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INT: OEM style amber light conversion.

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    INT: OEM style amber light conversion.

    No pics yet. Sorry. I will see if I can add some in the future.

    Rational:

    This is far easier than the LED light conversions available on the site, as well having the advantage of retaining the stock light bulbs. That way, if you ever need a replacement bulb, they are readily available, and you won't have to spend time explaining to someone why you need the part you do. They also light extremely uniformly, unlike some of the LED conversions where it takes a lot of effort to avoid splotchiness.

    Materials you will need:

    1) Various tools to remove the black plastic dash bezel, the climate control unit, and any buttons.

    2) An assortment of small flathead screwdrivers.

    3) Superglue

    4) Paint thinner with Q-tips. It would also be handy to have some flat black model paint and a very fine tip paint brush. I will explain why later.

    5) A colored translucent paper folder of your choice. I bought mine at Wal-Mart for about $.50 each. You can find them in the office supply section, and they come in all sorts of different colors. You don't have to do amber, that is just what I did.

    6) Qty 3 T5 amber LED wedge bulbs. Again, you can make your own, or you can use a different color. I bought mine on ebay for a couple of $$.


    * You are likely to have burnt out dash bulbs. Since you will have everything apart anyway, now is a good time to replace them. Yes, your Hazard switch is supposed to light up. Especially in the climate control. You can get them at some auto parts stores, order them from www.hondaautomotiveparts.com or www.slhondaparts.com, or make your own. You can probably also source LED replacements from someplace like EBAY, but I can't say what the lighting quality will be. Or you can make your own LED replacements.

    Procedure:

    1) Remove the sunroof/cruise switch, the brightness switch and the foglight (if you have one), rear defrost and hazard switches from the dash.

    2) Remove the airvents from the dash.

    3) Remove the center console and ashtray.

    4) Remove the radio if so equipped.

    5) Unplug the cigarette lighter and remove the dash trim bezel. There are screws hidden behind the switches and airvents you pulled out. I think there are 11 or 12 total, but don't quote me on that.

    6) Once the dash trim bezel is out, you can remove the climate control unit. There are 2 plugs and 1 cable that need to be removed, so that you can remove it from the car.

    7) You can start with the switches. Pop the tabs on the switch so that the case slides off. You will need to remove the button face on the front and replace the greenish filter behind it with an orange one made from your folder.

    Repeat this process with all of the switches. Be careful, not to break any of the mounting tabs for the buttons, especially on the cruise control switch as you can't superglue that one back on and have it work properly. If any of the other tabs do happen to break, then just use superglue to put them back on.

    8) You will need to disassemble the climate control.

    9) Pop the buttons off from the back, being careful not to break the tabs. Replace all of these filters, just like you did with the switches. Try to make the filters as precise as possible so that white light doesn't bleed through. They are small, and there isn't a lot of extra room, so precision is key to a nice finished product. Once you have replaced the filters, simply pop the buttons back on, or if the tabs broke, use a dab of superglue to reattach them. Don't use too much, because you don't want the glue to freeze the button to the side of the unit, causing sticky movement or breakage.

    The front defrost button does not need a filter as it is already amber.

    10) Now, for the hardest part. The fan speed indicator. Peel the plastic face off of the climate control body. You can use a small screwdriver from behind so that you don't damage the face. It should peel free relatively easily with a little bit of effort. It shouldn't have to be forced, it is thin and fragile, so be careful.

    Once you have it off, you will need to get a Q-tip wet with paint thinner.

    This piece is essentially a clear piece of plastic, with a black layer for the face and markings, a white layer over the clear indicator for visibility and color uniformity, and then blue paint over the white paint to make the indicator light up that blue/green color.

    Honda made this indicator blue by paiting a layer of white paint, and then a layer of blue paint. If you can get the blue paint off without taking the white, great. If not, it isn't that big of a deal. Just be careful once the white paint starts to come off, because if you rub much further, you will start to rub the black face and indicators off, and you will just be left with a clear piece of plastic. It is better if this takes a really long time with soft rubbing vs fast and taking the face off.

    11) Once the blue paint has been rubbed off, cut a piece of the folder in an arc/rainbow shape, and glue it over the indicator markings. Make sure it is just a little bit bigger than the indicators so that it doesn't allow white light through.

    12) Using the superglue, reattach the face to the climate control base.

    13) reassemble the climate control unit, replacing any bulbs if necessary.

    14) Re-install the climate control unit into the dashboard.

    15) Re-install the trim bezel.

    16) Re-install the radio, and switches.

    17) We still have to deal with the cigarette lighter, the ignition switch and the ashtray.

    Since Honda used colored bulbs for these, you will have to do the same in whichever color you choose to use. This is where the T5 style LED wedge bulbs come in. They don't have to be LED, just as long as they are T5.

