Mach 460 Stereo Illumination

Twete

Member

Aug 29, 2010

61

0

7

Kirkland, WA

Dec 25, 2010

#1

• Dec 25, 2010

• #1

I have a 99 GT with a mach 460 (the earlier unit with the separated CD player/radio decks) and was curious as to whether or not anybody has disassembled their units? The reason being is I would like to convert my stereo illumination to LED lighting but I am having a hard time finding any info on the radio schematics, namely how the factory radios are illuminated.

 

GDawg

Founding Member

Mar 22, 2002

1,469

19

68

Nevada

Dec 25, 2010

#2

• Dec 25, 2010

• #2

Open her up! I'm not sure if I still have mine out in the garage...

 

Twete

Member

Aug 29, 2010

61

0

7

Kirkland, WA

Dec 25, 2010

#3

• Dec 25, 2010

• #3

Thanks for that wiring diagram! In particular I am interested in the "Interior Lights System" that is shown in the diagram. I am trying to find out whether the illumination is from LEDs soldered to the circuit board of the stereo or if its just a backlit illumination from a standard filament bulb. Any ideas?

 

trinity_gt

10 Year Member

Jan 31, 2003

3,125

81

99

Canada

Dec 25, 2010

#4

• Dec 25, 2010

• #4

Pretty sure (like 99.99%) that it's LED on the boards.

I had my Mach apart in the summer whilst trying to find out why the 6-disc is so prone to stick and though I didn't take the front panel down, I can say that there's no room for traditional incandescants in there.

 

Twete

Member

Aug 29, 2010

61

0

7

Kirkland, WA

Dec 25, 2010

#5

• Dec 25, 2010

• #5

Ok good to know, I suppose I can always take it apart and look without doing any modifications

 

Twete

Member

Aug 29, 2010

61

0

7

Kirkland, WA

Jan 1, 2011

#6

• Jan 1, 2011

• #6

Ok so I just finished opening up my radio and cd units to determine how they are lit and found that between both units there is a total of 16 incandescent bulbs. They are about 3mm in diameter so I'm going to replace them with T1 LEDs but I have run into another issue. The LEDs are going to need to be oriented in the correct polarity and I am unsure of how to check the polarity on the existing bulbs. I'd hate to have to trial and error solder the LEDs into place as it would be annoying

Anyone have any ideas?

 

wmburns

SN Certified Technician

Aug 14, 2009

5,892

514

204

Houston Texas

Jan 4, 2011

#7

• Jan 4, 2011

• #7

One connector will be a common ground. Use an Ohm meter to test from the outside case to each light terminal. The Negative lead will be the one with almost no resistance.

Disclaimer. Testing with an Ohm meter involves sending a small electrical current through the part to be tested. IMO, the chances of hurting anything are low. However, you are on your own.

 

Twete

Member

Aug 29, 2010

61

0

7

Kirkland, WA

Jan 4, 2011

#8

• Jan 4, 2011

• #8

Thanks for the input! I'll be sure to try that next time, I ended up just plugging the units in with the faces detached and checked the voltage across each of the bulbs. I then noted which terminals were positive based on whether the voltage readings I got were positive or negative.