Inverting an LCD - Page 3 - Toyota Yaris Forums

Sodium Duck · 03-11-2009, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PK198105

ok in Marty's pics since he has a automatic you can see , the CVT icon and Manual/Tiptronic icon and his clock is shifted to the left. Mine is stick so i can see the MPG, Temp as well as km and miles counters.

I suspect that the automatic display is taken directly from the JDM versions (saves them money by just making one kind and enabling certain functions)

I have an automatic, too. Is it still worth it to you for me to take pics? I don't believe mine has the same things as yours.

Sodium Duck · 03-11-2009, 07:07 PM

woot!

Yea, all you need to do to get your gauge cluster out is take the side pieces off (start pulling from the bottom). And by side pieces, I mean the long trim piece that has your hazard lights and air bag sensor on them. Then you take the trim piece off the gauge cluster itself. I usually go from the bottom, pulling up from where it attaches above the vents to the top. Then there are just 2 screws and two connectors that easily come out and your gauge cluster is free.

So I guess it's a little more than just two screws... but I can have my cluster out from start to finish in 2 minutes. Everything just pops off easily.

Meteorite_Marty · 03-14-2009, 08:10 PM

Just "practiced" on a second factory radio I had for the Yaris. Dismantled the LCD and removed the polarizing film. Flipped the film 90 degrees and achieved the inverted LCD display. Of course I have to remove the residue and the old film doesn't stick perfect, but its only a test. I have ordered some new single-side adhesive LCD polarzing film to complete the job. Will post pics when done.

Meteorite_Marty · 03-14-2009, 08:26 PM

Here's my test phase on my "practice" deck. I only had the width of the rectangle display to use, since I had to turn it 90 degrees to get the blackout effect. I plugged it in, and the text is white (keep in mind, I have done a white LED replacement on my deck already). The bumps and dots you see on the right side of the display is leftover glue residue, which I will clean up later once I put the final polarizing film in place.

Sodium Duck · 03-14-2009, 08:36 PM

Looks promising so far marty. Where are you getting your film from?

Meteorite_Marty · 03-14-2009, 11:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sodium Duck

Looks promising so far marty. Where are you getting your film from?

I went with 3DLens.com, 17". I need room to play, since I will be doing 2 decks, plus I need rotation freedom to find out where the polarizing blacks out the display. Their products specifically say for use with LCDs, and have adhesive backing on one side, which will make my installation more like factory. Pricey after the exchange rate and shipping to Canada. I will likely sell my surplus stock to anyone here that wants it.

Sodium Duck · 03-14-2009, 11:32 PM

I'm really interested to see how it comes out. I ordered mine from Edmund Optics. Just a 2" X 2" sheet... too much money... lol

Sodium Duck · 03-17-2009, 01:13 PM

Got my film today. I'm going to do the install tomorrow when I have some free time.

PK, I'll try and take some pics for you. I think I know how to get behind the board, but we'll see.

Sodium Duck · 03-18-2009, 12:50 PM

Pics for PK - very huge. Sorry about the blurriness, they looked a lot cleaner on my camera's display. It doesn't really matter though, there aren't any jumpers to be seen. Zip. Sorry PK.

Finished inversion pics in a few minutes. Test so far looks good. Not as much contrast as I was hoping for though. The polarizer is a little weak. Maybe some brighter LED's will help?

eTiMaGo · 03-18-2009, 01:10 PM

dang, forgot to ask you, is the speedo needle tinted red, or is there a red LED to light it up that color?

Sodium Duck · 03-18-2009, 01:14 PM

The needle is clear plastic, and seems to have a thin red film that is either on top, or embedded in the plastic.

Sodium Duck · 03-18-2009, 01:17 PM

I used two small drops of epoxy to secure the film in place.

Very disappointing results. Driving without the plastic cover on the gauges, it was fine. But once the plastic cover went on, the visibility went to shit. I even tried doubling up the polarizers, but it went to black. I guess I'll live with it for now. Maybe I'll just splurge on a cluster with tach - only 600 dollars right? lol

Maybe it will be better at night.

||)) (o) ||\|| · 03-18-2009, 01:18 PM

^ Its just painted red. You can easily remove it with acetone. Getting to the center of the needle is a different story though.

CTScott · 03-18-2009, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sodium Duck

I used two small drops of epoxy to secure the film in place.

Very disappointing results. Driving without the plastic cover on the gauges, it was fine. But once the plastic cover went on, the visibility went to shit. I even tried doubling up the polarizers, but it went to black. I guess I'll live with it for now. Maybe I'll just splurge on a cluster with tach - only 600 dollars right? lol

Maybe it will be better at night.

I think you need to upgrade the backlight LEDs. With the smoked lens in front of the reverse contrast LCD it will require more lumens to have the text be as bright as the background was...

Sodium Duck · 03-18-2009, 10:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PK198105

thanks sodium, but i think its still possible , look at certain pads on the pcb they look like they are there for something. also isn't there a small module that snaps into the connector?

