# A Complete Guide to Fix the Flickering or Dimming Backlight of logitech Z 5500 D Control POD



## mickmania

+ rep, Might come in handy when I buy it.







thx


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## MCBrown.CA

Wow, well done! I would suggest some minor grammar/continuity improvements but everything is well documented. This won't really help me as I don't have the Logitech system but it is a very nicely assembled guide. This is exactly the caliber of guide that OCN needs more of.

+Rep


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## J.M.D

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mickmania* 
+ rep, Might come in handy when I buy it.







thx

Ma Pleasure... Mate..


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## 3ug3n

Lights turned off:

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/2159/100609004128.jpg

Lights turned on:

http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/9789/100609004249.jpg

http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/1634/100609004304.jpg

Basically: The backlight is not flickering , its just the writing that fades after few minutes of turning the POD ON. When I turn it off and let it cool and then turn it ON again, there is no faded writing for 1-2 minutes. Should I rely on this tutorial in order to fix my problem? Or is it a different problem?HALP.


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## J.M.D

@ 3ug3n,
Its seems that you have got a diifferent issue mate. Guess its the over heat generated inside the POD makes your LCD struggle to display it correctly. Why dont you just open the POD (so that the heat is dissipated) and confirm whether the writings are fading or not even after powering it for a long time...?
And ya try it only if your unit is out of waranty..


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## 3ug3n

Quote:


Originally Posted by *J.M.D* 
@ 3ug3n,
Its seems that you have got a diifferent issue mate. Guess its the over heat generated inside the POD makes your LCD struggle to display it correctly. Why dont you just open the POD (so that the heat is dissipated) and confirm whether the writings are fading or not even after powering it for a long time...?
And ya try it only if your unit is out of waranty..









An electrician told me it's cause of false circuits , and he will come in a week end to help me out , we gonna open it and do some checking. Prolly i'll replace the LED's too just so i can have a nicer blue.And yes you are right its heat-related , if i turn it off and let it cool off the writing will be back to normal, especially if I turn the whole system from behind of the subwoofer. Thanks for your reply.


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## 3ug3n

I've made it replacing all the LEDs , but while I was getting everything back in place , more exactly when I was closing the LCD display, a LED died , the one in the left bottom corner. So I tried reviving him by soldering without taking the LCD metal box off because I was friggin tired after 5 hours of fighting with these tiny babies. Ofcourse I've done something wrong cuz now none of the LED's would light up.To be more precise I was trying to make it stickier to the board as it was moving almost freely , so I thought of extenting the solder to the left of the LED , and that's when the lights turned off.So I took LED off and started investigating. If I use the multimeter at 200 ohms to check for any lights , the 5 LEDs will light up, but if I solder the 6th LED there will be no lights , just values on the multimeter(and I think this is a good thing), about 90 ohms on each connection to be more precise,checked them all. However , even so , it still won't light up the way it did before I tried to repair the LED carelessly.And yes , the heat gets dissipated and LCD's writing wont fade while the pieces are out of the box. However , getting them back in the box would take me back to my old problem.


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## J.M.D

is ur product still under warranty...??? If so , i would recommend to RMA it as you have created a second problem i.e dead LED's..lol. However if you are able to fix your LED's, the over heating problem will still remain which will fade your liquid crystals.

Now about the LED's:-
- After fixing each LED's make sure it wont light up [do it for each LED's alternatively] and while checking the LED's go for the hgiher value ohms in the multimeter i.e >1000.
Also make sure about the correct polarity
- Never attempt to power up the POD unless all the 6 LED's are in place.
- Please remember that if one LED fails or soldered improperly, nothing will light up.

Hope that helps


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## 3ug3n

Lol , I just finished reconnecting the LCD panel wires in the main board , cuz the system is 3 years old and the wires got disconnected from the main board(such a pain in the ass). The tranzistors inside are very hot and I'm thinking of installing a 40mm fan inside to fix the fading problem.

Now , after I finished reconnecting the lcd cable to the main board , I thought of going back at working on the LEDs .

Heres the problem now:
1.the 3 LED s on each side work seperately from the other side (don't know if thats normal since till now they were all working together). For eg if I check 1 LED on the right side only those 3 on the right side will light up.
2.Being a moron I ripped off the lower left LED along with the Minus(-) contact which makes it hard now to find the minus , as it is almost as small as a pixel.

If you have the time and patience please send me your mail so we can chat via yahoo or msn. ty.

PS : i do not have it under warranty as it expired 1 year ago and I bought 8 blue LED's from the electronics shop


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## J.M.D

3ug3n, in my case none of the LED's did light up, where it proved solid that all of them where in good contact with the circuit board. Did you try with the recommended ohms in your mutilmeter..?!

Also u dont need to worry about the polariy, if u had checked them with your mutilmeter before its soldered on to the board. [It may not light up once soldered]

Yup , you are right.., those two black transistors on the master PCB gets too hot which is causing the problem in your POD. Guess, those are a bit aged as its been already 3 years since you are using it and thatz why its xtereme hot.







. As u said , a 40mm fan would do the trick unless if u use the fan as exhaust at the back of the POD.

ohh.., iam not much in to these messengers . however i will be adding some IM id's in my profile for you. so that u can add me..

anyways ,
Let us Know...
GooD luck buddy


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## 3ug3n

I'm really out of ideas , I mean , I literally ****ed it.

The bottom left LED is no longer my 100% problem. Removing it many times without soldering , I managed to grab the minus polarity material with it. Now it's very difficult to solder there as I already had to cut a part of the white sheet. And what I hate most is that the LED's don't light up all at the same time when I check them with the multimeter , they light up 3 at a time. But if I check a left side LED's minus with a right side LED's plus , the ones in the left do light up, and vice versa if I change polarities.

I think I damage the PCB board and I'm thinking of modifying the architecture of lightning by adding 2 big fat LEDs instead of the 6 ones.But as I am still a beginner, I'll have to wait for my dad to come back from his voyage in January or February (which is a pain in the ass) . Also I'll ask him to find for me a second hand POD in the countries he's dealing with since this POD hasn't got 2 much time 2 live. Thank you for your help mate =]

If you do have a solution to my problem though don't hesitate on writing it down . I might open the POD's case again. Right now I'm afraid damaging it more than it is.


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## J.M.D

can u try checking each LED seperately [after soldering on to the borad] with the multimeter for it *not to light up*..??? And also are u damn sure bout the correct polarities before u solder them..??


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## 3ug3n

Quote:


Originally Posted by *J.M.D* 
can u try checking each LED seperately [after soldering on to the borad] with the multimeter for it *not to light up*..??? And also are u damn sure bout the correct polarities before u solder them..??

yes i am 100% sure about polarities..

now the LED's on the left panel when I check em with the multimeter they dont light up . while the LED s on the right side do light up.

And I havent really changed the 5 LED s that didnt had a problem since they all used to function before i started giggling the 6th LED that wasnt soldered properly. After giggling with it , all of the lights shut down and never came up again. I think i hit the mass or whatever is called in english.


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## J.M.D

Quote:

And I havent really changed the 5 LED s that didnt had a problem since they all used to function before
Are these 5-LED's the stock one's..???

Quote:

i started giggling the 6th LED that wasnt soldered properly. After giggling with it , all of the lights shut down and never came up again.
I think this is how it should exactly sound thatz Its should not light up with the multimeter but it will, only when the POD is powered.


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## 3ug3n

Quote:


Originally Posted by *J.M.D* 
Are these 5-LED's the stock one's..???

I think this is how it should exactly sound thatz Its should not light up with the multimeter but it will, only when the POD is powered.

no , i removed the stock LEDs 1 by 1 (note that the stock one on the top right corner was dead) .

So i first replaced the dead LED with a new blue one( the old ones were white) , turned on the POD , so i had 5 white ones and 1 blue.

Then I desoldered the 2nd white LED and soldered a blue one , turned the POD on , i had 2 blue and 4 white. and so on...

did the same thing through all LEDs , the ones that didnt had perfect contact , were blinking , so i was turning the pod off and soldered them again till they were unmovable even after pressing onto them.

So im done , having 6 blue nice LEDs , started mounting the case with power OFF . mounted , turned it on , bum , the 6th LED was causing me trouble. So being a lazy moron i didnt take the metal case off , and started soldering the 6th LED with POWER ON ( moron again) . And I was trying to grab the solder near the edges of the PCB so it can grab to the PCB , all of the lights turned off and thats when the crazyness started.


