A how to guide for changing the HVAC and radio to red

[mixup52]

Ok, I know that there is already a thread about changing the HVAC. I followed the instruction, but they were a little confusing for me with out pic. Also, I did my Radio. I have a step-by-step guide to do both. It took me about 30mins to do. Here we go.

Ok first you have to pull your cup holder out to expose the two screws behind it. Remove these.




After removing the cup holder you should be able to remove the trim around the stereo. There are NO screws. Just pry a little. Start in the upper right hand corner and move clockwise until you remove all for holding pins. The last one is a little more difficult to remove because of the cup holder.



This will expose the six screws holding the stereo in and remove them.

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[mixup52]

Gently and slowly pull the radio out as far as it can go. You will have to remove 3 things to get the stereo out. The Plug, antenna wire and a grounding wire you seen the in pic below. The grounding wire is located on the passenger side.




Once you have the stereo removed it should look like this.



Now you will need to remove the HVAC bulbs. They are located on the back of the unit itself.



There are two of them. Here a pic from the backside. I have circled them in red. Reach your hand back there and twist toward the passenger side to remove. The other one is hiding behind the wiring harness. There will be green "condoms" on them. If you already have red condoms, then replace. If not you can paint them red. This is what I did. I just used red model paint on all my bulbs. But I leave the choice to you.




Now the HVAC is done.

[mixup52]

Now on to the Radio.

First you have to remove the 4 screws on each side of the stereo.



After removing those, use a flat head screwdriver and gently pry on the tabs I have circled in red and pull gently on the face as you are doing this.


And here



And here



And here





And you should end up with a finished product looking like this.

[mixup52]

Next remove the two knobs on the stereo like so.



After you do this, flip over the face and remove the 6 screws in red.



Now you are ready to pull the board off. Once you do, turn it over and you will see the bulbs. Yours will be covered in green "condoms" Here you see mine in Red. Like I stated before, I painted mine, but it is up to you to do what you like.



Once you have the board out there are two more that you will need to get to. They are under the metal plate that surrounds the main screen of the deck.
On the backside of the board there are 4 metal "feet" that attached to the board, you have to bend these straight.



DO NOT pull the metal plate off.

Three of them you can push through the holes but there is one that you CAN NOT.

After you straighten out the "feet" gently pull back the plate to expose the remaining two bulbs. They will also have green "condoms" on.



I used a small screwdriver to remove the two bulbs condoms in there.

So in total you should have 9 bulbs that need to be changed to red.

Install in reverse and you are done. This took me about 30mins with taking pictures.

Enjoy!

Link to Trunk_Monkeys radio and hvac color change thread for reference.
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=690333

[JIN]

Nice write up!

Jin

[NeoteriX]

Nice write up! I wish I had it when I did my HVAC and radio... Just one addendum -- on the Radio Head Unit, there are SIX screws not FOUR -- you're missing the pair below your currently highlighted four, the ones inset and in the shadows.

[mixup52]

You are correct. I lost those awhile ago. That's why I didn't have that in there. I will change that. Thanks!!!

[TheShadowWRX]

Thanks looks awesome and not too difficult.
Im definately going to do that to my HVAC controls and my alpine headunit can switch to red.
Have you done the fog light switch too? I know there is a write up on it somewhere but got any tips if you have done it?

Thanks,
Mike

[silvscorp]

you cluster is on FIRE!!! great job btw.

[kunfuzion]

where did you get the condoms and/or what type of paint did you use?
jeff

[mixup52]

I used red model paint that you by at walmart.

[rabbitnutz]

nice write up, it makes me proud.

[ProfessorX]

Hey it is about time someone does that!!! What kinda paint did you use mix up? also....anyone know how to do the RS's Radio? Also what about the guage cluster? How do u do that?

[ProfessorX]

ok sorry u answered what paint u used..well is there anyway u can test the color before u put in on all the bulbs? any way to get the paint off if you screw up?

[mixup52]

I bet you could use fingernail polish remover and a Q tip to get it off.

[TheShadowWRX]

Did you just cover the bulb with one thin layer or put on a few layers?
Im going to try this this weekend, just making sure I don't mess it up!

Thanks,
Mike

[mixup52]

At first I did one thin layer, but the "red" lights seem'd more orange. So I decided to do the write-up and redo them. This time I put a "thicker" coat of paint on. I like it MUCH better with the thicker coat. It matches the gauges prefect, but they are a little dimmer of course, but I just turn'd down the Illumintion on my cluster.

Chris

[TheShadowWRX]

Yeah I keep my illumination low anyway...
I'll have to get hte STi gauge cluster first then give this a shot.
YEAH IM A SPECIALIST!!!!


Mike

[munkis]

Sticky for the hard work!

Jay

[mixup52]

Thanks!!!

[kunfuzion]

did you use translucent paint or the solid color?

[mixup52]

I used the solid color. At first I didn't think that it was going to work, but it works pretty good.

[kunfuzion]

got it, thanks.

[Kcwiro]

I have a 99 Legacy and you have gotten me interested in changing my lighting on my HVAC and dash... I assume there is nothing different besides what I am looking at

-Kc

[MBPEJ20]

awesome dood, that looks amazing, im gonna do mine now!