aygo dash led replacement

[cusaeng]

Hello.

I recently decided to try and change the dash lights on my aygo blue Speedometer  but I couldn't really find any good tutorials. There were often references to other sites that I could never find so I set about it with no idea what I was doing. I thought I would share my experience with the hope it would help others who wanted to do the same thing.

If you have no experience with soldering SMLED i suggest watching a few you tutorials on you tube and perhaps plying about with some scrap electronics before you try this,

Removing the clock

. first you will need to remove the cowling around the Speedometer to do this turn the steering wheel and you should see two small Phillips screws on each side which need to be removed.

. you then need to remove the cowling and this can be done by locating the seam between the two plastic panels on either side just where the stalks are. To separate them I slid a small plastic item between the two bits to pry them apart and the top part of the cowling should pop off.

. At the front of the clock you should then see two 10mm bolts that need to be removed. They seemed to be difficult to get access to with a spanner so I used a socket set with an extension bar and found it easier to gain access if the steering wheel was upside down. 

. Once the bolts have been removed the clocks should just pull up giving you access to the connectors on the rear of the console. they can be quite stiff and tight due to the way the wiring harness is taped up but don't worry about what order they are removed as they will only go back in one way.

Getting to the pcb

. remove the clear plastic cover by releasing the locking tabs on the top and bottom

. now you need to remove the Speedometer needle. I used a plastic interior trim tool shaped like a fork to do this but I have seen post where people have used two spoons or a fork to remove it. Just be careful not to scratch the clock face.

. now release the black trim with the locking tabs on the top and bottom. The part in the centre of the dial should just lift up but it may need to be lifted up using a flat item.

. you can now remove the plastic dial, and under this there should be a clear sheet of plastic that needs to be removed and this is held in by a few plastic locking tabs.

. remove the screws. you should now be left with a plastic face plate with the LCD mounted inside the clock cowling. This is held in to the clock body by push in connector that can be carefully prised free. once this is removed heat up your soldering iron.

This is where it gets tricky

Before going ahead with this there are a few things that will honestly make this next stage a lot easier and if you have them to hand I doubt you would be reading this but if not I would suggest getting them if you can.

1 a good soldering iron with a fine good tip

2 an electric solder vacuum remover. If you do not have access to one of those then a hand held solder sucker and some solder wick are going to be needed

3 solder paste ( used for soldering the SMLED )

4 thin solder

5 a soldering re work station if available

Getting to the SMLED

. To get to the SMLED you need to remove the plastic LCD surround as the screen passes through the cover. To do this you need to unsolder the LCD screen. The screen has a number of pins that must all be free to allow the screen and plastic surround to be removed without causing damage. If you have the electric solder sucker this could be done is seconds however if not you will need to remove all of the solder from the LCD pins and the PCB through holes using the solder sucker and solder wick. Once all of the pins have been freed then the cover and screen should lift off. Do not force the cover off or you risk causing damage to the LCD screen and the PCB. If it wont budge you have not removed all of the solder and should check the LCD screen pins and through holes.

The new SMLED

Once the LCD surround has been removed there are three SMLED that need to be removed and they are the ones that can be seen through the LCD surround and the one just above the LCD screen.

At this point check the polarity of your new SMLED. Almost all SMLED have a notch on one corner to indicate the polarity and if they are soldered on the wrong way they will not light up. There are also diode logos on the PCB to indicate the correct polarity. Make sure you have this correct before going any further.

To remove the SMLEDs heat up one side of the SMLED until the solder melts and lift that side of the SMLED slightly until free from the solder then repeat on the other side to free the SMLED. Use your electric solder sucker or the solder wick to remove the solder from the pads in preparation for the new SMLED.

Place a small amount of solder paste on each pad and press the new SMLED in to place. It is a good idea to hold the SMLED in place with a pick or other tool to prevent it from moving until the first contact has been soldered. Use your solder re work station if you have one or your soldering iron to melt the solder paste until the first contact has been made then repeat on the other side.

Once all three SMLED have been soldered in place you can replace the LCD surround and re solder the LCD screen pins.

Take the unit back to the car and reassemble making sure all of the connectors have been inserted and you should now be done.

[Plob]

[Sweetboy]

Sounds like a lot of work plus if u mess up then you've had it.. 

I have the same as u on a 2009 plate, was thinking of doing the same thing but when I read your description I thought otherwise, it just seems to risky to me, so I'll skip it. 

Good luck with it. 

Regards Glen 

[Plob]

Can you not just swap the bulbs out, I mean I've never had a car where the 'integrated' bulbs were hard wired so to speak, difficult to get to maybe, but ultimately if one blows, (either under warranty or as a chargeable repair), then the dealer is going to have to swap it out?!

[eygo]

this is why led's have been used to minimise the risk of a failed bulb

you also have to remember there isn't alot of space in the aygo speedo unit

as the fuse box has been combined into this unit this could be another factor for the use of led's.

 

[Plob]

Wasn't aware that the dash illumination on the Aygo was already provided by LEDs!