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## VCheeZ

Great guide. I was wondering if my flickering was from dirty electricity or maybe I had a bad unit. Good to know it is a common problem and how to fix it


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## J.M.D

Quote:


Originally Posted by *3ug3n* 
no , i removed the stock LEDs 1 by 1 (note that the stock one on the top right corner was dead) .

So i first replaced the dead LED with a new blue one( the old ones were white) , turned on the POD , so i had 5 white ones and 1 blue.

Then I desoldered the 2nd white LED and soldered a blue one , turned the POD on , i had 2 blue and 4 white. and so on...

did the same thing through all LEDs , the ones that didnt had perfect contact , were blinking , so i was turning the pod off and soldered them again till they were unmovable even after pressing onto them.

So im done , having 6 blue nice LEDs , started mounting the case with power OFF . mounted , turned it on , bum , the 6th LED was causing me trouble. So being a lazy moron i didnt take the metal case off , and started soldering the 6th LED with POWER ON ( moron again) . And I was trying to grab the solder near the edges of the PCB so it can grab to the PCB , all of the lights turned off and thats when the crazyness started.

Ohh u just said it.
Now iam very much doubtful that u have just short circuited the LED IC controller.
Now the only door left to you is again to dissolder them one by one and to check them naked with the multimeter whether its lighting up o not [Even if one of the LED's are dead, nothing will lturn on]. If all the 6 lights up then its a sad news that u hav shorted the board or else you will be lucky enough that replacing the LED's agiain would bring back lights to your POD









GooD luck Buddy


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## J.M.D

Quote:


Originally Posted by *VCheeZ* 
Great guide. I was wondering if my flickering was from dirty electricity or maybe I had a bad unit. Good to know it is a common problem and how to fix it









thanks mate. Yup its the only crap pro with the Z5500. But once its fixed its impressive ...


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## 3ug3n

Quote:


Originally Posted by *J.M.D* 
Ohh u just said it.
Now iam very much doubtful that u have just short circuited the LED IC controller.
Now the only door left to you is again to dissolder them one by one and to check them naked with the multimeter whether its lighting up o not [Even if one of the LED's are dead, nothing will lturn on]. If all the 6 lights up then its a sad news that u hav shorted the board or else you will be lucky enough that replacing the LED's agiain would bring back lights to your POD









GooD luck Buddy









Basically I should strip it off LEDs , and start soldering 1 by 1 , every time checking with multimeter at 200 ohms . Question is: If it doesnt light up and shows a value on the multimeter is a good thing ? or a bad thing? I think its a good thing. Anyways. What happens when the LED lights up when I check it with the multi meter and its soldered to the board? Bad thing or good thing ?


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## J.M.D

Quote:

Question is: If it doesnt light up and shows a value on the multimeter is a good thing ?
If u r checking the LED naked.. No, its a bad thing that the LED is dead.

Quote:

Anyways. What happens when the LED lights up when I check it with the multi meter and its soldered to the board? Bad thing or good thing ?
yes, its a good thing that the LED is still alive and it wont light up with multimeter once soldered to the board. but lights up when the POD is powered only if all the 6 are soldered perfect.

Hope that helps,


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## 3ug3n

After 14 hours and 31 minutes of rebuilding the integrated circuit board (fixed the 3 LED's - 3 LED's problem) and soldering 1 billion times some cables that kept disconnecting from the board cuz of the age , here are the results:

1. Powered manually the LED's at around 2V ( They stay ON even on standby but I'm working on finding a switch and place it behind the console)



2. Added a 0.10 A cooler behind the console , connected it to a 3.5 V output,gonna add a switch behind the console to this one too.



3. Placed thermal paste on the 2 transistors and a thin sheet of copper
and ofc duck tape.



4. My dirty desk lol



5. The results:



Conclusion: I'm not so proud of what I done , but I really felt like posting this crap after I was done , just so I can express my pain.
Overall it's a good job considering that I had no light for some weeks.
However , I am not satisfied with the cooler as it is noisy but it does struggle to keep the head dissipated, keeping the wring up, but these blue LED's as they are 2 dark , making my already poor writing nearly invisible, that's why I'm thinking of going back at the shop and buy 6 white LED s lol like the old ones I replaced.

Thank you for your time JMD.


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## J.M.D

It seems u hav worked hard ateleast to shed some lights in ur POD. GooD work.!!!








Yes you r right. Your LCD writings are just barely visible. As u said 6 white LED's or pale blue LED's would do the JOB..
Anyways GooD Luck Buddy !!!!








And let us know how it goe's...!!


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## folksoter

Hi J.M.D.
I read your entire message, I'm very happy you found a way to solve this common problem for many of us.
I comment to you briefly my situation. I do not have my pod now because I am out of my house, my pod have the same problem like yours. Are you sure that with this I fix my POD?, i tell you this because I previously send an email to Logitech and they tell me that this is a problem caused by the led source or circuit driver not by a led. I not distrusted you but I only want to be sure because i can lost my warranty too.
Do you have a good picture from LCD backward?, I think is possible to replace the LCD module if i can see the part number, the pictured showed in your guide is blur and I canâ€™t read the small numbers. I worked before with characters lcds and for this I can know how the data is send it if i can read the datasheet, then I can replace with new one but with another lcd color or led color. Like this



















Thanks and sorry for my poor English.

Regards


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## J.M.D

folksoter,

I would like to know what exactly your problem is. Is it the writings on the LCD or just the LED ??. However in my case it was just the LED as the writings were clean and clear. And if your problem is just the LED, then iam really hoping that the mod would fix it, even though nothing is guaranteed.









AFAIK, the LED's on the POD are in series. So if one fails , then evrything fails. And if its your LCD then some user's have also reported that the LCD writing fails due to the high heat generated inside the POD. So its up to you determine what is causing your problem..









And about the backview of the LCD, no iam sorry to tell you that i currently dont have one taken. Perhaps i can get it done for you soon, when i open the POD once again to install the heatsniks on some red hot IC's.

hope that helps a bit


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## folksoter

Quote:


Originally Posted by *J.M.D* 
folksoter,

I would like to know what exactly your problem is. Is it the writings on the LCD or just the LED ??. However in my case it was just the LED as the writings were clean and clear. And if your problem is just the LED, then iam really hoping that the mod would fix it, even though nothing is guaranteed.









AFAIK, the LED's on the POD are in series. So if one fails , then evrything fails. And if its your LCD then some user's have also reported that the LCD writing fails due to the high heat generated inside the POD. So its up to you determine what is causing your problem..









And about the backview of the LCD, no iam sorry to tell you that i currently dont have one taken. Perhaps i can get it done for you soon, when i open the POD once again to install the heatsniks on some red hot IC's.

hope that helps a bit









Hi JMD
The problem on my POD is the same like yours. My display leds some times is blinking some times is dimming and some times is complete off. The text on my lcd is clear and with good contrast, the write text never fail.

What you mention about the led in series make me sense because all the light is uniform.









Please, I would to know two question:
When you fix it, are you found a resistor in series with the leds or they are connect directly to the source?.
Have you measured the voltage Vd of the original leds?

I'll open on arrival at home to fix it and possibly in the future to completely change the LCD. I expect no problems because I think the most hard to do is remove the volume knob and seperate the POD's casin, I would mention my progress and take some pictures.









Thank you for your interest, for your fast response and for your good thread.


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## J.M.D

Quote:


Originally Posted by *folksoter* 
Hi JMD
The problem on my POD is the same like yours. My display leds some times is blinking some times is dimming and some times is complete off. The text on my lcd is clear and with good contrast, the write text never fail.

Ok folksoter, its exactly the same problem. That means you can also try the same mod without any hesitation..









Quote:

When you fix it, are you found a resistor in series with the leds or they are connect directly to the source?.
No. There were not any resisitor's around but iam not sure. And i would recommend you to use good quality LED's if you are planning to replace those..









Quote:

Have you measured the voltage Vd of the original leds?
IIRC , its 1.4~1.8

Quote:

I'll open on arrival at home to fix it and possibly in the future to completely change the LCD. I expect no problems; I would mention my progress and take some pictures.
Ok that would be really good !!








Good Luck buddy


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## MightyKAOSS

Thanks J.M.D.! I followed your instructions and it worked flawlessly. I was a little concerned initially because I used SMD's that are somewhat bigger than the original and I could only orient them facing up, not to the sides.


