Mini-Mouse LED Mod

Mini-Mouse LED Mod
Posted :: May 12, 2004 by Impact

Difficulty :: 3/10
Skills :: Soldering
Tools :: Screwdriver, Soldering Pencil (Iron), Wire Cutters, Needle-Nosed Pliers.
Parts :: 5mm LED (any color, mine is green)

Disclaimer: When working with any electrical components you should always wear protective gear and always perform modifications under the supervision of a professional. We at AbsoluteInsight.net take no responsibility for what you do.

Note: This mouse wouldn't respond before the mod was completed. Both buttons (clicking) worked before (and after) the mod. But the sensor would not sense the mouse moving. The mouse was functional to the same degree after the mod. This mod was done just to see if it was possible. This mod has been tried on fully working mice, and they have worked at the end of the mod. Sometimes they are finicky if the LED is not positioned correctly, after a bit of bending and adjustments, you can get the mouse back to normal operating conditions. Since you could potentially ruin your mouse: Try this at your own risk.

I started off examining the mouse I was working with, devising a way to open it up. I found a single screw holding the top and bottom pieces together under one of the pads on the bottom.

After removing the screw and surveying the inside to see what I was working with, it looked like it was going to be a fairly easy mod. The circuit board came out with very little effort; after prying at the two plastic pieces holding it in, it popped right out. The LED was connected in the back of the mouse, with its two connections far away from any other connections (easy to work with).

The plan at this point was simple: heat up each of the connections holding the current LED in place, remove the LED, and replace it with the green one. I used some needle-nosed pliers to hold each lead of the LED while i heated up the connection with my soldering iron. When the connection got hot enough, I just gave a little tug with the pliers and the lead was out. I repeated the process for the other side of the LED.

After fully removing the LED, I lined my LED's pins up with the markings on the circuit board (there was a (+) and (-) written next to their respective connections).

I then soldered the LED in place. When you finish soldering, make sure you double-check to make sure the connections aren't touching each other. If they aren't, you are in good shape.

Before I put everything together, I hooked the board and LED up to my USB port to see if the LED would turn on; sure enough, it did (hard to see in pics).

I then finished off the job by re-assembling the plastic housing and screwing it back together.

At this point, everything was done. The new LED did work, although it wasn't nearly as bright as I had hoped. Next time I will make sure to use a super-bright blue LED, or something brighter then this lame green one. You cant tell it is on unless you flip the mouse over and look very carefully.

All in all, it was a very easy, entertaining mod that took no more then 20 minutes. I wish the LED had turned out to be brighter, but it only took 20 minutes and would take just as long to replace the green one with a blue one, which might be coming in the future.