    That completes the color conversion using the OEM method.

    If you have any questions, feel free to PM me. All in all this is a straightforward conversion, and isn't very hard, but IS time consuming to get good results.

    Pics of the finished product:







    Last edited by owequitit; 12-17-2008, 09:09 PM.
    The OFFICIAL how to add me to your ignore list thread!

    #2
    Nice write up. I was going to do this write up, as I am working on this as we speak. I noticed this trick when trying to change out a switch and took it apart for shits and giggles. Right on

    Black Housing DIY 1991 Wagon Morimoto Retrofit
    JDM One-Piece Headlight Lens Repair

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      #3
      if i pick up a cb7 today that im trying to look at ,me and owequitit will do this to mine and take lots of pics for you guys.
      im finally back in a cb7 its like coming home.lol
      93 ex accord coupe h22 SOLD
      90 ex accord 4 door SOLD
      91 se accord 4 door SOLD
      92 lx accord coupe SOLD
      93 ex accord 4 door SOLD
      92 ex accord 4 door h22 SOLD
      93 ex accord 4 door auto SOLD
      92 ex accord coupe auto

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        #4
        Here are few shots of the ones already finished:




        Black Housing DIY 1991 Wagon Morimoto Retrofit
        JDM One-Piece Headlight Lens Repair

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          #5
          I've been planning on doing something like this for a while now.
          Glad someone did a write up. I'll take lots of pics when I do mine too.
          I've got some spare dash switches on the way, so they'll be my first experiment with it.
          Last edited by Houston93CB7SE; 12-16-2008, 07:52 PM.
          2000 Acura TL-P - Daily
          1993 Honda Accord SE - Sold
          1996 Infiniti J30 - Sold
          1997 Honda Civic EX - Sold
          1996 Saturn SL2 - Totalled
          1982 Mercedes-Benz 300SD - Sold
          1982 Mercedes-Benz 240D - Totalled

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            #6
            nice write up man id like to try this sometime
            to achieve a Fuck, you must first give a Fuck
            Follow me on twitter @tru_whitetrash

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              #7


              my ride thread
              my photoshoot

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                #8
                Amber for the win!!!








                This write up is exactly described as I did mine.

                Hope the pics help out.

                Black Housing DIY 1991 Wagon Morimoto Retrofit
                JDM One-Piece Headlight Lens Repair

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                  #9
                  man! is there anything we cant do to our cbs!? i bet in the future someone will make it fly

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                    #10
                    Originally posted by h22anow View Post
                    man! is there anything we cant do to our cbs!? i bet in the future someone will make it fly
                    I could already do that.
                    The OFFICIAL how to add me to your ignore list thread!

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                      #11
                      nice write up!! Gonna prob do this sometime this week!!
                      " The value of life can be measured by how many times your soul has been deeply stirred " - Soichiro Honda

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                        #12
                        looks like my mazda int now scott

                        Ride List
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                        newest 2006 mazdaspeed 6 http://www.cardomain.com/ride/4073987/2006-mazda-mazda6

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                          #13
                          You used the stock bulbs/bulb colors in all places except the cig lighter, ashtray, and ignition switch, right? That really does seem to be the most efficient way of doing it.

                          Regarding the bluish paint on the back of the climate control unit, I was wondering if that is similar to the bluish plastic on the back of the gauges in the speedometer. When I did the conversion in red on my stock cluster, the bluish filter pretty much blocked out the red light coming from my cluster innards. I'll have to try the paint thinner method next time I have my cluster out.

                          Or I could shell out and swap for the ultra-cool bb6 cluster like yours.



                          The amber/red gauge light is so much more pleasing on the eyes at night. It's no wonder that the cabin lights in small airplanes [large too? never been in one larger than a cessna 172] are red.

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                            #14
                            OEM is much much darker
                            Honda uses a White Diffuser instead of the Green/Blue nasty thing
                            I bought Accord SI switches and climate. It seems to match the BB6 more
                            Looks like mine when I first did it thought great job man!
                            I just used BMW and DSM amber parts plus some window tint. Eventually came out great.

                            Nice write up and lets see some dash fitment pics
                            Last edited by CB7Man; 12-23-2008, 01:23 AM.
                            Your man for wiring solutions!
                            CB7Man's Coupe H22 Swap
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                              #15
                              Man how did you guys take apart your fog switches? Thats the last one I need to do but I'm afraid of breaking it. They aren't cheap like defroster switches!
                              1992 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser

                              1986 Chevrolet C10|5.3L|SM465|Shortbed|Custom Deluxe

                              1983 Malibu Wagon|TPI 305|T5 5 speed|3.73 non-posi


                              1992 Accord Wagon (RETIRED)

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