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## J.M.D

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MightyKAOSS* 
Thanks J.M.D.! I followed your instructions and it worked flawlessly. I was a little concerned initially because I used SMD's that are somewhat bigger than the original and I could only orient them facing up, not to the sides.

I am glad u found the guide useful. Keep up your good work tho..

- JMD


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## zerodepth

Sorry to bring up an old thread but the back light for my control pod has gone out. Does anyone know where I can buy replacement LEDs? I don't have any old electronics laying around that I can salvage LEDs from. Thanks.


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## J.M.D

May be you can give a try in some mobile care or mobile servicing shops. I am sure they can provide you some.


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## DinoSauron

resolved the problem ?works 100% ?or after some time the problem back again ?
thanks,good job


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## J.M.D

Quote:


Originally Posted by *DinoSauron* 
resolved the problem ?

Dint you see the pic's in the first post i have posted with the problem resolved ??

Quote:

works 100% ? or after some time the problem back again ?
thanks,good job
Yes it works 100%. No one could make the difference and it lasted until now with out a hitch and hope it will go on. If you are planning to do this , then please make use of high grade LED's.

I'am glad u liked the guide..


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## DinoSauron

Quote:


Originally Posted by *J.M.D* 
Dint you see the pic's in the first post i have posted with the problem resolved ??

Yes it works 100%. No one could make the difference and it lasted until now with out a hitch and hope it will go on. If you are planning to do this , then please make use of high grade LED's.

I'am glad u liked the guide..

Its my second rma pod , my second pod backligh is not anything good, blinking, I'll change the LEDs to see if it solves.
I'll post the result here soon.
thanks


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## J.M.D

Quote:


Originally Posted by *DinoSauron* 
Its my second rma pod , my second pod backligh is not anything good, blinking, I'll change the LEDs to see if it solves.
I'll post the result here soon.
thanks

Its sad to know that your second pod also has the same issue. Its a SHAME for logitech that they have used some crappy quality LED's on the POD.
Anyways, you can definitely fix the issue, by the same method.

Ok Good Luck !!


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## DinoSauron

Quote:


Originally Posted by *J.M.D* 
Its sad to know that your second pod also has the same issue. Its a SHAME for logitech that they have used some crappy quality LED's on the POD.
Anyways, you can definitely fix the issue, by the same method.

Ok Good Luck !!









I thought the problem was manufacturing something in the circuit or controller chip. the problem is exactly the LED, such a simple thing. a shame for logitech


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## AstonM

So my LED's died literally 5 minutes ago, and while im not so worried about those (don't mind it being not lit that much to be honest), I'm worried if this is a lead-in to other issues with the speakers. I just bought them used 3 weeks ago...


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## J.M.D

Quote:


Originally Posted by *AstonM* 
So my LED's died literally 5 minutes ago, and while im not so worried about those (don't mind it being not lit that much to be honest), I'm worried if this is a lead-in to other issues with the speakers. I just bought them used 3 weeks ago...

No it will not lead in to other problems at all. The only problem you fill face is that , once the LED's are completely dead, then its real difficult to figure out the
characters on the screen. But you really dont have to worry about it as its just the LED's and nothing else as far as your case is concerned.


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## ShadoX

Hey guys

Great post. I attempted to do this with my old POD (they died about a week ago after about a year of getting duller and duller). Unfortunately, seems like theres bigger issues with mine as theres no power to the LED's at all (i guess the LED controller transistor is dead)

Anywho, i want to share my little saga with you. rather than repost the whole lot, i'll link you to the post i made on overclockers australia (if it allowed, sorry if its not mods, just remove it if its not ok)

But basically, i emailed logitech, asking them where i could buy a new pod (gave them my z5500's model ids and such) as i couldn't source a new one in australia. They sent me an email asking me for my postage details and contact phone no. and they'll forward it to logitech australia and they'll see what they could do (again, i asked them where i could buy one, and even asked them in my second email with my details, to give me a price first). Next day (on the 7th july) i get an email stating a new pod had been sent, and please allow 1 to 2 weeks delivery (no mention of cost/billing/etc)

I arrived home today to a big parcel post package, sure enough it was a brown box containing a new pod !! brand new, with no invoice or anything.....logitech just *gave* me a new one (they even copped the postage).

The thread i linked has more info and pics, also some other ppl have tried emailing them, one bloke got a response basically saying they'll send a new one for $10 USD, which i can only guess is the cost of postage. Even so, thats still a bloody awesome price for a new pod

so yeah, just thought i'd share (best part is, ive not got 2 pods, so....maybe i should see if someones trying to flog a podless system somewhere for cheap ...







lol)


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## Drakeen

Thank you for this guide!
I didn't have smd led's, so i tried another mod.

total cost ~2â‚¬

open the case with great care, as written above.
find the two soldering spots, GND and PIN4 (+3V)
Solder a short wire to these pins, they will be your power supply









Carve a little hole in the side and glue two blue led's (3mm) in the small cuts.
solder the circuit as listed below, the led's are in paralell mode !

dont forget to use some isolator, or you may make a short circuit while assembling the whole thing together

























the two led's shine directly into the LCD Light reflectors, so they are very bright and good to read!

i suggets using blue / white leds's, because they make a better contrast than green/reds. be sure to use 3mm leds, 5mm are to thick!


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## Serban

Hey, first of all thank you for the guide it was awesome and it helped fix my z-5500 control pod lights.
I had to buy new SMD LEDs because getting then from an old phone proved impossible. They would just tear apart when I tried to get them off the phone's PCB (phone was a samsung).
This is how the POD looks now , i didn't know that the new LEDs were such a dark blue and so the display text isn't in so much contrast.if u look on the sides on the display u can see the dark blue the display is now.My camera as much as i tryed cannot show the real color and it looks like the text lost it's contrast.Believe me it isn't so ,when i turn on a LED flashlight on the display and the light turns into a lighter blue the display text is really clear.
well this is my picture :
.
PS: If u don't have patience ,or a good man to help u with the soldering and stuff better leave it alone couse it's troublesome.


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## J.M.D

Nice WorK Drakeen & Serban !!!
Keep it UP !!!


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## Serban

Quote:


Originally Posted by *J.M.D* 
Nice WorK Drakeen & Serban !!!
Keep it UP !!!

well ty , never could'ev done it without your giude....and my G/F's father who did all the soldering


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## lt_albert

Good job mate!, i don't have an old cellphone like the others and i want to buy some new leds to replace the old ones but i don't know the model number or the right size. I bought some 0603 blue leds but when i opened the pod, i saw the original leds are bigger than 0603 leds and they're soldered on 3 spots. Do you know what's the model number?

I hope you can help me on this.

by the way, Excellent guide !!!

P. d.
Sorry for my poor English.


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## J.M.D

@ it_albert,
Iam not so sure about the model no of the LED' tho , i would recommend you to get some of them from some mobile care or servicing shops either as bare LED's or a dead Cellular's PCB. The 3 Spots u mentioned are actually only two, but the third spot in the middle (side) of the LED is nothing but to fix the LED on the PCB. Not to mention its Non-Conductive.

And i apologize for the late reply


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## Zaiber

I know this thread is old, but I was looking for info since mine just died today and I want to fix it. How hard is this? I know how to solder but I'm not particularly good doing it, and I wouldn't like to mess it up more than it already is.


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## Mas

Damn, that's a lot of work. I was hoping that it would be easier, as mine started to flicker about a year and a half ago.

Rate up though, it's awesome, just more work than I feel is worth it.


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## J.M.D

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Zaiber*
I know this thread is old, but I was looking for info since mine just died today and I want to fix it. How hard is this? I know how to solder but I'm not particularly good doing it, and I wouldn't like to mess it up more than it already is.

I cant really say its hard, but time consuming. You need to start it with enough patience and you just need to take care of certain important things. A high skill in soldering is not actually required here but you just need to do it nice and slow.

If you have got any plans, then Good Luck.









Quote:


Originally Posted by *Mas*
Damn, that's a lot of work. I was hoping that it would be easier, as mine started to flicker about a year and a half ago.

Rate up though, it's awesome, just more work than I feel is worth it.

Its strange that the flickering for you was prolonged for such a long time. Mine could only withstand a max of 20 days before it died completely. And not to mention those flickering moments were annoying.

-
-
And this thread cannot die as long as people keep buying Z5500's


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## DinoSauron

Hi .
Works fine to me.thanks very much.
logitech crap!!!


