Article on: Changing Stereo OEM Colour

First of all, for those of you who are having trouble finding the bulb condoms on partsexpress, just search for "lamp cover"- they're all there. Shipping is a flat 8 bucks or something, which is A LOT for those teeny condoms, but they sent me a free bag of popcorn, a nice letter thanking me for my purchase, a catalogue, and a handy mini pen screwdriver. Kinda neat I thought.

Anyways, I was able to change the color of all of the buttons on my stock head unit, as well as the HVAC controls. I have an '02 OBS, which is different from the WRX, but I imagine that the stereos are similarly constructed.

Ok, here goes. Hope this helps:
(remember, this is for the stock unit on an OBS (the same that comes with the 2.5 RS and the TS wagon)

You will need some very small screwdrivers, tweezers, and 4 of the 2mm sized bulb condoms (.12" diameter). (The HVAC takes 5mm, or .2" diameter).

-Take any CDs out of your player.
-Take off the center dash moulding. You need to pry it off (it's easiest to start by popping out the cupholder- right under there you can see the line where to pry it.)
-Unscrew the 6 screws holding the stereo bracket in place
-I took the stereo out of the bracket so it would be easier to work with (4 gold screws), but I don't think this is necessary. You DO NOT have to unplug the wires.
-The front part of the head unit is black plastic, the rest is metal. You want to remove whole plastic part (it has all of the buttons on it and the lcd). There are no screws- all you have to do is pull and get a little flat screwdriver or something under those little black clips. I think there are 8 of them- 2 on top and bottom, and 2 on each side. They're not too bad.

-Here comes the tricky part: Take the whole plastic unit inside somewhere- you DO NOT want to lose anything. BE CAREFEL: the pieces are delicate. Everything should come apart very nicely if done properly. DO NOT FORCE ANYTHING!
-Now, unscrew the 4 tiny phillips screws holding the circuit board in place.
-Remove the volume knob (you have to pull pretty hard, don't worry, it won't break).
-Take out the long thin felt piece where the cd goes in. There are 4 little plastic clips that you have to pry on a little to get it to pop out. It may not seem like this part has to come out, but trust me, it does. It took me like 10 min. to figure out.
-Now, look how the circuit board is fastened- little tiny projections (almost like clips) that go into the sides of the plastic around the edges. Remove the circuit board by pushing in all of those little clips (lightly pulling on the plastic helps a lot- it's not too difficult).
-Once you take out the circuit board, take off the big clear plastic piece (it carries the light to the different buttons). It should come right off.
-Notice the 4 small bulbs with green covers. Use the tweezers to take off the covers, and put on the color of your choice.
-Re-assemble in the opposite order.

I used the blue bulb condoms, which give it sort of an aqua look (like turquoise). It's not what I was really hoping for, but I like it, and it doesn't look bad with the green lcd and clock. If you want to know what it will look like, do the HVAC mod before you go ahead and take apart the stereo- the colors work out to be EXACTLY the same.

I don't think it's possibly to change the color of the lcd. It's soddered onto the circuit board, and I didn't feel nearly confident enough to take it off.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me. I hope these instructions were clear enough- it's pretty hard to explain.

P.S. -

There is a metal sheild around the LCD. On the back of the board the shield goes through and bends to hold it in place. Straighten those edges and slide the cover off.

Inside you will find two 2 bulbs with green covers. Remove those covers and place on the color of your choice. Put the sheild back on and done!

 
(The ISDC cannot be held responsible for any modifications that adversely effect the warranty of your car.)