98-02 Honda Accord Button LED Conversion Guide

SUNROOF, FOG LIGHT AND CRUISE BUTTON INSTALL GUIDE
98-02 Honda Accord

This install guide is intended for use by LEDautomotive.com customers and winners of eBay auctions by entcee. We cannot guarantee a successful LED conversion with items not purchased from us.

*Please read this all the way through before doing this install!*

We will not be held responsible for any mistakes, problems, or damage done to any part of your car. Follow this install guide carefully, and you should have no problems. If you are unsure about ANYTHING, please email us. We will help you out to the best of our ability.

Here Is What You Will Need:

- A fine point, low watt soldering iron) ($8 - RadioShack part number: 64-2051)
- Silver-bearing solder ($4 - RadioShack part number: 64-035)
- Phillips head screw driver
- Flat head screw driver
- Tweezers
- Crescent wrench

Let's Get Started

The first thing we need to do is pull out the tray that is below the sunroof, fog light and cruise / TC buttons. It will come out, just pull it straight out. Remove the 2 screws from where the tray was, and pull the button panel out. (The button panel contains the vent also.)

To remove the buttons, push on the clips (see picture) on the inside of the buttons, and push them through the front. It will be easier if you remove the black metal tray guide. It is held in with 2 screws.

Take out all the bulbs from the buttons. Use a flat head screwdriver to turn each bulb 1/4 turn counter clockwise, and then lift them out.

Bulb To LED Conversion

Now we need to take all of our bulbs and convert them. Remove the stock bulb from the base by unwinding the two contact leads. You might need a used staple or something to pick the leads up from the grooves.

Now pull the bulb out of the plastic holder and insert the LED through the holes.

To make the button light up a little brighter, leave a small space between the plastic bulb holder and the bottom of the LED. (The blue arrows are pointing to the space that was left.) You might want to leave a bit more room than shown in the picture.)

Note which side is the anode and which side is the cathode. Unlike regular bulbs, LED's are polarized and will not work if you plug them in the wrong way. The anode is the + lead and is longer than the other.

Bend the negative (-) lead so it goes into the groove. Bend the positive (+) lead 90° from the other groove and cut both leads so that they do not stick out past the bulb holder. It will help if you can bend the positive (+) lead slightly toward the end. (See right picture.)

Solder one end of the wire (included with your kit) to the the negative (-) lead and wrap the wire around the bulb holder in the groove. The wire will go where the contact leads on the stock bulb were before you removed the bulb. Cut off any extra wire an put the end of the wire in the groove.

Take another piece of wire (included with your kit) and bend it in a "U" shape an put it on the bulb holder as shown in the left picture. Cut one of the ends short enough so it will fit down in the groove, and bend the wire into the groove. Next cut the other end of the wire and fold it into the same groove. It is OK if it overlaps the other end of the wire as seen in the picture on the right.

The left pictures shows what it should look like. Place a resistor (included in your kit) between the LED lead and the wire you just wrapped around the bulb holder and solder both sides of the resistor.

Here is a diagram that shows the layout of an LED correctly installed.

Figure out which way the LED is to be installed. Put the LED assembly (the LED and base) in the button and see if it lights up. If it does not light up, take it out and rotate it 180 degrees. Once you know which way it goes in, then bend the LED toward the front of the button and reinstall it. You may want to play with the angle that you bend the LED to get the button to light up as bright as possible.

*Important!* - While soldering, do not hold the soldering iron to the LED lead, resistor or the solder joint for more than 3 or 4 seconds. If the solder does not make a good contact, wait until it cools before heating it up again. If you hold the soldering iron on the solder joint too long, the resistor and/or the LED will become useless. The resistor will go out before the LED will, we have included extra resistors in case you need them.

A trick to help you solder the tiny resistors on the bulb holder is to use your pliers to hold the bulb holder. Put a rubber band around the handle so it holds the bulb holder and use your tweezers to hold the resistor into place with one hand while you solder it with the other hand.

Plugging The LED's Back In

These pictures show which side is + so you know where the anode (the lead with the resistor,) of the LED should go. If you have a traction control button, or fog light button, I am sorry, but we do not know which contacts are positive. The easiest way to figure it out, is to put the LED in the button, connect the button back up to the car, and turn on the parking lights. Do not leave the parking lights on very long, just long enough to see if that particular LED is lighting up. If it is not, simply take the LED, and rotate it 180 degrees, so the anode will make contact with the opposite contact that it did to start with.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me at Nate@LEDautomotive.com.