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## J.M.D

Quote:


Originally Posted by *DinoSauron* 
Hi .
Works fine to me.thanks very much.
logitech crap!!!

Np.
Iam Glad it worked for you. Congrats !!


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## orgaudio

Sorry by my english....
Gracias a J.M.D. y en especial a Drakeen !!, ya que gracias a el pude reparar mi LOGITECH z5500.

Les dejo un video que hice siguiendo las instrucciones de Drakeen. :

*see my video on HIGH DEFINITION (720p)* !!!!!!!!!!!! ===>












Sorry by my english....


----------



## J.M.D

@ orgaudio !!

Nice Video & Great WORK !!


----------



## neo5555

Awesome !! Thx for the tut. Got my backlight working again.
Used white LED's and the results are better than blue LED's. Contrast is much better.

Still, i wonder why Logitech haven't sorted this out yet... Such a simple fix.
Turns out that 2 of my original LED's failed.

Thx again...


----------



## J.M.D

@ neo5555

Congrats,

And you are welcome. I am glad you were benefited a little with my tutorial..


----------



## YGr7JiOETk

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *zerodepth;9245008*
> Sorry to bring up an old thread but the back light for my control pod has gone out. Does anyone know where I can buy replacement LEDs? I don't have any old electronics laying around that I can salvage LEDs from. Thanks.


+1 for me. I tried to search google but could not find what the spec's are on replacement LEDs. Can someone show me which ones to buy from digikey.com pls ?


----------



## J.M.D

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *YGr7JiOETk;11859898*
> +1 for me. I tried to search google but could not find what the spec's are on replacement LEDs. Can someone show me which ones to buy from digikey.com pls ?


You will need SMD type LED's to go with them







. They are commonly used on a cell phone's PCB.


----------



## YGr7JiOETk

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *J.M.D;12065838*
> You will need SMD type LED's to go with them
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> . They are commonly used on a cell phone's PCB.


yes but what are the specs ?


----------



## J.M.D

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *YGr7JiOETk;12109157*
> yes but what are the specs ?


Sorry really don't have any idea about the paper specs for those exact typo LED's. But i can tell you , its easily available at some mobile phone service stations.


----------



## malabro37

Dude thanks for the tutorial, but can you please tell me what's the model of the cell phone that you used, because i want to use the same model, there are a lot of SMD's LED with differents specs and I dont want to make a mistake.

Thanks for you help


----------



## J.M.D

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *malabro37;13832804*
> Dude thanks for the tutorial, but can you please tell me what's the model of the cell phone that you used, because i want to use the same model, there are a lot of SMD's LED with differents specs and I dont want to make a mistake.
> 
> Thanks for you help


Sure !! The Cell Phone which i screwed was a Nokia 2100. You know this particular cell has got a high intensity back light. Try the same or ask for some LED's in some mobile service center's. And at the same you are WELCOME !!


----------



## andywee

mine is weird. my original LED have a soldering in the middle also.

anyway.
I removed all the stock and I replace the new ones.
1) testing before I solder, the polarity, = ok.
2) testing each one after soldering = didnt light up
3) testing the 6th after soldering= all 6 lighted up.
4) reassembling, it didnt light up. did i screwed up?


----------



## J.M.D

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *andywee;14350189*
> mine is weird. my original LED have a soldering in the middle also.


Thats normal. The middle one has no sign of electrical contacts. its the dummy soldering to hold the LED strong [No point in this if its CHEAP LED's]
Quote:


> anyway.
> I removed all the stock and I replace the new ones.
> 1) testing before I solder, the polarity, = ok.
> 2) testing each one after soldering = didnt light up


Until now it seems good. Yes it shouldnt light up.

Quote:


> 3) testing the 6th after soldering= all 6 lighted up.


Did it light up once you connected your pod to the power source [Back of the Sub-Woofer] and you switched it on ??


----------



## andywee

Did it light up once you connected your pod to the power source [Back of the Sub-Woofer said:


> and you switched it on ??


no it didnt like up after hooking it up.

weird eh.

my led is quite different from the stock ones.

mine is the same length but almost 2x the width.

any idea what happened?
i bought 0805 SMD LEDs.
at first i got 0603 and they were too small. then i bought 0805 and 1207. 18 each. haha.
it's cheap anyway at USD$0.40 for 18 leds. total paid, USD$1.20 for 56 led.


----------



## J.M.D

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *andywee;14366571*
> no it didnt like up after hooking it up. any idea what happened?


That means either the contact isn't proper of any one of the LED's or you might have misplaced the polarities of one of the LED's or in the worst case it can happen that one of the LED is dead on the circuit [ LED can eventually die due to the overheating of soldering iron ]
Quote:


> my led is quite different from the stock ones. mine is the same length but almost 2x the width.


I couldn't find the exact aftermarket model as well and that's why i had to dig out an old cell phone to get the job done. I personally wouldn't do with these 0805 LED's or any higher. But from the pictorial representation, 0603 seems physically good.


----------



## andywee

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *J.M.D;14375790*
> That means either the contact isn't proper of any one of the LED's or you might have misplaced the polarities of one of the LED's or in the worst case it can happen that one of the LED is dead on the circuit [ LED can eventually die due to the overheating of soldering iron ]
> 
> I couldn't find the exact aftermarket model as well and that's why i had to dig out an old cell phone to get the job done. I personally wouldn't do with these 0805 LED's or any higher. But from the pictorial representation, 0603 seems physically good.


that's what i thought but when i test the connection of the 6th LED. all 6 lighted up.

i tried 0603. 0603 is shorter than the original LED.
only 0805 has the same length just that it's 2x the width.


----------



## J.M.D

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *andywee;14400106*
> that's what i thought but when i test the connection of the 6th LED. all 6 lighted up.


It should not light up unless the main power source is supplied, if the connections/polarities are done proper. I recommend you to re-check the polarities and if that does not solve your pro , then directly go for some cell phone LED's. Logitech designed in such a way that , each LED can take up to 2 Volts each i.e a total of 12V is supplied as the main line, but then total of 6 LED's [in series] divided by 12 V = 2 V each.


----------



## Bjorne77

hi there have one question?

does the x-box LED fit on the LCD

specs

SOURCE MATERIAL:InGaN
EMITTING COLOUR:Blue
LENS TYPE:Water Clear
LUMINOUS INTENSITY-MCD:Min:330 mcdMax:360mcdMAX
REVERSE Current:5.0 V
FORWARD Current:3.5 V TYPICAL/4.2 Max.
DC FORWARD CURRENT:20~30mA
VIEWING ANGLE:130 deg. Operation Temperature Range:-30 to +80C
Peak Emission Wavelength:475nm
Outside dimension: 2.0mm (L) X 1.25mm (W) X 0.80mm (H)


----------



## J.M.D

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Bjorne77;14785173*
> hi there have one question?
> 
> does the x-box LED fit on the LCD
> 
> specs
> 
> SOURCE MATERIAL:InGaN
> EMITTING COLOUR:Blue
> LENS TYPE:Water Clear
> LUMINOUS INTENSITY-MCD:Min:330 mcdMax:360mcdMAX
> REVERSE Current:5.0 V
> FORWARD Current:3.5 V TYPICAL/4.2 Max.
> DC FORWARD CURRENT:20~30mA
> VIEWING ANGLE:130 deg. Operation Temperature Range:-30 to +80C
> Peak Emission Wavelength:475nm
> Outside dimension: 2.0mm (L) X 1.25mm (W) X 0.80mm (H)


Sorry , i cant confirm it with the X-Box LED. But you can always accept 0x0020 Type of LED's which would be perfect for your POD !!!


----------



## Bjorne77

sorry om a noob at theeś 0x0020 Type of LED' first time for me







only used ordinary LEDś not surfacemount!

will this work?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/50pc-Blue-0805-Super-Bright-DASH-SMD-SMT-LED-Lamp-Light-/300590416658?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item45fc95c312#ht_3481wt_1165


----------



## J.M.D

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Bjorne77;14820557*
> sorry om a noob at theeś 0x0020 Type of LED' first time for me
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> only used ordinary LEDś not surfacemount!
> 
> will this work?
> 
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/50pc-Blue-0805-Super-Bright-DASH-SMD-SMT-LED-Lamp-Light-/300590416658?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item45fc95c312#ht_3481wt_1165


Well, i cant guarantee you as its kind of thick compared to the POD's default LED's. But the clearance should allow it i suppose. The link you quoted is a bulk of 50 pieces which of no use atm i must say. The same can be bought locally as sample pieces and you can try your luck. You can also try searching for "0020 LED's" locally if you cant find "0x0020".

