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Changing the Digital Display Backlight ColourMarch 18/09 Written by Exploderck Tools and supplies needed1. Soldering iron with fine tip 2. Needle nose pliers 3. Fine solder, rosin core 4. Surface mount LEDs (inexpensive and carried by most electronic supply stores) in the number necessary for your quad. (6 for Suzuki King quads, 12 for the Kawi's) • A set of "helping hands" and an assistant holding a magnifying glass may be nice for those without perfect vision. InstructionsFirst remove the display from your quad. Take care when removing the circuit board from the LCD screen and light diffuser; these parts are fragile and probably expensive. Eventually, you will get something like this:  The LEDs are the small white rectangles on the sides, three per side. Make note of which way the notch on the surface of each piece is facing, since LEDs will only work if the polarity is correct. To remove the LEDs, grasp the LED with the pliers and, while applying the hot soldering iron to one side, gently lever the LED up from the board. Once it separates, switch sides and repeat until the LED comes loose. Be careful not to overheat the board, as you may damage the fine circuitry. Repeat for all the LEDs at once, or replace them as you go, whichever you are more comfortable with. To attach the new LEDs to the board, first tin the contacts of the new LEDs. Once again, ensure you are not applying too much heat, since these little guys are sensitive. Do NOT use acid-core solder; it will damage the circuit board.  Next, place the new LEDs onto the board in place of the old ones, making sure that the little notch indicating polarity is in the same position as the old ones. While applying light pressure with the pliers, melt the solder on each side until it adheres to the circuit board. I found that in order to get the new ones to sit flush, I had to melt the solder and push the LEDs down a couple times each. Here is the board half done, the new ones in place on the left, the old ones removed from the right side. The red and black wires I attached for testing purposes.  Here it is fired up after all the old ones being replaced.  Here is back on the quad, everything still working fine. The red colour of the display doesn't show up as nicely in the picture as it does in real life. I also replaced the red diff lock LED with a nice blue one.  Replacing the indicator lights at the top of the board was much easier. Once I had established which side was positive and which negative, I simply desoldered the old LED and replaced it with a new one, making sure the polarity was the same. Voila! Even with this being my first time working on this, it only took about half an hour. All kinds of colour combinations are possible, since there are so many different colours of LEDs out there, and I'd imagine combining colours could lead to some sweet effects. Special thanks to Bustamove for the inspiration and relating his experiences with this mod. For LEDs try eBay, RP Electronics in Burnaby, or Active Components in Vancouver. Exploderck This is Bustamove's display; he changed it from orange to blue. The actual new colour is a little deeper blue than the photo shows.  DisclaimerOnly attempt this mod if you know what you are doing. Nobody on this site is responsible for any damage, loss, or injury, consequential or inconsequential, that may occur if you perform this mod. This is a legally binding contract; if you do not agree to it you may not perform this mod. Performing this mod indicates your acceptance of this contract. |
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