how did you guys do the flapper?

 

here's a good equation if you choose to use a LED other than the 12V radio shack type. i bought one initially but it wasn't as bright as i liked.

for the job you need 2x LED (5mm size), 2x resistors(ohm rating calcuated below), solder, electrical tape, etc.

first you need to match up the LED and resistor to work with the fd electrical system. i wasn't sure if its rated at 12V or 14V so i did the calcuation for the resistor using 14V.

basically the equation is V = I x R (voltage = current x resistance)

so for a LED with Vf(voltage forward) of 2mA in a 14V circuit... and a desired current of 20ohms... the equation comes out to

V1 - V2 = I x R where V1 = 14v and V2 is the voltage forward of the LED, or in this case, 1.2v

14v-1.2v = .02A x resistance

so this comes out to R = 640ohm

which rounds out to a 620ohm resistor @ 1/4 watt.

anyway, so solder the resistor in series to LED and wiring (resistor to anode i think)

more detailed info and a useful calcuator can be found here http://www.rc-cam.com/led_info.htm

btw i used a LED that was rated at 2 Candella (the 12V radio shack LED was rated at 25mC, or .025 Candella, but for simplicity, has a internal resistor)@ 20mA with a Vf of 2.1v and a 620ohm resistor. its just about the right brightness(brighter would be better, it looks 100x more bright in the picture.)

i taped it all up with electrical tape afterwards, which i forgot to do at first and was shorting out the circuit.. i also tried to use the shrink tubing, but that didn't turn out too well, maybe next time i'll have better luck

i checked all connections were good before soldering (LED was working etc)+ make sure to disconnect the car battery before soldering(not sure why can anyone explain)

also for those that haven't seen these lights work, when the handle is pulled the light turns on for ~10 seconds then should turn off

 

first take off the interior door lock trim triangle piece, undo the 2 10mm nuts

if u're doing driverside unhook the alarm switch thats piggyback on the door lock cylinder, then remove the wire clasp thing that clamps the cylinder. i had to undo the door open mechanism at the two pink colored pieces to get space to work with, makes the job easier esp if soldering at the same time. (is there a easy way to remove that blue wiring seath from somewhere to remove the entire lock+handle assembly? i couldn't figure it out)

then the biggest pain was getting the silver covered cap thing off the lock cylinder. i eventually cut it to get it off.

for the flap cut a piece of plastic to match. and assemble in reverse.

 

broken OEM flap


new flap






TEST it, the new flap material might be too soft(gets jammed, falls out) or be the wrong shape/size. my first one didn't work. so i had to disassemble and start over.


here's an idea of how the light source gets to the key hole(theres a cutout for light to pass through directly below where you see the lightbulb)


its best to select the brightest LED(within reason) with the highest angular rating (wide angle) since the only light to reach the keyhole is actually going to come from toward the base of the LED(which gives off much less than the tip). i'll post some more LED pictures when i dig those up.

 

yes keep them coming this is becoming an archive thread. I love the pics, sevensix can you show a better pic of the spring that is underneath the flapper? Danny that's what you need to do, the spring is small and it has one long end and one short. The short side slips in and the flapper goes down over the long side, it is to allow it to spring back after the key comes out. Without pics of the spring exactly it is hard to explain

but you can see it underneath his finger and underneath the flapper plastic. Also that key hole flapper looks alot more transparent than the stocker. I bet that helps with the LED brightness also.

 

Kudos to sevensix! Thanks for the pics, and yes I agree this ought to be an archive thread.

 

at first i had it cut out of a more stock looking plastic. btw the stock piece is textured to get a even distribution of light, like the inside of brake light covers.

the spring has 2 tails sticking out, 1 points straight down into the groove, the other is horizontal and is the one that flexes during the opening/closing of the flap. the horizontal section has the tip flexed downward slightly(i didn't draw in this little detail) so it doesn't gouge the inner flap surface. its a tiny spring, low tension.

 

A month ago my lock started giving me problems. I could unlock but not lock with the key. I took it to a locksmith, the guy lubed up the lock and then used a pick to rake the tumblers and jiggle free the jammed tumblers. So you can actually unjam a tumbler without having to disassemble the lock if you have picks. Now the key goes in like butter and turns so easily. My flap has long been gone. I also never even knew there were lights in the locks. Is it only certain years or trims?

 

All FDs had the driver's door lock illuminated. It really is a cool feature and SO easy to fix!

 

thanks sevensix, the pics and diagrams are greatly appreciated!

For you guys reading this later I posted awhile back on a door handle repair and added picking up the small 12 or 14 volt light bulbs at a hobby shop. I gave a part number and manufacturer too.

I'll add here that I found taking the metal cap of the cylinder easier when I drilled a hole in the side of the cap to pry the retaining prong out. But I couldn't figure out the damn flapper!

I just did a subsequent outside door handle repair last week screwing two (5/8 inch #40?) countersunk bolts the metal and plastic levers. If it holds up well, I'll follow up on that repair in the old thread.

 

Do you have the Part number for the led used and waht size resistor and resistance.

Damn....see what happens when you jump to the end of a thread nad read backwards......never mind I saw your information and link. Thanks.

 

BTW, a good locksmith can totally do anything with the FD's lock cylinder. I had my locks cleaned, new flapper doors installed, good to go for like $5-10 tops for both locks. Done while I waited too. I pulled the cylinders out so they didn't have to fool with that, though.

The FD doesn't have anything fancy for key cylinders - it's VERY standard, plain stuff. Locksmiths will have ALL the parts for the cylinders, including new tumblers if you need to re-key a lock or something. And, they can do it DIRT cheap and do it RIGHT.

Dale

 

Great info.

Needs to have a sticky!

:-) neil

 

I bet you have a broken plastic 'door' that is supposed to cover the keyhole, and it got lodged in the cylinder. That is the 'cover' that the key light lights up at night (if your lights still work!). I fixed mine by getting another old cylinder and taking the door off it and put it on my original cylinder, after digging out the old broken door. I also replaced the light with a diode type 12 v bulb. YMMV on this job--it wasn't hard, just meticulous work. I think I had to pry off the cylinder from the cover to get at the keyway cover. There is an itty bitty spring in there as well to 'close' the plastic key hole cover.
Marc, 2 FD's

 

so what happens when you can't open the door at all... not with the key... not from inside... haha ... what do you do then>?

 

Then you have bigger problems than normal is all. The key simply unlocks the lock. If you still can't open the door with either the interior or exterior handle, you will have to find a way to find the rod/cable that actuates the door striker grasper release and open it this way. One COULD just tear the **** out of the door panel, but keep in mind those things are like $1500+ each....NOT recommended.