PS : Also its important that you must go for white light emitting LED's as blue would diminish the texts on the LCD and makes it UN-readable !!


----------



## DjBoosted

Hi, I recently purchased a replacement control pod for my Z5500 since my old control pod died. I received it today and hooked it up and it powers up perfectly, but I noticed the blue backlighting does not work. I still have my old control pod where the backlight worked perfectly (it never had the flickering issues or anything for the 5 years I owned it). I already tore down the old dead pod per the instructions, but now what I would like to know if it is possible to just switch the entire display from the old unit onto my replacement unit. I assume I can just detach the ribbon cable from the screen and reattach it, but I am not too sure how to go about this. I believe I just need to desolder the connections from the pins on the screen to remove the cable, I would just like some sort of verification if I should do this or not.

Thanks.


----------



## J.M.D

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *DjBoosted;15165905*
> Hi, I recently purchased a replacement control pod for my Z5500 since my old control pod died. I received it today and hooked it up and it powers up perfectly, but I noticed the blue backlighting does not work. I still have my old control pod where the backlight worked perfectly (it never had the flickering issues or anything for the 5 years I owned it). I already tore down the old dead pod per the instructions, but now what I would like to know if it is possible to just switch the entire display from the old unit onto my replacement unit. I assume I can just detach the ribbon cable from the screen and reattach it, but I am not too sure how to go about this. I believe I just need to desolder the connections from the pins on the screen to remove the cable, I would just like some sort of verification if I should do this or not.
> 
> Thanks.


Yes , you can definitely do the transplantation process. But please be careful while soldering as it should match the terminals exactly identical on both the POD's. And sorry for the late reply as i was away for a while ..

GooD LucK


----------



## DjBoosted

Thanks, I appreciate the response! However I believe that I will just stick 2 3mm blue LEDs in the side of the screen since it looks like a real PITA to solder the pins for the screen.


----------



## metost

Excellent guide! Thanks!

Here is the result after repairing with the new LED's











Uploaded with ImageShack.us


----------



## J.M.D

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *DjBoosted*
> 
> Thanks, I appreciate the response! However I believe that I will just stick 2 3mm blue LEDs in the side of the screen since it looks like a real PITA to solder the pins for the screen.


lol i was talking about the RIBBON cable pins that connects between your LCD's PCB and the main PCB, but not the pins on the LCD itself.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *metost*
> 
> Excellent guide! Thanks!
> Here is the result after repairing with the new LED's
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Uploaded with ImageShack.us


That's looking good. Glad the guide has helped you a bit.


----------



## emsky0517

Hi, after replacing all 6 led and tested it on board using a multimeter all 6 leds lighted up but when I powered on the unit all leds are dead. What could be the problem?


----------



## J.M.D

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *emsky0517*
> 
> Hi, after replacing all 6 led and tested it on board using a multimeter all 6 leds lighted up but when I powered on the unit all leds are dead. What could be the problem?


If you soldered back all replaced LED's in a proper manner [ With absolute accurate polarities ] then it wouldn't light up with a multimeter unless its connected to the main power source and switch on the POD.


----------



## j0enne

Thanks for the great Guide!
My backlight was broken since forever, today i fixed it in 60 min.
First time I solderd such tiny things, but it was easier than i expected. Made a bit of a fool of myself, when i fist tried my work, i forgot to turn the pod on and nothing happend








Thougt i screwed up, removed 3 of the LEDs when i realized my mistake. Next try, plugged in the pod AND turn it on:


I used blue LEDs instead of white ones, makes the display darker and less "aggressive" in the dark.


----------



## intercepted

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *j0enne*
> 
> Thanks for the great Guide!
> My backlight was broken since forever, today i fixed it in 60 min.
> First time I solderd such tiny things, but it was easier than i expected. Made a bit of a fool of myself, when i fist tried my work, i forgot to turn the pod on and nothing happend
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thougt i screwed up, removed 3 of the LEDs when i realized my mistake. Next try, plugged in the pod AND turn it on:
> 
> 
> I used blue LEDs instead of white ones, makes the display darker and less "aggressive" in the dark.


looks good. where did you get your leds?


----------



## J.M.D

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *j0enne*
> 
> Thanks for the great Guide!
> My backlight was broken since forever, today i fixed it in 60 min.
> First time I solderd such tiny things, but it was easier than i expected. Made a bit of a fool of myself, when i fist tried my work, i forgot to turn the pod on and nothing happend
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thougt i screwed up, removed 3 of the LEDs when i realized my mistake. Next try, plugged in the pod AND turn it on:
> 
> I used blue LEDs instead of white ones, makes the display darker and less "aggressive" in the dark.


You are Welcome !
Glad the guide helped you ! And great work !!


----------



## j0enne

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *intercepted*
> 
> looks good. where did you get your leds?


www.reichelt.de
a large german electronics supplier


----------



## Phuncz

Hello I joined here to update people on my findings. This topic is found through Google the easiest and the most info seems to be found here.

I followed Drakeen's guide to use 3mm LED's to fix my lighting.

A few problems we encountered: powering the LED's with Drakeen's + (it's 2.7V, BTW) and - (ground) would lead to the LED's being on all the time, even if powered down. So we decided on adding a relay switch that would switch at about 3 to 4V. We wanted to use the dual-color power LED but that would turn off when the relay switch would switch. So we found another point that supplied a 3.3V source that engages when powered on ONLY.

Pic credit goes to semtex1301, edited by me:










The BLUE points I used for the relay switch. The PURPLE one we used for the LED's together with the BLUE ground. Be sure to check if the BLUE + is the correct one, I can't find a very high resolution image but it's just above the headphone jack, the small hole most-left. It should give 3.3V when turned on an 0V when turned off. The PURPLE should give 2.7V or it could also be 2.9V, I'm not sure. In the end this is the result:










A decently lit screen, the LED's are white. The power LED button was painted from the inside to have a much dimmer look.

EDIT: I found out that when the 3.3V is connected and you use the remote, the LCD screen LED's go off for a fraction of a second. I suspect it's the Power LED feed.


----------



## Bagheera

Hey! J.M.D's guide was a great guide and really helped me out. The LED backlights on my Z-5500's control pod died after a year of usage. I ran across the OP's guide sometime last year but didn't feel brave enough to mess with the pod back then. Today I finally gave it a try.

I used the exact method J.M.D. described so I didn't bother taking any step-by-step pictures. I acquired my replacement LEDs from one of those LED lightbulbs for car cabins (like this one here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/42mm-16-SMD-Bright-White-3528-Festoon-Light-Car-Interior-Dome-LED-Light-Bulb-/110907417511?pt=US_Car_Lighting&hash=item19d298e3a7). The only bump I ran into during the process was that the replacement LEDs are slightly taller than the ones Logitech used, so the lightspreader plate didn't fit - so I had to trim the plate short on both ends. Other than that, everything worked as planned!









Here's the end result:

(I kept the LEDs white because I like the effect.







paint it whatever color you want, like the OP described!)

P.S. - One small thing I forgot to mention - the OP stated to have the Multimeter set to 2000ohm. This did not work for me (the LEDs weren't glowing at this setting). I had to turn it down to 200ohm for the LEDs to glow. Worked on both the replacement LEDs and the original Logitech ones.


----------



## mike390

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Phuncz*
> 
> Hello I joined here to update people on my findings. This topic is found through Google the easiest and the most info seems to be found here.
> I followed Drakeen's guide to use 3mm LED's to fix my lighting.
> A few problems we encountered: powering the LED's with Drakeen's + (it's 2.7V, BTW) and - (ground) would lead to the LED's being on all the time, even if powered down. So we decided on adding a relay switch that would switch at about 3 to 4V. We wanted to use the dual-color power LED but that would turn off when the relay switch would switch. So we found another point that supplied a 3.3V source that engages when powered on ONLY.
> Pic credit goes to semtex1301, edited by me:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The BLUE points I used for the relay switch. The PURPLE one we used for the LED's together with the BLUE ground. Be sure to check if the BLUE + is the correct one, I can't find a very high resolution image but it's just above the headphone jack, the small hole most-left. It should give 3.3V when turned on an 0V when turned off. The PURPLE should give 2.7V or it could also be 2.9V, I'm not sure. In the end this is the result:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> A decently lit screen, the LED's are white. The power LED button was painted from the inside to have a much dimmer look.
> EDIT: I found out that when the 3.3V is connected and you use the remote, the LCD screen LED's go off for a fraction of a second. I suspect it's the Power LED feed.


