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Today at Atelier Kaz - ex-Honda R&D, F1, Indy/CART engineer

Clock

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5 Comments
by
Kaz-kzukNA1
, 17-07-2012 at 11:28 AM (3865 Views)




I always wanted to test this mod but because it was so simple,
it was just left at the bottom of the list and never had the chance to do it on my NSX.
I think another member here questioned the same thing long time ago.

As I had some spare time today, finally decided to try it.


It is to disable the illumination control at the clock display.


I can’t remember what it was like when my NSX was new but for many years,
when I switched on the small/parking lights, the clock was almost invisible under
the bright condition.


So, pulled out the #3 terminal (I think it was Red/Blk wire) from the connector
behind the clock and insulated it as it would be at the battery voltage whenever
any of the light switches were operated.


Not sure you can notice the difference in the above photo but
while the rest of the illuminations were dimmed,
the brightness of the clock display stayed the same even
when the light switch was operated.


My NSX is JDM so the wire colour could be different from yours but you should be
able to find the correct wire because there are only 4 wires in the connector.

It's the only wire that will get battery voltage whenever you switch on the light
even without the IG key.

Rest of the three wires are the GND (#4: Blk), IG1 (#1: Yel), Backup (#2: Wht/Yel)


Will test it like this for a while during the day and in the night then decide
whether I should go back to the original state or not.


Kaz

Updated 26-09-2014 at 03:56 PM by Kaz-kzukNA1

Categories
Electronics

Comments

  1. paulc's Avatar
    I have exactly the same problem with mine.
  2. PeterW's Avatar
    Hi Kaz, I've got the same complaint about my display too. It's impossible to read any of the LED displays - not only the clock but also heater and stereo - if I put the lights on in anything less than almost complete darkness. I've often wondered if there was a fix for this. If there's common connection somewhere which controls all the displays, it would be handy to have a hidden switch to control that.
    Peter
  3. Kaz-kzukNA1's Avatar
    Unlike the Clock, I think we will need bit of extra work in order
    to control the dim feature on the audio head unit and A/C CCU.


    Please note that I haven’t confirmed the following info using
    my NSX so I could be wrong.


    If you remove the audio head unit,
    you will find the connector pin out diagram on the metal case.

    One of the terminal is labelled as ‘ILLUMI +’.

    If you apply 12V to this terminal (ie., operating any of the light
    switches), it will switch on the back lights for the
    front panel switches, text on the panel, etc regardless of whether
    the audio head unit is powered up or not.

    If the audio head unit was in use, it will dim the text in the display
    and also the indicator lights at the numbered buttons.

    The audio head unit is not connected to the illumination control module so
    the brightness is not variable.

    If you disconnect the ‘ILLUMI +’ terminal, I think you will
    not only disable the dim feature but also may loose all of
    the back lights on the front panel.
    The indicator lights at the numbered buttons may stay unaffected.


    The two light bulbs at the A/C CCU are within the illumination
    control circuit so if you turn the adjuster,
    it will change the brightness of the panel back light.

    The green, amber LED lights located at the push buttons
    are not affected by the illumination control circuit but
    they will dim if the light switches were operated.

    There is one wire that holds the lighting switch status at the
    larger green connector at the back of the CCU.

    As same as the audio head unit, if you disconnect this terminal
    from the CCU, you will not only disable the dim feature but also
    may loose the back light completely.

    Haven’t looked inside of the audio head unit and the A/C CCU but
    if we can analyse the circuit board, there should be a way to just
    disable the dim feature while keeping the back lights.


    Alternatively, if you want to disable the dim feature and no need
    for the back light while driving under day light,
    then adding single switch [Edit: containing two circuits in one] for
    these two modules won’t be a big task as both units are sitting
    next each other at the centre console.


    If driving through the mountain road, there will be long-long tunnels
    from time to time so it is always best to keep the back lights even
    driving in the day light condition.


    Kaz
    Updated 18-07-2012 at 09:13 PM by Kaz-kzukNA1 (corrected the wrong info regarding the lights located at the push buttons.)
  4. Silver Surfer's Avatar
    'So, pulled out the #3 terminal (I think it was Red/Blk wire) from the connector
    behind the clock and insulated it'

    Hi Kaz,

    Can you explain what you mean by 'insulated' it please?

    Kare
  5. Kaz-kzukNA1's Avatar
    Hi, Kare.

    When you turn the position light On, the wire at pin#3 becomes live (+!2V).

    Therefore, you need to ‘insulate’ it to prevent it from creating the short circuit when it touches any metal part of the chassis at GND level.

    Just cover the terminal with heat shrink tube, high temperature spec electrical tape or similar products.


    Kaz