- Joined
- January 22, 2007
- Messages
- 10,376
- Reaction score
- 2,124
- City, State
- selkirk, manitoba
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 98 supercharged 347 sport
because i did this to my truck over a year ago, i figured i would finally make a write up on how i did it.
with the help from Ryan (aka MustangP51) write ups on how to convert you dome light to LED http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2031734#post2031734
Cruise Control button LED http://www.explorerforum.com/forums//showthread.php?t=214264
Headlight/Wiper/Defrost/Fog LED http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=199305
as well as John Griggs’s Ford Ranger LED write ups http://www.cardomain.com/ride/296394
i figured i have some time to kill, and would do one of my own
first off, these are from a 98 Sport. the switches are the same as a 4 door, except the drivers master control switch, but it should be the same.
first, remove the switch assembly from the door.
next, separate the top part of the switch from the bottom, by prying the tabs away from the body
when you get it separated, you will see two springs inside of it. do not lose them, they are used to make the power for the lights, and you will need to reuse them. also, there is no designated side for them, so it will not matter which side you put them back in later.
once they are apart, set the body aside. you will not need it, until you are ready to put everything back together.
now, you will need to pry the rocker off. you can use a small screw driver for this. you may need to wiggle it a little bit, but it will come off.
set them aside as well
now you can start to gut the switch. what you will want to do is, remove the factory resister, bulbs, and most of the metal contact stripping.
i used 5mm LED's in the switches. you will need to drill the holes for the size of LED's that you use. if you look on the switch, there is a small valley where the old lights sat. drill a pilot hole there. that is the center of the old light, and it can be used so everything will line up when you put your LEDs in.
also, what i it did was de-fuse the LEDs by sanding the dome off.
if you notice, i did leave a small metal strip in the switch. this comes into contact with the springs for power, for the lights. i reused both sides. there is a positive and negative side, how ever. this is important, because, if you mix them up, you lights will not work. positive is on the side of the switch that two plastic tabs, negative on the side with one. now place your LEDs into the switch with the positive side of the LED (or longer lead) on the same side of the switch that is positive.
EDIT: if your truck is a 95-97, please read post 9. thanks RickOTR for posting that information!
next, put the white part of the rocker back in. now, bend the leads, following the perimeter of the switch. make sure you stay to the inside, or when you go to put it together, i may not want to snap into place. there should be enough of the leads for them to touch each other. solider them into place with the resister touching the metal strip. sorry for the blurry pictures, my camera is a POS!
and do the same for the other side
now you can snap the bottom of the switch back together with the top and test them. if you have a battery to do this with, it is much easier then having to plug them back into the truck. just make sure you have your polarity correct.
once you know everything works, push the rocker back on, and your done.
once i got the hang of it, it took me about 20 mins to do each switch. some of you are wondering what resister did i use? as far as i know, it is a 470 ohm resistor. the switch that i made here is not one of the ones that i have in my truck (they are blue, these are white ones that i had left over from making my dome lights), but i have had the ones in there for over a year, and have had no problems.
now that you know how to do the door switches, your conversation is now complete. hope this helps all of you out!
with the help from Ryan (aka MustangP51) write ups on how to convert you dome light to LED http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2031734#post2031734
Cruise Control button LED http://www.explorerforum.com/forums//showthread.php?t=214264
Headlight/Wiper/Defrost/Fog LED http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=199305
as well as John Griggs’s Ford Ranger LED write ups http://www.cardomain.com/ride/296394
i figured i have some time to kill, and would do one of my own
first off, these are from a 98 Sport. the switches are the same as a 4 door, except the drivers master control switch, but it should be the same.
first, remove the switch assembly from the door.
next, separate the top part of the switch from the bottom, by prying the tabs away from the body
when you get it separated, you will see two springs inside of it. do not lose them, they are used to make the power for the lights, and you will need to reuse them. also, there is no designated side for them, so it will not matter which side you put them back in later.
once they are apart, set the body aside. you will not need it, until you are ready to put everything back together.
now, you will need to pry the rocker off. you can use a small screw driver for this. you may need to wiggle it a little bit, but it will come off.
set them aside as well
now you can start to gut the switch. what you will want to do is, remove the factory resister, bulbs, and most of the metal contact stripping.
i used 5mm LED's in the switches. you will need to drill the holes for the size of LED's that you use. if you look on the switch, there is a small valley where the old lights sat. drill a pilot hole there. that is the center of the old light, and it can be used so everything will line up when you put your LEDs in.
also, what i it did was de-fuse the LEDs by sanding the dome off.
if you notice, i did leave a small metal strip in the switch. this comes into contact with the springs for power, for the lights. i reused both sides. there is a positive and negative side, how ever. this is important, because, if you mix them up, you lights will not work. positive is on the side of the switch that two plastic tabs, negative on the side with one. now place your LEDs into the switch with the positive side of the LED (or longer lead) on the same side of the switch that is positive.
EDIT: if your truck is a 95-97, please read post 9. thanks RickOTR for posting that information!
next, put the white part of the rocker back in. now, bend the leads, following the perimeter of the switch. make sure you stay to the inside, or when you go to put it together, i may not want to snap into place. there should be enough of the leads for them to touch each other. solider them into place with the resister touching the metal strip. sorry for the blurry pictures, my camera is a POS!
and do the same for the other side
now you can snap the bottom of the switch back together with the top and test them. if you have a battery to do this with, it is much easier then having to plug them back into the truck. just make sure you have your polarity correct.
once you know everything works, push the rocker back on, and your done.
once i got the hang of it, it took me about 20 mins to do each switch. some of you are wondering what resister did i use? as far as i know, it is a 470 ohm resistor. the switch that i made here is not one of the ones that i have in my truck (they are blue, these are white ones that i had left over from making my dome lights), but i have had the ones in there for over a year, and have had no problems.
now that you know how to do the door switches, your conversation is now complete. hope this helps all of you out!
