3.5" & 5.25" Drive Led Mod Guide
Date : Saturday, 26 January 2002
Author : Wolfman
Provided by : n/a

Introduction

We modders just hate those stock Green/Amber LEDs that comes with any PC hardwares, like the CD-ROM and FDD drives. We've grown to love the ultra bright BLUE LEDs and today, I'll show you how you can mod that 3.5" or 5.25" drives LEDs to the super cool Blue ones! This mod has been done many times before, but it doesn't hurt just to have another reference now, does it? :O) Modding the drive LEDs requires some soldering and if you're not comfortable with it, get someone who can help you out. We will not be responsible if you screw it up!! OK, now that it's out of the way, let's get on to it then!

Stock LEDs....yucks!!

Removing the drive faceplates

First of all, most drives are tray loaded, that means you'll have to remove the faceplate of the tray first. Again, this depends on your drive brand/model. Here I'm doing this mod with a Samsung 52X CD-ROM, a Samsung 241040 CDRW and a Sony FDD. Most CD-ROM drives will have an emergency eject hole for the tray. This is to open up the tray without powering up the drive itself. Use a small pin, something like a paper clip and push through the hole and the drive tray will be ejected. Next, remove the tray faceplate. Keep them in a safe place where you will not lose it. :O)

Small pin to eject the tray

Tray ejected

Tray faceplate removed

Next you'll need to remove the faceplates from your drives. They are usually held in place by plastic tabs. Use a small flat head screwdriver and push on them while pulling the faceplates away from the drive. Depending on the brand/model of your drive, there might be more than 2 of these tabs.

Tabs on FDD

Tabs on CD-ROM

More tabs..aarrgghh!!

Once that is done, you'll also need to remove the top metal cover that's encasing the drive. You'll need to remove the screws from the bottom of the drives and lift the top cover off the drive. Once, you're done, you should have the bare drive ready to mod. :O) You can clearly see the green LEDs in the picture below.

Removing the Stock LEDs

Using a de-soldering tool like some found here or here at Jameco, you will then remove the stock LEDs from their position and get ready to solder in the Blue ones. If you do not have a de-soldering tool, you can also follow Sn1per's method as outline in his DigitalDoc 5 Blue LED mod.

Drive ready for mod... :O)

Yucky green LEDs!!

Close up...

It shouldn't take you more than 5 minutes to get the stock LEDs out. Again, depending on your drive brand/model, the LEDs might be held in place with angled plastic holders. DO NOT THROW THESE HOLDERS AWAY! :O) You'll need them to mount the Blue LEDs later on. Take note of the polarities of the stock LEDs in their position. You need to get the new LEDs in exactly the same position as the stock ones or your new LEDs might not light up. Here's a simple diagram of an LED done by Node. As you can see, there's a "small section" and a "large section" in the LED. The "small section" is the positive lead while the "large section" is the negative lead. Take note of how they are placed into the PCB with the stock LEDs.

"Large Section""Small Section"

LED de-soldered

See the LED on the holder?

New Blue LED on angled-plastic holder

Soldering the new LEDs

Make sure you have the correct size LEDs to start with. Most drives will use 3mm LEDs. Typical working voltage of these LEDs is anywhere between 2V to 5V. Place the new LEDs into the drive LED holder and insert the leads into the holes in the drive's PCB. Make sure you get the polarities correct. Use the method above to make sure you get the new LEDs in the right way, or you'll find yourself desoldering the LEDs again. ;oP Solder in the new LEDs and you're done!

New LEDs soldered onto the 5.25" drive

New LED on FDD

Now it's time to put everything back together and power up the drives. Below you can see the pictures from the 5.25" drives. The blue LEDs looks so cool compared to the stock ones... :O)

BLUE LEDS!!!

Close up on the 5.25" drives

Here's a couple more pictures from the floppy drive.

MORE BLOO!!!

Close up on the floppy drive

Conclusion

Overall, this is a fairly simple mod to carry out with a little skill with the soldering/desoldering iron. Just pay attention with the other components around the drive PCB and be careful not to damage them. For a seasoned modder, this mod might not even take 10 minutes from start to finish, but for the newbie, get someone to help you out if you're not sure. But if you still wanna try it on your own, go ahead. No pain, no gain! Then again, don't come crying to me if you fry your drives!! :O) That basically wraps up this quickie guide. If you have any questions, please email me or post it here in this Forums Thread. Thanks for reading!

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