Is there any reason you didnt connect the leds to the 3.3V feed you are using to trigger the relay instead of using the 2.7V line?


----------



## frobinrobin

Hi and thanks for putting this guide together, once the light has gone it is incredibly annoying.

My question, like so many other is "what is an 0x0020 LED?" I've googled it but can't find it... I've tried pretty hard to find out what they are.

I attempted to remove some from an old mobile (looked a lot like yours) but the LED's were dead when I tested them (no movement on the multimeter at all).

What I'd like to suggest is that there is an alternative name for the 0x0020 LED? as the link below shows a standard name '1206' and a metric name '3216' in brackets.

http://www.rapidonline.com/Electronic-Components/Optoelectronics/Surface-Mount-LEDs/1206-3216-metric

Or if you could select a suitable LED from this site, I think it would help everyone massively!


----------



## frobinrobin

Hmm, I've found this on wikipedia (of all places).. so I guess I can measure the original LEDs and get the match from that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface-mount_technology
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SMT_sizes,_based_on_original_by_Zureks.svg

*edit* Physically checking the LED taken from my nokia, it is 1mm which is metric code 1005 and imperial 0402... I'm going to order some of these then take the pod apart and will update with the measurements from the pod.


----------



## smartyovi

Dear I have a problem bit different here...The control pod works fine, the backlight turns on but i dont getany TEXT on it....its just blank blue light. what might be the problem? is it any IC or LED or LCD ? can i get this LCD from any shop that fits in as the original one?


----------



## EonDel

I have had the Z-5500 for several years and I ahve not had the flickering issue but recently the LCD characters have started to bleed (black line horizontaly through the middle. I knowit is different from this fix but was wonderingif anyone had any ideas to fix this?


----------



## Empereur

Thx for the guide. I buy SMD 805 leds from Led1.de It's very small and difficult to weld...
Before, leds are close to death :

During :

After ( in real, the result is better ) but the light is a little strong when watching a movie in the dark:


I will add a black pen dot on each LED to have less brightness, I will update the picture.


----------



## dakotart1984

Hello,
I am currently swapping my leds out with new ones and I need the polarity picture to put my new leds on. The links appear to be dead on the website.. is there a shot you can upload it or somebody inform me of the polarity?


----------



## dakotart1984

Anyone?


----------



## Ozzuneoj

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *frobinrobin*
> 
> Hmm, I've found this on wikipedia (of all places).. so I guess I can measure the original LEDs and get the match from that.
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface-mount_technology
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SMT_sizes,_based_on_original_by_Zureks.svg
> 
> *edit* Physically checking the LED taken from my nokia, it is 1mm which is metric code 1005 and imperial 0402... I'm going to order some of these then take the pod apart and will update with the measurements from the pod.


Since this guy never replied with the results of his experiment, I figured I would register and let people know that these are not the correct LEDs. I was getting a bit desperate to fix my Z5500 and was unable to find any reliable information about what LED I would need. I saw this post and actually found these 0402 LEDs on eBay, and $8 later I realized that they are WAY too small to use as replacements for this.

I'm not a soldering expert by any means, but I've done a fair amount of repairs... yet these are, in my opinion, impossible to solder by hand without some highly specialized (read: tiny) tools. In comparison to the original LEDs in the Z5500 pod, the 0402 LEDs are less than half the size overall... probably about a third of the size. Barely a grain of sand. These are definitely intended for reflow soldering, NOT soldering with an iron. So, I'm going to return them and hopefully find something larger that is easier to use. I do have an LED backlight strip from a busted android tablet, but those LEDs are actually slightly larger and only have contacts on the bottom... not on the sides, which also makes them nearly impossible to solder by hand with an iron.

I have found some 0805 LEDs from the same eBay seller and they should be much larger... but I'm going to research it a bit more before I exchange them.

If\when I get this worked out, I'll post back here. If I don't post back in a week or two, PM me and I'll make sure to do so. It drives me crazy to find posts that are never followed up on...

EDIT: Link to 0805 leds...
http://stores.ebay.com/Lighthouse-LEDs/_i.html?_nkw=0805&submit.x=0&submit.y=0


----------



## Ozzuneoj

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *dakotart1984*
> 
> Hello,
> I am currently swapping my leds out with new ones and I need the polarity picture to put my new leds on. The links appear to be dead on the website.. is there a shot you can upload it or somebody inform me of the polarity?


The picture is still working for me:
http://cdn.overclock.net/5/5c/600x450px-5cec0437_12polarityofpcb.jpeg

Otherwise, here it is uploaded to these forums:


The polarity will be the same for all three on each side.

Also, be very careful of the ribbon cable. On mine the solder joints were hard and brittle and a few of the wires actually broke, which required another entire project to strip back the wires on the ribbon cable and resolder them all. This was pain in the butt, so I recommend bending the cable as little as possible. I found it to be less strain on the cable to simply lay a small object (a box of bank checks was the perfect size) beneath it, resting on the open plastic casing of the pod, with the LED board in the same position that it would be inside the pod.

One more thing... hold on to those LEDs... they will want to stick to the soldering iron if you don't, and they'll be a puff of smoke in a matter of seconds.


----------



## dakotart1984

Thanks for the reply, Im thinking that my computer might be the issue. I still cant view any of the pictures.


----------



## ardweebno

For anyone still reading this thread, the correct replacement LEDs are "1204 Right angle" LEDs.

You can find them at Mouser and Digikey


----------



## The Audio Doc

Dear Logitech Z-5500 lovers. After trying many types of LED's for the Control Pod I have found the best ones. The typenumber is HL-PSC-2012H256W. These are full colour leds special for backlighting of monochroom displays. You don't have to colour de LED's with a blue stift. The display is very clear in daylight or in the dark.


----------



## IcarusLSC

edit: nvm


----------



## WikingBIZARRE

Hi Guys,

First time poster here but I thought I'd show you my attempt/result at fixing my fading screen. After following this guide and realising my soldering skills really weren't up to the job I gave up trying to replace the individual LEDs and I didn't want to use the other methods of adding LEDs I'd seen so I found a complete replacement screen instead. Colour wise the screen wasn't what I meant to buy, but tell me what you guys think.



ps, thanks for the inspiration to try repairing this, reading the heat issues I added a few heatsinks too.


----------



## IcarusLSC

That is cool, how is the readability in the dark? Where did you get it from and what did you do?! Looks great! Thanks


----------



## J.M.D

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *WikingBIZARRE*
> 
> Hi Guys,
> 
> First time poster here but I thought I'd show you my attempt/result at fixing my fading screen. After following this guide and realising my soldering skills really weren't up to the job I gave up trying to replace the individual LEDs and I didn't want to use the other methods of adding LEDs I'd seen so I found a complete replacement screen instead. Colour wise the screen wasn't what I meant to buy, but tell me what you guys think.
> 
> ps, thanks for the inspiration to try repairing this, reading the heat issues I added a few heatsinks too.


Looks Great







. Guess its the inverted type display. But still its cool.

Yup, heating inside the POD is an issue which might affect the life of it. So heat sinks are the best ways to withstand it.


----------



## WikingBIZARRE

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *IcarusLSC*
> 
> That is cool, how is the readability in the dark? Where did you get it from and what did you do?! Looks great! Thanks


The screens (I ordered two, a spare just incase as they quoted a month to arrive) came from China. I thought I'd ordered an exact replacement, turns out I hadn't indeed I had purchased the inverted model, they came from a company called cart100, they basically represent loads of factories out there, I was quite worried I was going to find my account cleared out to be honest, however they were packaged well arrived damage free.

http://cart100.com/Product/35873223262/Genuine_Pegasus_TM202QDCU6_liquid_crysta

Looking at the picture on that link it didn't even dawn on me how dark the screen was unlit, but the model number is what I had looking at the board itself.

Readability in the dark is fine, strong direct sunlight is proving harder to read but was still easier to read than the faded original screen.

I had originally planned to replace just the led's as per the main guide but I ended up just replacing the entire board that the screen is attached to. All I had to do was de-solder the ribbon cable, clean it up and solder it back onto the new screen. There was nothing more to it.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *J.M.D*
> 
> Looks Great
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> . Guess its the inverted type display. But still its cool.
> 
> Yup, heating inside the POD is an issue which might affect the life of it. So heat sinks are the best ways to withstand it.


