DIY: Changed my Alpine Head unit's glow from green to amber

[jarozila]

I put this up on another forum and thought people here might also be interested. I have an Alpine head unit and the green glow has been a bit of a bother for me. I always thought that it would be better if it were amber to match the other interior dash lights. There was a version that had multi colour as a feature – not mine of course!!

I got to thinking about it yesterday. The face detaches and it must be possible to change to green glow to amber. Right??

I prised the front open very carefully and saw that the five small globes each had a green plastic cover. I took them off and painted the little globes with some paint I had left over from a children’s art project, a 'make your own stain glass window hanger'. The paint seemed perfect. I first tried a coat of orange and then after testing gave them a coat of red over the top.

The amber glow matches the other interior dash light almost perfectly. Now I just have to work out how to change the LED display on the unit.

I am very happy. Here are some pictures. Yes, I know it is all a bit sad, but hey...

An older shot in wich you can see the green glow of the head unit. In the dark it really stood out.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/jarozila/07_lightsonsmall.jpg

Two shots with the now new amber glow. Very pretty.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/jarozila/01_lightsonsmall.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/jarozila/01_lightsoffsmall.jpg

[LuvMy328is]

Hey that's awesome! My hat is off to your creativity :thumbup:
~Phil

[aspin]

Yeah, that definitely looks better. Nice job.

[OC714CM]

Cool. I never would have thought of that. I would have just bought a newer unit. Right on

[kingsly]

Nice! I've been weary of a new head unit for this exact reason!



P.S. you do know that your steering wheel is on the wrong side, right? :stickoutt :D

[Dejo325i]

My Alpine head unit has all diff colours u can choose from, just go to illumintaion or somethin

[Kaiv]

I have a green alpine too... I MUST do this! thanks for the tip :)

[jarozila]

My Alpine head unit has all diff colours u can choose from, just go to illumintaion or somethin

The unit that was in the car when I bought it is an Alpine TDA-7554. In this series only a TDA-7558E and TDA-7556E has the option to change the colour from green to amber. I missed out!!

I got a hold of the manual from the Alpine website after I bought the car. There was no was I was going to be able to work out all the functions without a manual.

I recently went into an Apline store and the new units have blue display which I was told you can't change to another colour. They got rid of this function. As bad as I thought the green was, I like blue even less!!

[Goon]

Haha, us Aussies are handy DIYers! I did the same thing!

Mine was a bluey colour, did the same thing, but changed the LED bulbs to the side of the screen and painted them with amber lens paint (I don't know why but i had some sitting in the garage)

http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/6803/beforeafterkp7.jpg

[jarozila]

Haha, us Aussies are handy DIYers! I did the same thing!

Mine was a bluey colour, did the same thing, but changed the LED bulbs to the side of the screen and painted them with amber lens paint (I don't know why but i had some sitting in the garage)


Ahhh. From what you described I might be able to change the green LED as well.

With my green LED display, is there likely to be a bulb behind the LED display that gives the display a green hue, or are the pixels in the LED green? If there is a bulb I might be able to get to it and also paint it. That would be just perfect!!

[phxpoly10]

Nice job!!!

I have a Sony in dash player and the light is blue. I really hate the blue with the amber. How can I do the same thing like you guys to change it to amber. Would it work with a sony?

here is the player i have:

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Sony-In-Dash-Player-CDXGT610UI/sem/rpsm/oid/172514/catOid/-13089/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

[jhstealth]

also check when your doing it to make sure there is not a color filter. What allot of lcd screens have (like the ones on our obc in our car) is a piece of clear plastic that makes the screen that color, in this case you can go to any arts store (ex. michaels) and get amber vellum. Then you swap out the other color with the amber vellum (basically like tint paper)

[adamradmand]

Damn it, I am jocking the fact you guys have right hand drive vehicles, and on top of that, matching amber CD players. I hate you all, hahah. JK. :)

[djblackrain]

wow, nicely done

[whiteknight]

Great write-up! I wonder if I can do this with my Pioneer? Thanx guys-

[DRKREVRND666]

Good Idea I Hate That Green Glow To Never Would Have Thought Of That

[Xz Dark Star zX]

Great write-up! I wonder if I can do this with my Pioneer? Thanx guys-


if you can, let me know, cuz i want to do it to my pioneer

[daki77]

if you can, let me know, cuz i want to do it to my pioneer
Dark star, it really depends on a model, but on an older Pioneer model I have, I was able to change buttons from green to amber (only two choices) through the menu. Colorful display on this model remained...well, colorful. Anyway, if you have "function" button on a front plate, this is how you enter "secret" menu (it's not literally secret, but in a lack of a better word...yea...) on older Pioneers - press "function" button and hold it for at least 2sec. while the radio is OFF. it will turn on and you'll be in mentioned menu where you will be able to change some things like "alarm", warn, dimmer AND illumination of buttons. HTH...

