Fifth Generation Interior Clock Modification
Ever since completing this modification, I have experienced two very different types of reactions from my passengers: 1) “normal� people do not even notice a change (which is good because it means that it does not stick out like a sore thumb), and 2) car/Prelude enthusiasts badger me with questions about how it was done. If you are in the “I want to change all my interior lighting colours� camp – then this is a good starting place for you. I would rate the difficulty level of this DIY project as a 1/5 for anyone who has some experience with cars and tools and a 2/5 for a total beginner; total time depends.. took me one whole night.
-> If you have any further questions or comments after reading this, then feel free to contact me here on PreludeOnline.com as “TCB007� or e-mail me at
tcb007@vancouverpreludeclub.com
Tools & Materials Required:
1 – *Shop towel, cloth/rag or old underwear
2 – Flathead screwdriver
3 – Phillips-head screwdriver
4 – *Small saw or something else to cut plastic with
5 – *Super Glue or similar adhesive
6 – Your choice of coloured filter/gel/cellophane
7 – Scissors
8 – *Aftermarket light-bulb container
9 – *Awl or marker
*these items are optional if you do not care about leaving a hole-gap where your clock currently is
Notes Before Beginning:
1 – BE CAREFUL! I am providing these instructions as is and will not take any responsibility for damaged parts, lowered resale value, lost fingers, etc. lol
2 – Start the search for the coloured filter/gel/cellophane well in advance before you actually start this because that is usually the hardest thing to find
3 – If you really do not have an aftermarket light-bulb container and really cannot find a friend that has one; you might be able to find an alternative around the house. I simply used it because it was the best material and appropriate curvature that I could find for this project.
START
^ before
First of all, you will need to remove the interior panel containing the hazard light button, two vents, and the clock itself. To do this, you will need to pry it off using a flathead screwdriver covered with a shop towel so that you do not accidentally scratch something. The panel is secured with 8 (yes, EIGHT) standard Honda clips – 3 on the top, 3 on the bottom, and 1 on each side (look below for pictures). It will be a little scary if you are taking this off for the very first time but with the help of these pictures to locate the clips it should be a breeze. You will also need to disconnect two standard electronic harnesses (1 for the hazard light and 1 for the clock) from the panel before you can completely remove it from your car.
Here is a picture with the harnesses disconnected and panel removed. I have noted the locations of the 8 clips so that you do not have to guess and pry with your screwdriver. Please be careful when doing this because I am sure that a replacement panel from Honda does not come cheap.
Now with the panel removed, you can feel free to bring it indoors or wherever else you feel most comfortable to work with it. Flip it over and you will see that the clock itself is a detachable unit held in place by 3 screws. Use your Phillips-head screwdriver to remove them and the clock unit should simply detach itself from the panel.
Picture of panel with clock unit removed; just leave this aside someplace safe for now.
Next, the clock unit itself is held together simply by a few interlocking clasps. Simply pry these apart a little bit on each side with your fingernails or the flathead screwdriver and the clock unit should open up into two halves. I do not have to tell you to be careful here and not use too much pressure.
I would suggest putting the circuit board/display piece of the clock in a ziplock bag or somewhere clean in the meantime but that is entirely up to you. For now, the piece on the left (image above) is what we want. Again, use your fingernails or the flathead screwdriver to pry off the thick amber piece from the black ABS plastic. This is the piece that gives the clock its amber colour and is held on by some sort of adhesive. It should be fairly easy to remove but once you do it you cannot reattach it without using your own glue – here is a picture of the removed amber plastic piece.
If you have had no problems up to this point then congratulations but here comes the hard(er) part. Take your amber plastic piece with your aftermarket light-bulb container and try and compare the best spot to use as your replacement. The most important thing to remember at this point is not the size of the piece but the curvature. The key is to try and find a part of the container that is most similar to the stock piece. Once you decide, you can mark the container (with the exact size of the amber plastic piece) with an awl or marker and proceed to cut it out with a saw or Dremel or whatever.
This step admittedly took me the longest time but I believe that getting this part to look perfect is the key to making this mod look so good. Without this clear plastic piece, there will be nothing to prevent dust from getting into your clock unit, not to mention how ugly the hole/gap will look after you reinstall everything. Anyhow, here is a comparison with the newly cut clear plastic piece on the left and old amber plastic on the right (note the similar size and curve).
For those of you that want a green-blue clock colour (or do not have the proper materials yet), here is what the clock colour looks like without the stock amber piece (it is actually pretty bright).
But for those of you who have already acquired the colour filter/gel/cellophane of their choice, this is now the time to use them. Grab your material and cut off a piece with your scissors that is the same size as the clear plastic/amber piece. As previously mentioned, the choice of colour is up to you but I ultimately went with the blue filter shown below because the colour output matched exactly with my A’PEXi VAFC display as well as with some of my other interior lighting.
The final step may seem simple but this is actually where I got messed up. In order to keep the clear plastic piece in place inside the clock unit, you have to use some glue or similar adhesive. I used super glue but I quickly found out that I should have been more careful. *IMPORTANT – certain types of glue will cause clear plastic to turn opaque (not-clear) as a result of chemical reaction! This is what happened to me. My beautiful clear plastic piece became not so clear and also my blue filter got irreparably smudged as well. I learnt the hard way and had to cut-up another container and filter but hopefully you will not have to because I have already forewarned you here.
Anyways, simply glue your clear plastic piece to the clock unit (where the amber piece was before). I strongly suggest using a toothpick or something to apply the adhesive to the inside of the black clock unit rather than to the clear plastic piece itself. Also remember not to use too much glue/adhesive as this is what I did and caused it to ooze out into the viewable area.
After letting the glue dry, simply sandwich your coloured gel piece between the clear plastic and the digital clock face and snap the two halves of the clock unit back together. Reinstallation is simply the reverse of these instructions so that should be no problem. Enjoy your “new� clock!
^after
FINISH
- DIY write-up by Jason Tse (TCB007) on 01/22/2003
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