I've had the speakers almost 10 years (I bought them at Christmas 2006) and other than the screen issue and a few blown fuses over time they're still going strong. But with their age and the fact I had the control deck in pieces I figured I would attach a few heatsinks to the main chips inside. I had a few spare that were lying around from an old graphics card kit that were just about the right size with the sticky thermal pads already attached so it was a case of peel and stick.

Altogether I'm glad the screen worked and as much as my brain is telling me it looks wrong because I'm used to the original screen, I can't help but think the inverted screen actually looks better.


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## IcarusLSC

Do you have a picture of it in the dark? What is this heat sink issue you guys are talking about?


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## WikingBIZARRE

Here's a piccy of the screen in the dark IcarusLSC, as you can see it has a bit of the typical backlight clouding/bleed issues but otherwise it is a great read in the dark.



Heatsink wise the back of the control deck can get quite hot so I believe some people have taken to adding heatsinks to the major chips or in some cases even a fan to help remove hot air from the unit.


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## IcarusLSC

Thanks greatly for the info and help. I should order one and see how it goes. I'm sick of not seeing anything in the dark as all my leds are out and I wasn't able to solder new ones on...
Thanks for the info on the heatsinks too. Maybe I'll look at that too when I have it open again, as I have lots of little sinks kicking around from different things.


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## FennelCartwrigh

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *WikingBIZARRE*
> 
> Hi Guys,
> 
> First time poster here but I thought I'd show you my attempt/result at fixing my fading screen. After following this guide and realising my soldering skills really weren't up to the job I gave up trying to replace the individual LEDs and I didn't want to use the other methods of adding LEDs I'd seen so I found a complete replacement screen instead. Colour wise the screen wasn't what I meant to buy, but tell me what you guys think.
> 
> 
> 
> ps, thanks for the inspiration to try repairing this, reading the heat issues I added a few heatsinks too.


Just wanted to bump this thread by saying this LCD board also works on the Logitech Z680 5.1 speaker set. The back-light on my receiver had been giving me problems for a couple of years now and after reading WikingBIZARRE's post (Thanks!) I decided to order a replacement from the cart100.com link he provided. After a bit or desoldering and then re-soldering the wire harness to the new LCD board my receiver was back in business.


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## IcarusLSC

Nice, I really should order one. I used some 3v 3mm leds and wire to run them to the top sides and put lil notches for them, works ok, but nothing near as cool as those black ones







I leave mine on basically 24/7 for music...


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## WikingBIZARRE

Thanks for the likes guys, feeling like I might have started a new trend...


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## franchetiello

First time poster here too.
I'm also trying to get my z5500 to light up again.
I've tried to order that LCD board from Cart100.com, but their order system doesn't seem to want to accept my CapitalOne VISA card.
Did you all have those kinds of problems too?
I'll retry the payment in a day or two in case they're just temporary connection problems, but the whole thing is starting to make me a little nervous now.

Franco


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## franchetiello

Update, I tried later in the day from a different computer, different browser, and it worked.
What hadn't worked from firefox on linux worked first time using Internet Explorer on windows.
Age old internet problem, their payment processor's e-commerce platform only works on IE in windows.
Franco


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## FennelCartwrigh

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *franchetiello*
> 
> Update, I tried later in the day from a different computer, different browser, and it worked.
> What hadn't worked from firefox on linux worked first time using Internet Explorer on windows.
> Age old internet problem, their payment processor's e-commerce platform only works on IE in windows.
> Franco


I do recall receiving a fraud alert from my credit card provider (Chase) after initially placing my order. Once I confirmed the seller was legit through the credit card website I was able to re-place the order. Just a heads up.


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## IcarusLSC

All these people with only a couple posts don't make it seem any more legit to order from!


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## franchetiello

No fraud alert in my case, just a browser malfunction.
After 2 days I got notice that my package has shipped and got a tracking number.
The tracking number shows that the package is making it's way through china post.
I'll report back in a couple weeks if/when the package arrives.

Franco


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## 8ooty8ump

I placed an order but it took AGES to even be dispatched as I didn't provide a valid phone number and they kept sending a million emails every day about it. They don't dispatch otherwise and you can't change this once you order as their web portal is crap basic. You have to email them and then they will do it within about a week. It actually arrived in about 4 days after dispatch to the UK.

I believe you can trust this company as I've had no issues with them, aside from the above, and their communication was well mannered and helpful.

I have not tried to install it yet but will soon.


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## IcarusLSC

Seems like a scam to me with all these 0-2 post people talking about it...


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## 8ooty8ump

Oh Jesus, I think you wouldn't believe it if it smacked you in the face! I came across this thread a few wks ago and gave it a shot and thought I would post on here just to show you that the company was legit.

Granted I am a new poster but on the other side, the control unit is only about $15 so it's not like a lot of money! I had my doubts too but I used a prepay credit card to use up the last of my travel money in case it was a dodgy company, but it evidently isn't.


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## IcarusLSC

Just seems suspicious when all the posters are totally new...


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## 8ooty8ump

Sure I understand.

It took me about 30m to do it all. Easier than expected and fortunately, the solder holes on the PCB were large so easy in and out. I am very inexperienced with solder and have f'd up my Kindle Voyage from ever being rooted because the solder points were so small. I suspect that this route is 1 million times easier than the LED route. I cannot imagine having to replace multiples of such small components on the LCD part, for sure I would have damaged it somehow. It's a shame the LCD is not the original but it does look cool still and is readable from a downward angle from my sofa, eliminating the back bleed.

How it used to look with the lighting gone.


Opening the unit - 2 allen key screws and 4 Phillips head ones, very easy.


What you have to unsolder. Simply keep a pulling force on the cable and run the soldering iron over the top contacts one by one and it should come off. Can be a little tricky to keep in one hand whilst solder in other. Try using your thumb to help push on the LCD PCB.


Everything is now off. Now straighten up and line up the pins and push into the new LCD.


New LCD on! Simply get a little solder flex on the tip and lightly swipe on each contact. I found wiping the solder on a wet kitchen towel so it shone before every solder really helped!


**When you put the case back on, be careful as the microphone/headphone side sockets don't go in easy so you will need to push them in at some stage. Mind you don't force it too much as they will be putting strain on the PCB!

Now I have a fully lit LCD, albeit inverted!


Night view.


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## franchetiello

Received mine late last week, installed it this weekend. I decided I like the inverted colors.
I also drilled some holes top and bottom of the case, hoping it helps stay cooler.
Franco


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## kalice123

I've a problem with the control pod initially there were no sound, the lcd worked fine but the z5500 didn't outputted any audio,after many searches i found that the cyrrus CS42526 was defective, so i changed it with a new one. the control pod returned to work but the lcd was blank. there are any iusse related to the CS42526 or maybe the lcd simple died?


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## FennelCartwrigh

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *franchetiello*
> 
> Received mine late last week, installed it this weekend. I decided I like the inverted colors.
> I also drilled some holes top and bottom of the case, hoping it helps stay cooler.
> Franco


But you have less than 10,000 posts so your opinion doesn't count. Right, IcarusLSC? This guy is OBVIOUSLY a scammer.

In all seriousness, my decade+ old Z680 head unit repair is still holding up. If there are suspicions of fraud on these boards it's probably best left in the hands of the moderators and administrators to handle, not some rogue users. You're really doing a disservice to random folks that come here for technical advice and help.


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## franchetiello

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *FennelCartwrigh*
> 
> But you have less than 10,000 posts so your opinion doesn't count. Right, IcarusLSC? This guy is OBVIOUSLY a scammer.
> 
> In all seriousness, my decade+ old Z680 head unit repair is still holding up. If there are suspicions of fraud on these boards it's probably best left in the hands of the moderators and administrators to handle, not some rogue users. You're really doing a disservice to random folks that come here for technical advice and help.


You are of course completely correct.
I can't speak for the other newbies who have also been the subject of doubt, myself I don't have a great interest in overclocking, but I did have a Z5500 that wasn't working correctly. And after years of searching for a solution, I found one here, and that's what drew me here.

If you don't trust outsiders, talk to your admins and moderators, see if they can set their robots.txt files to stop google searching your forum, and then you'll stop getting visitors, and you can congratulate each other all day in peace and quiet.

