Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

©öñFü$íóÑ · 01:20 AM

Ok, i've always wanted to do this.... just to give my mac some sort of new flare and appeal to it. But does anyone know how to properly replace the LED that connects to the motherboard of a PowerMac 6100? I've already taken apart the machine and am ready and willing to go forward with this mod.

(yes, i can put it all back together in a flash and get it working again, no problem)

I have seen this mod done on Danaqarium.com and have asked her/him how to perform this mod....... but i did not get a response yet. I'm hoping someone here has experience with this sort of modding and can help me in the mean time.

I need to know what kind of specifications the new LED has to meet and also any tips on soldering it onto the LED cable.

Here's some pics of the LED in question...
1) the old led
2) the kind of connector it uses to connect to the motherboard
3) a closeup of the LED bulb and some sort of blackrubber connecting thingies...

And the pics from Danaquarium.com to illustrate what i'm after...
A) Before
B) After

Ruddigger · Jun 29, 2006, 05:30 AM

Lol, good luck. I have 2 6100's propping up my TV right now.

©öñFü$íóÑ · 04:01 PM

Originally Posted by Ruddigger

Lol, good luck. I have 2 6100's propping up my TV right now.

I take it that you've tried this mod yourself?! (and subsequently failed?)

You know, there are times i wonder if the 6100 will still work, even without the LED+led cable plugged into the mobo... So even if i do a p!ss-poor job at getting the new LED in, i'll still be able to at least boot the computer. (i'm hoping)

lol... you'd also laugh at knowing that my 6100 doesn't even have any of it's 3 EMI (electromagnetic interference) shields anymore....

(those are the shiny pieces of metal that are supposed to cover the front part of the drives). See, i tried to take out the hard drive's EMI, no problem.... the CD drive's, easy!...... but the floppy's...... well, it proved more than difficult so i tried prying it out with some pliers and eventually 'snipped' it off with a wire cutter.

Keep in mind that i didn't have any kind of service manual that details how to take apart the thing. (i do now)

Well, the good news is that it doesn't look like the 6100 really needs those shields after all.

I also did some other 'mods' which are actually accidents, in and of themselves. The mobo battery had a sort of snap-on cover that protects it from the top. When i tried to remove the cover, it broke off... oh well, not too critical. Then there's the white plastic flap that 'locks' in the power lead from the power supply to the motherboard.... i had a HELL of a hard time prying that out, so instead, i forced the plastic open and it tore across the seam. Well, it's also just plastic so it's also not critical.

I just don't understand why they made these components so physically hard to access. (i was hoping for "moderately challenging", but not "break-it-to-get-to-it" hard)

Ruddigger · Jun 29, 2006, 03:51 PM

No, I havent tried that mod. I removed those shields on mine too, and I painted them with a gray and white swoopy design. They still work, or at least they did a couple years ago when I last used them. They just hold my TV up to a comfortable viewing height now. I've also got 2 Apple IIsi's for a nightstand.

imitchellg5 · Jun 29, 2006, 03:59 PM

Ha I have a friend who made a table out of 5 IIsi's

tooki · Jun 29, 2006, 04:51 PM

Originally Posted by �öñFü$íóÑ

I need to know what kind of specifications the new LED has to meet and also any tips on soldering it onto the LED cable.

Here's some pics of the LED in question...
1) the old led
2) the kind of connector it uses to connect to the motherboard
3) a closeup of the LED bulb and some sort of blackrubber connecting thingies...

LEDs (except for high-power ones) all have similar specifications. In this type of application, you can consider them entirely interchangeable.

Look at the LED. You'll find that it has one flat side on the flange at the bottom. The new one will, too. Just match up the flat sides and wire identically.

1. My hunch is that the LED is a standard T1 size LED.

2. It's a standard 1/10" pitch header connector.

3. The black tubing is simply heat shrink tubing to prevent shorts.

Soldering it should be a no-brainer. Just match up the wires per the flat side, and do a normal splice-style solder joint. I'd recommend doing what Apple did and using heat shrink tubing to prevent shorts. Just slip the unshrunk tubing over the wire before soldering, then solder, then slip the tubing over the bare leads and heat using a hair dryer to make it shrink.

tooki

©öñFü$íóÑ · Jun 30, 2006, 11:09 AM

Originally Posted by tooki

LEDs (except for high-power ones) all have similar specifications. In this type of application, you can consider them entirely interchangeable.

Look at the LED. You'll find that it has one flat side on the flange at the bottom. The new one will, too. Just match up the flat sides and wire identically.

1. My hunch is that the LED is a standard T1 size LED.

2. It's a standard 1/10" pitch header connector.

3. The black tubing is simply heat shrink tubing to prevent shorts.

Soldering it should be a no-brainer. Just match up the wires per the flat side, and do a normal splice-style solder joint. I'd recommend doing what Apple did and using heat shrink tubing to prevent shorts. Just slip the unshrunk tubing over the wire before soldering, then solder, then slip the tubing over the bare leads and heat using a hair dryer to make it shrink.

tooki

Just the kind of advice i was looking for... Thanks tooki!!

©öñFü$íóÑ · Jun 30, 2006, 06:18 PM

OKAY!!! i got it to work.... sort of..... it keeps blinking..... but i think it's because my soldering job was rather sloppy.

but everything seems to work, even without the LED cable after all.

newtech · Jul 1, 2006, 02:46 AM

The LED is a T1-3/4 ( aka 5mm ), the "rubber" is heatshrink tubing being used to insulate the leads.

LEDs are current driven devices ( ie dpendant upon being able to draw a specified current regardless of voltage applied, usually 5`20 mA ) voltage is only important in that excess voltage ( forward or reverse ) will destroy the p-n junction and will affect brightness if below the nominal spec'd voltage.

A typical LED in a Mac is spec'd something like 2.1V @ 5mA 800 mcd ( millicandelas= luminence ) generally driven by 5V through a droping resistor to get `2V except in the case of superbrite or blue LED whic generally run more like 5V @ 20mA 1200+ mcd.

©öñFü$íóÑ · Jul 1, 2006, 03:31 AM

lol.... the one i'm using is a blue led @ 2600 mcd...

©öñFü$íóÑ · Jul 1, 2006, 06:29 PM

ok, i re-did the soldering job and now it works perfectly!!

I just thought i'd share the process with everyone.

http://powermac6100.blogspot.com/

Ruddigger · Jul 1, 2006, 08:33 PM

Nice.

Grrr · Jul 4, 2006, 04:46 AM

I did this to an old beige G3 powermac. I took out the green led, and put in an ultra violet one. Looked very cool

Kenneth · Jul 9, 2006, 08:50 PM

Very good. I have a 6100 sitting next to me as well. Thanks for the links as well.

praterkeith · Jul 14, 2006, 02:20 AM

Originally Posted by Ruddigger

Nice.

very nice

©öñFü$íóÑ · Jul 14, 2006, 04:07 AM

thank you for your kind comments everyone..... and a greater thank you to everyone who has given me such valuable advice for doing such a thing on a computer this old.

imitchellg5 · Jul 14, 2006, 09:21 PM

It looks nice. Is the 6100 your normal computer?

©öñFü$íóÑ · Jul 14, 2006, 10:41 PM

actually, no it isn't. I'm using a Compaq Presario (desktop) 800mhz AMD, from waaaayy back in 2000/2001. I use the 6100 for graphics mostly... back then, when i used to have it networked with my PC, i also used my 6100 for downloading, iTunes radio and printing while i'm gaming on my PC. The best of both worlds! Alas, that now i am on dial-up and can't get all the broadband bliss.