Nope, the big rectangle is what the LCD itself connects to with those long pins. Then there are the three LED's, and the push pad for controlling the display. Those are the only things that I can see that are related to the LCD, but I'm not electrical engineer, *shrug*.

Sodium Duck · 03-18-2009, 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CTScott

I think you need to upgrade the backlight LEDs. With the smoked lens in front of the reverse contrast LCD it will require more lumens to have the text be as bright as the background was...

I think it would help, too. Marty said he'd be willing to send me some of his scraps though, so I am hoping to try that first if all goes well with him.

Sodium Duck · 03-18-2009, 11:43 PM

That's the board that goes on the back of the main circuit board. It is where you connect one of the two cables to the cluster. It doesn't have anything to do with the LCD as far as I can tell. They're completely separate.

IllusionX · 03-19-2009, 09:01 AM

i just remember i had done this in my echo..

but the job was easy, it was simply taking the LCD out, invert that plastic on top, and voila.. Visibility was 100% during the day. Not to mention the LCD lights up during the day too... in amber.

03-11-2009, 07:07 PM	#38
Sodium Duck ╚══════════RN Drives: 2008 Liftback Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Western Mass. Posts: 999	woot! Yea, all you need to do to get your gauge cluster out is take the side pieces off (start pulling from the bottom). And by side pieces, I mean the long trim piece that has your hazard lights and air bag sensor on them. Then you take the trim piece off the gauge cluster itself. I usually go from the bottom, pulling up from where it attaches above the vents to the top. Then there are just 2 screws and two connectors that easily come out and your gauge cluster is free. So I guess it's a little more than just two screws... but I can have my cluster out from start to finish in 2 minutes. Everything just pops off easily. __________________ 42.88

03-14-2009, 08:36 PM	#41
Sodium Duck ╚══════════RN Drives: 2008 Liftback Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Western Mass. Posts: 999	Looks promising so far marty. Where are you getting your film from? __________________ 42.88

03-14-2009, 11:32 PM	#43
Sodium Duck ╚══════════RN Drives: 2008 Liftback Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Western Mass. Posts: 999	I'm really interested to see how it comes out. I ordered mine from Edmund Optics. Just a 2" X 2" sheet... too much money... lol __________________ 42.88

03-17-2009, 01:13 PM	#44
Sodium Duck ╚══════════RN Drives: 2008 Liftback Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Western Mass. Posts: 999	Got my film today. I'm going to do the install tomorrow when I have some free time. PK, I'll try and take some pics for you. I think I know how to get behind the board, but we'll see. __________________ 42.88

03-18-2009, 01:10 PM	#46
eTiMaGo vroom vroom View User's Garage Drives: lil red 5-door Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Bangkok, Thailand Posts: 7,744	dang, forgot to ask you, is the speedo needle tinted red, or is there a red LED to light it up that color? __________________ The price of freedom of religion, or of speech, or of the press, is that we must put up with a good deal of rubbish. - Robert Jackson Bye bye 1NZ...

03-14-2009, 08:10 PM	#39
Meteorite_Marty Drives: 2008 5-door Yaris Hatchback Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Waterloo, Ontario, Canada Posts: 389	Just "practiced" on a second factory radio I had for the Yaris. Dismantled the LCD and removed the polarizing film. Flipped the film 90 degrees and achieved the inverted LCD display. Of course I have to remove the residue and the old film doesn't stick perfect, but its only a test. I have ordered some new single-side adhesive LCD polarzing film to complete the job. Will post pics when done.

03-18-2009, 01:14 PM	#47
Sodium Duck ╚══════════RN Drives: 2008 Liftback Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Western Mass. Posts: 999	The needle is clear plastic, and seems to have a thin red film that is either on top, or embedded in the plastic. __________________ 42.88

03-18-2009, 01:18 PM	#49
\|\|)) (o) \|\|\\|\| - Donnie Demonic - $\|\|)) (o) \|\|\\|\|'s Avatar$ View User's Garage Drives: '07 Yaris Sedan Sport Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Southwest PA Posts: 13	^ Its just painted red. You can easily remove it with acetone. Getting to the center of the needle is a different story though.
$\|\|)) (o) \|\|\\|\| is offline$

03-18-2009, 11:43 PM	#53
Sodium Duck ╚══════════RN Drives: 2008 Liftback Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Western Mass. Posts: 999	That's the board that goes on the back of the main circuit board. It is where you connect one of the two cables to the cluster. It doesn't have anything to do with the LCD as far as I can tell. They're completely separate. __________________ 42.88

03-19-2009, 09:01 AM	#54
IllusionX It's the illusion you see View User's Garage Drives: 07 Yaris Sedan Aero Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Brossard, QC Posts: 3,888	i just remember i had done this in my echo.. but the job was easy, it was simply taking the LCD out, invert that plastic on top, and voila.. Visibility was 100% during the day. Not to mention the LCD lights up during the day too... in amber.