There's no internet passport, so I don't know who you are and you don't know who I am, but like FennelCartwrigh said, complaining about random strangers who come here looking for help is really no way to make friends and encourage people to come back.

Goodbye


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## Djibrille

I had the lcd dimming problem with my Z5500 so I decided to do something about it because it was quite annoying when using the remote in the dark (only one of the led was barely working on one side). So I did the SMD LED replacing and am quite pleased with the results so here are some of the pictures I took during the operation, and also of the result:














A few thoughts though:
The original leds are the side firing kind and I could only find (read salvage) straight up ones so I covered them with a sticky aluminum tape to direct the light towards the display(pic 11).
I also had only 5 of those leds form my donor device (or maybe I lost one because they're tiny







) so one of the places remained unoccupied. It's not noticeable though.
I have 2 lines missing from the right side of the display (where the 4 is in 96-24) I believe that because of the way the display is fixed to the led board by bending of those tabs(pic 4) the pressure is uneven on the contacts. I tried different way of tightening them and sometimes I got those lines to appear but they would disappear after assembly (after the unit heat up).
Also the display is darker on the right side (the last 2-3 squares) and I don't know exactly what the cause could be. Maybe the led imbalance (2 on the left 3 on the right) ?


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## Tukkie

Can someone please confirm that the original LED's in the Logitech Z-5500 Control POD look like these?

You can buy them HERE

The original LED's in my control POD are also dead. But I want to replace them with LED's that are like the original.


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## Djibrille

@Tukkie Those LED's seem too big to me, they list them as 1204, I think that's too big. 0805 I think would probably be a better choice. Also they seem to have the contact pads on the bottom, you need them to be on the side if that makes sense to you.

I myself bought these: http://ro.farnell.com/broadcom-limited/asmt-cw00/led-smd-0-4mm-r-a-white/dp/1652073?selectedCategoryId=&exaMfpn=true&categoryId=&searchRef=SearchLookAhead&searchView=table&iscrfnonsku=false

I intended to redo the operation using these but haven't done it yet.

These are very small(maybe too small - from the drawing in the technical datasheet I think they're 0603 package) but I haven't opened the unit recently and from what I recall the original ones were also quite small.

Sorry for late reply, hope you haven't already ordered the LEDs


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## Tukkie

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Djibrille*
> 
> @Tukkie Those LED's seem too big to me, they list them as 1204, I think that's too big. 0805 I think would probably be a better choice. Also they seem to have the contact pads on the bottom, you need them to be on the side if that makes sense to you.
> 
> I myself bought these: http://ro.farnell.com/broadcom-limited/asmt-cw00/led-smd-0-4mm-r-a-white/dp/1652073?selectedCategoryId=&exaMfpn=true&categoryId=&searchRef=SearchLookAhead&searchView=table&iscrfnonsku=false
> 
> I intended to redo the operation using these but haven't done it yet.
> 
> These are very small(maybe too small - from the drawing in the technical datasheet I think they're 0603 package) but I haven't opened the unit recently and from what I recall the original ones were also quite small.
> 
> Sorry for late reply, hope you haven't already ordered the LEDs


I bought these ones: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/32367190974/32367190974.html
Will these work with the Z-5500 POD?
I couldn't find de correct right angle LED's like the original.


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## Djibrille

Those are probably similar to what I used so they should work. Just use a little bit of aluminum tape to direct the light sideways like I did and you should be OK. Just be careful not to short something with the aluminum. Also soldering SMD parts is kind of tricky so use a good solder station or alternatively solder paste and hot air station. Or find someone to do it for you.


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## Djibrille

Here is a picture of the LEDs I bought. They are similar to the original ones only they are smaller (0603 format I believe the originals were 0805).


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## neosk

Hi, sorry to wake up an old thread, but my Z-5500 started to have a really low contrast on the LCD (nearly vanished). Can it be repaired you think? Maybe some dying capacitor?


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## Djibrille

Problem is dying LED's not capacitors.
Read above about how I solved it on my z5500.


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## Pache-O

I know it has been a while. But if somebody could shed some light on lcd problem would be amazing.

I'm facing the issue with the lcd in Z5500 control pod. Instead of doing the approach of led changing, we went on buying a new LCD altogether.

We bought from China de model VDS VC-B200251. The one with inverted light. I installed it, everything was ok, until i turned on the system and light was on, but no text.
I checked the soldering, the connections and they are fine. Now i found there is another model also they say is compatible with z5500 VDS VC-B200252 - Looking at the pictures the only difference i see is one small J3 .



In my original this was as the picture above.

The one bough in is like this:


I dont know if only this difference is causing the no-text problem? - I would like to know if buying the other model could work, or maybe if I do this in the set I have could work.

Please if anybody knows why is no text. In previous old set there was text, there is no reason not to be displayed now, at least not and evident reason.


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## Djibrille

I cannot really help you with that because I'm not an electronics engineer, but if the screen lights up but doesn't display anything I bet it has something to do with the controller underneath that black goo in the middle of the module.If it's not identical to the original unit I doubt it can work. Or maybe you just got a defective unit?
If your problem was the dimming of the LED's and you are decent with a soldering iron (or have a friend who is) why not change them as I and others showed in this thread? You could use salvage LEDs from other defective electronics or even de-solder them from the unit you bought. If you use your original display, at least you know for sure you won't have compatibility problems.
I did this more than 2 years ago and I haven't had a single problem since. The display is as bright today as the day I changed the leds, I didn't even get to replace them with the new ones I bought just in case.


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## Pache-O

Thank you for your reply.
These couple of days I have been checking in different sources and I figure out the difference in models is only the color- either bright or dark back color.
The reason is not displaying text is what i'm still troubleshooting, it is one possibility my new display is defective, but I have to check also if I made any mistake when soldering. Now i'm letting the pod and everything rest.
The possibility you mention to use old display, is conditioned because when desoldering a few pads were detached (in the edge were is connected the flat cable). So If i want to go back I have extra work to do, before installing new leds.

Any way I think, not all is lost (I want to see the bright side) and I will continue trying until there is a possibility to repair it









Thanks again


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## Djibrille

You are welcome!
I'm sorry I could not help more!

I tried to find the schematic for that module and I cannot. Reading a few other forums it seems very unlikely you will be able to find it. The schematic would help a lot.

Also, are you sure it's compatible with the Z5500, the forum were I found that model they were talking about Z680?

Good luck!


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## Pache-O

I appreciate you reply, even when i'm not solving the issue.
I also tried to find the schemes, but not luck either.

Regarding the spare, it worked for other users, i found the model, and link to buy it through a youtube video and for him worked fine, also were other facing the same issue of no-text. So one possibility is the difference made by Logitech in certain models. Again, another theory









I think i'm persistant and very patient







I want my z5500 back


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## jeannot_s

Hello Pache-O !

I know i'm coming late but I'm facing the same problem as yours : a beautiful blue screen but absolutely not letters shown.
Did you find any trick to fix that ? I have also double checked my solders and I'm sure they're fine.
I stupid to get rid of that beast for such a stupidity...

Thank you 

Jean


----------



## HARPAGON

*z5500 control pod lcd text issue*

hi guys, 
thanks for the topic and for all posts. 
i have also the z5500 but my problem is a different one. 

the backlights are working but there is no text on the display. 
i saw some posts where the users have changed the lcd but the issue with the text was still ongoing. 

does some one here a possible solution for my problem ?

thanks in advance...


----------



## supacatsf

*Thanks to all!*



HARPAGON said:


> hi guys,
> thanks for the topic and for all posts.
> i have also the z5500 but my problem is a different one.
> 
> the backlights are working but there is no text on the display.
> i saw some posts where the users have changed the lcd but the issue with the text was still ongoing.
> 
> does some one here a possible solution for my problem ?
> 
> thanks in advance...


Hi all,

Just wanted to say a big thank you! Followed the instructions here and bought the screen with the inverted colors off Alib
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1894481199.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.324d4c4d0Cpszf&fbclid=IwAR0QHAprwbfPT_-cjvTJf80CIy_JRrSApNttKcf2MdQNMcVbEbfgZSS0Irg

Put it in yesterday and it works perfectly!
Went from the first pic
to
The 2nd Pic

Harpagon - Know your post is from a more than a year ago and not sure if you ever figured it out but I had the same problem you did but realized I plugged in the cable at first the opposite way. Once I corrected it, it worked perfectly!

Bought these Z680s in 2003 and just resurrected them! Happy camper I be :specool:


----------