[bb6008]

Thanks for the nice writeup. My husband bought a pioneer for my vert and I hate the blue display. Of course, I've never said anything to him except thanks... it was a very nice gift and it sounds great, but the blue display, awful.

[Young Pete]

Dark star, it really depends on a model, but on an older Pioneer model I have, I was able to change buttons from green to amber (only two choices) through the menu. Colorful display on this model remained...well, colorful. Anyway, if you have "function" button on a front plate, this is how you enter "secret" menu (it's not literally secret, but in a lack of a better word...yea...) on older Pioneers - press "function" button and hold it for at least 2sec. while the radio is OFF. it will turn on and you'll be in mentioned menu where you will be able to change some things like "alarm", warn, dimmer AND illumination of buttons. HTH...

let us know if u can successfully change the lcd screen on the alpine to amber...that would be SWEEEET!

[oomz1975]

Good idea, gonna pull my Alpine apart this weekend.

[lilith2014]

I have a pioneer deh-p7700mp and is coming with blue lights. I really want to do this, but I dont know how to start.

[j0sh866]

What a coincidence, exact same alpine deck I have, and I was thinking about the same thing the other day..

[xINDOx318I]

dat looks awesome

[1992 325i]

Right side drive... tasty... I'm really jealous. I'm in America, where we all sit and drive on the wrong side...
She looks nice. Kudos.

[pd109]

good thread

[rideanddestroy]

fwiw you can buy little rubber covers that slide over leds to change their illumination colour. works great! and you can pick any colour you want

[runnr548]

I love it! Now if I can talk my son into changing his blue Alpine glow into orange.

[mipajor45]

Good to know this can be done. My OEM head unit has been giving me more and more trouble lately. I might invest in a new one if I will be able to match the glow to the rest of the car.

[myAWe36]

That matches pretty well and is a huge improvement from the green. +1

[e36fiend]

My Alpine headunit already has perfectly matched buttons but the white/blue LCD display has always driven me crazy. Today I modded it to match the amber interior lights, it was super easy and looks great!

Before:
http://i.imgur.com/cUCVctK.jpg

After:
http://i.imgur.com/ZBq6FTm.jpg

Basically, like the other displays in your car that feature amber backlighting (OBC, HVAC) the light is provided by incandescent otherwise "white" bulbs and there is an orange/amber piece between the bulbs and the LCD that colors the display. What I did was open my faceplate and insert some colored cellophane in between the LED backlight and the LCD display.

First remove the face plate and unscrew the back.
http://i.imgur.com/ZcwFhIH.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/AdKoC5u.jpg

Volume knob pulls off and the circuit board comes out easy.
http://i.imgur.com/vAyoJfd.jpg

The LCD is held down with some tiny clips and is attached with a ribbon cable. Detaching the ribbon was not necessary as there is plenty of room to flop the LCD over.
http://i.imgur.com/mqh7D92.jpg

The LCD screen flipped over on the bottom. It's mostly transparent, the large white surface is simply a light source. Bright LEDs shine through the LCD to create the display.
http://i.imgur.com/msANfDC.jpg

Now here's where I had to get creative. I purchased some straight up red-cellophane and it made the display FAR too red/pink. Tried some orange PVC I got at a hobby store and it made the display a very bright yellow, no matter how many layers of orange I inserted. I found that one piece of orange combined with one piece of red matched the rest of the interior almost perfect!

Orange piece.
http://i.imgur.com/tOTxbUB.jpg

Orange.
http://i.imgur.com/7dy4CJF.jpg

Red cutout.
http://i.imgur.com/4De8MTZ.jpg

Red on top of the orange.
http://i.imgur.com/PMUXt6V.jpg

Voila!
http://i.imgur.com/ZBq6FTm.jpg

[kevinz]

e36fiend,

What model Alpine is that? Thanks

[e36fiend]

e36fiend,

What model Alpine is that? Thanks

CDE-HD149BT. Can't recommend it enough, I've had several Alpine units over the years and this one is awesome.

[e36fiend]

Couple shots at night, I have amber LEDs in the footwells and E39 door handle lights.

Blown out for emphasis
http://i.imgur.com/iisMQD1.jpg

Funny thing is, the OBC is the one that looks the most "off" in color
http://i.imgur.com/YXSEThV.jpg

[Hutcho]

Works on pioneers too, I did mine the other day from blue to red/ amber
basically just pull the front off the unit
and take it apart until you find the bulbs

[el3zazy11]

So well done great idea ...👍👍

[Thrifty S50]

Bump For solid thread. Did this mod and it matches perfectly. Love it.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4917/32198629208_993049a38a_b.jpg