[Raistlin]

 

[cusaeng]

On 26 January 2017 at 5:25 PM, Plob said:

Can you not just swap the bulbs out, I mean I've never had a car where the 'integrated' bulbs were hard wired so to speak, difficult to get to maybe, but ultimately if one blows, (either under warranty or as a chargeable repair), then the dealer is going to have to swap it out?!

All of the photos that took have been deleted in error. I was going to do a full photo wright up to help people.

 

Unfortunately not. They are not bulbs in the conventions way and don't pug or screw in. They are soldered directly to the PCB as in the photo below ( this is not from the interior of the clocks just a random photo of some LEDS )

 

The lights in the centre console that looks like a big horrible orange night light are just normal LEDs housed in a plastic clip that allows them to be pushed in to place and they are easy to change

 

[Swe-aygo-guru]

Just paint em green and u got blue🤣

[greenmickey]

On 1/26/2017 at 5:21 AM, cusaeng said:

Hello.

I recently decided to try and change the dash lights on my aygo blue Speedometer  but I couldn't really find any good tutorials. There were often references to other sites that I could never find so I set about it with no idea what I was doing. I thought I would share my experience with the hope it would help others who wanted to do the same thing.

If you have no experience with soldering SMLED i suggest watching a few you tutorials on you tube and perhaps plying about with some scrap electronics before you try this,

Removing the clock

. first you will need to remove the cowling around the Speedometer to do this turn the steering wheel and you should see two small Phillips screws on each side which need to be removed.

. you then need to remove the cowling and this can be done by locating the seam between the two plastic panels on either side just where the stalks are. To separate them I slid a small plastic item between the two bits to pry them apart and the top part of the cowling should pop off.

. At the front of the clock you should then see two 10mm bolts that need to be removed. They seemed to be difficult to get access to with a spanner so I used a socket set with an extension bar and found it easier to gain access if the steering wheel was upside down. 

. Once the bolts have been removed the clocks should just pull up giving you access to the connectors on the rear of the console. they can be quite stiff and tight due to the way the wiring harness is taped up but don't worry about what order they are removed as they will only go back in one way.

Getting to the pcb

. remove the clear plastic cover by releasing the locking tabs on the top and bottom

. now you need to remove the Speedometer needle. I used a plastic interior trim tool shaped like a fork to do this but I have seen post where people have used two spoons or a fork to remove it. Just be careful not to scratch the clock face.

. now release the black trim with the locking tabs on the top and bottom. The part in the centre of the dial should just lift up but it may need to be lifted up using a flat item.

. you can now remove the plastic dial, and under this there should be a clear sheet of plastic that needs to be removed and this is held in by a few plastic locking tabs.

. remove the screws. you should now be left with a plastic face plate with the LCD mounted inside the clock cowling. This is held in to the clock body by push in connector that can be carefully prised free. once this is removed heat up your soldering iron.

This is where it gets tricky

Before going ahead with this there are a few things that will honestly make this next stage a lot easier and if you have them to hand I doubt you would be reading this but if not I would suggest getting them if you can.

1 a good soldering iron with a fine good tip

2 an electric solder vacuum remover. If you do not have access to one of those then a hand held solder sucker and some solder wick are going to be needed

3 solder paste ( used for soldering the SMLED )

4 thin solder

5 a soldering re work station if available

Getting to the SMLED

. To get to the SMLED you need to remove the plastic LCD surround as the screen passes through the cover. To do this you need to unsolder the LCD screen. The screen has a number of pins that must all be free to allow the screen and plastic surround to be removed without causing damage. If you have the electric solder sucker this could be done is seconds however if not you will need to remove all of the solder from the LCD pins and the PCB through holes using the solder sucker and solder wick. Once all of the pins have been freed then the cover and screen should lift off. Do not force the cover off or you risk causing damage to the LCD screen and the PCB. If it wont budge you have not removed all of the solder and should check the LCD screen pins and through holes.

The new SMLED

Once the LCD surround has been removed there are three SMLED that need to be removed and they are the ones that can be seen through the LCD surround and the one just above the LCD screen.

At this point check the polarity of your new SMLED. Almost all SMLED have a notch on one corner to indicate the polarity and if they are soldered on the wrong way they will not light up. There are also diode logos on the PCB to indicate the correct polarity. Make sure you have this correct before going any further.

To remove the SMLEDs heat up one side of the SMLED until the solder melts and lift that side of the SMLED slightly until free from the solder then repeat on the other side to free the SMLED. Use your electric solder sucker or the solder wick to remove the solder from the pads in preparation for the new SMLED.

Place a small amount of solder paste on each pad and press the new SMLED in to place. It is a good idea to hold the SMLED in place with a pick or other tool to prevent it from moving until the first contact has been soldered. Use your solder re work station if you have one or your soldering iron to melt the solder paste until the first contact has been made then repeat on the other side.

Once all three SMLED have been soldered in place you can replace the LCD surround and re solder the LCD screen pins.

Take the unit back to the car and reassemble making sure all of the connectors have been inserted and you should now be done.

Where can I buy the SMLED please ?