY: Honda Homelink - GreenHybrid - Hybrid Cars

I used his picture to add a few notes (see attachment).

 

So I would have to add a resistor to the power supply? What kind of resistor would I need, where to get one? I have no idea when it comes to electronics, but I figured just hooking up the two wires to the LED wasn't going to work. I like having the light working, don't get me wrong. But it's not like I spend a lot of time driving at night, so the $35 seems like a lot to spend, for the tiny light to work (I saw the home-links for sale on eBay). The time I spend modifying it, if I can, is FREE. A resistor shouldn't cost much, right?


Thanks for putting up with my idiot, cheap self Redbull.

 

Resistors and LEDs are relatively inexpensive. The resistor to use is dependent on the LED. See this link which explains how ohm's law works when calculating what resistor to use with what LED:

Basics: Picking Resistors for LEDs | Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories

LED calculator for single LEDs

Since in a car the voltage can range from 12 - 15 volts:

• Standard red, orange, yellow and yellow-green LEDs having a forward voltage of about 1.8 V, and forward current about 25mA; probably a 560 ohms, 1 watt resistor
• Pure-green, blue, white, and UV LEDs having a forward voltage of about 3.3 V, and forward current about 25mA; probably a 470 ohms, 1/2 watt resistor.

Look at the LED you're purchasing for the specs.

Some places sell wired LEDs with a resistor already soldered in-line:

superbrightleds com/moreinfo/led-wired-bolts/wired-12vdc-led/55/

 

Thanks a lot redbull. You da man! The wired LED looks like it was made for me. Hopefully I've got the gist, and can handle it from here. I'll definitely get to it at some point, and I'll surely let you know how it went.


Thanks again.

 

Great news! (well not great, but). I went back to look at the LEDs I bought last week, and they were 12 volt. So I hooked wires to the amber LED, tapped the positive side into the red/blk positive wire, and the ground side to the bolt hole where the unit grounds. Works great, a little brighter than the old LED, but I like it. I had a Blue, and an Amber, but I found the Blue LED clashed with the Ivory interior. The LED would not fit through the hole in the PCB, with the wires hooked to it, so I cut that portion off of the PCB.

This is the LED I used. https://www.superbrightleds.com/sear...%20led%20bulb/


None of this would have been possible (at least not for $6.00) without your help, so thanks again.

 

I'm glad you got some consistent ambient lighting again.

1. The LED you bought already has a resistor as part of the assembly, which is why they can be used for the car, without an additional resistor.

2. When you turn the dash light brightness controller (aka dimmer), does the ambient light brightness changed? The ground needs to be on the red wire circuit for it to be dimmable. The dimmer varies the resistance on the ground side.

 

I forgot about the dimmer. I just checked, and no, the ambient light is not dimming with the rest of the dash lights with the ground wire at the bolt hole. I might hook it up to the red/ground wire, just to dim it a little. I had used a small piece of window tint between the cover and the light, to make the Blue LED a little dimmer, but the Amber doesn't seem to be as bright. If I get to a point where I think the ambient light is just too bright, I'll try it. I haven't driven the car enough in the dark yet, to really get a feel for it. It's nice to know I can dim it with the dimmer control.
Thanks for pointing that out.


Now that I think about it, I figured a dimmer would have to be hooked up through the Positive side, to adjust the current/voltage. I thought either you are grounded, or not grounded, and there was no variation. Learned something new again!