[s-cars] Valentine 1 remote display

[James Murray (LMC)]

Matt,

Here's the original post to go along with the photo's...

Cheers, /James.

-----Original Message-----
From:	Dean Ferrera [SMTP:dino.deanf at verizon.net]
<mailto:[SMTP:dino.deanf at verizon.net]>
Sent:	January 21, 2002 2:12 PM
To:	s-car-list at yahoogroups.com <mailto:s-car-list at yahoogroups.com>
Subject:	[s-cars] V1 Remote Display mounted in IC

It's been awhile since I actually did this modification.  Looking at the
pictures I don't believe I was trying to document this; I think I dropped
the ball on this one.
Let's see, first I removed the IC using one of the many procedures already
published.  I can't stress enough how easy it is to scratch the top of the
steering column.  Even the slightest scratch will be in plain view for many
years to come.  You must cover the steering column before actually pulling
the IC from the dash.  The other thing to be careful of are the knobs for
the trip meter and clock.  I think I put one in backwards one time and it
looked fine but didn't work.  Just make sure you know how they came out.
Anyway, I pulled the IC apart to see how much room was behind the panel
(Photo 1).  There is just enough room to do this, everything is tight but it
almost seems too good to be true.
The remote display has to be completely butchered (Photo 2-3).  From memory
I believe the side with the power connector is the same side as the mute
button.  This is important because the board is too large for the trip
computer location.  The power connector (RJ11) has to be bent up 90 degrees
and the mute button cut off.  Then it will fit perfectly.  I used hot melt
glue to hold the power connector at a 90 degree to the board.
The power wire that I used was about a 4" piece; the kind you would use for
a hanging wall phone.  I used this so I could have a connecter behind the IC
when removing it in the future.  There is a longer piece with a coupler on
the end which runs to the power connector.  This short piece had to be
modified as well, because there is just enough room for the connector on the
remote display to fit behind the IC face.  (Photos 4-6)  Basically you need
the wire to stick out of the side of the connector at a 90 degree angle.  I
made a sharp bend where the wire will fit through a hole in the IC Board,
and finally out the back of the IC (Photo 7).
The remote display face also has to be cut.  Now I believe there was a small
decision to be made here.  Without modifying the IC face plate, the hole for
the trip computer is just too small to see the entire V1 remote display.  I
decide to cover up a bit of the arrows since I wouldn't loose any important
info, you can still see them very well.  So I cut the remote display right
about where the hole for the mute button was, but you should measure it with
the IC trip computer location.  Don't worry about a perfect cut; the edges
will be covered by the IC face plate.  I used hot meld glue to hold the
remote display face to the IC face panel (Photo 8).
The other modification was the false trip computer cover.  I decided to just
cut mine to the proper size and deal with it later if I was going to remove
the V1.  I'm not sure how you would get around cutting this.  The bottom of
the piece is the location of some of the indicators for the IC (Upper right
in photo 1).
MAKE SURE YOU TEST THE DISPLAY before putting the IC back in the car.  The
first time I did this mod some of the lights weren't working.  I don't
remember to well, but I think I had to check the connections to the power
connector.  The fact that I cannot remember leads me to believe that the
problem wasn't major.
Photos 9-10 show the remote display installed in the IC. Photos 11-13 are
just some other shots of the dash that have the V1 in place.  I'm sorry to
say I don't have any night shots of the V1 which is weird, because I thought
I took some.  Overall I think it was worth the time and money spent ten
fold.  I love the location and works perfectly.  Some added bonuses:  The
remote display I used works with all the V1s that I have tried.  The older
V1s that didn't have the x, k, ka, etc.  lights still work with this remote
display just as they did previously; these lights just aren't used.  Also,
the mute and volume functions still work from the main unit and since I have
that located above the rear view and to toward the passenger side, I can
still make adjustments that way.  Yes, I have thought of using the remote
volume control.  I guess I should have done that at the same time, because I
lost motivation now that this setup works so well for me.  Another concern
was that the display would need a dimmer, but that is already incorporated
in the V1; there is a photo cell right on the remote display that measures
the amount of light and it works very well.  (I think all V1s have this).
Well I can't really think of anything else.  If there are any questions
just email me at dino at s-cars.org <mailto:dino at s-cars.org> .  I think this
would be a nice post to
add to one of our websites; maybe after the bugs are worked out.  I
uploaded the pics to the s-car yahoo groups site at:
http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/s-car-list/lst?.dir=/Stealth+V1
<http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/s-car-list/lst?.dir=/Stealth+V1>
				Good Luck,

				Dean
				'95 S6





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