How to change you dash lights by "Jotaro"

I love my '07 Taco but I treasure my eyes alot more, so, following instruction from the sticky from CT on how to remove the gauge:
http://customtacos.com/tech/index.php?article=225

I began my obsession to have a better viewing when I'm driving:











































You see how hard it is to read characters in f'in amber?

There were 10 LED's total that I replaced. (should be 11 really).

Now I can Ride In Peace :smokin:

Additional image:


LED's can be purchased here:
http://www.oznium.com/plcc-2

 

Nice clean write up, been done before but some great pics here. Nice job

 

I just turn the little knob that reduces the brightness.. its funny to watch my wife or my buddy get in the truck.. and turn the shit on hella bright. bc i keep it almost off

 

where can i buy these led lights??!!

 

I like that disassembly link better than the one i seen before. i'm definitely going to do this some day.

 

I don't think I have the guts to take that apart.

 

i love the white dash lights....reminds me of my parents lexus's

 

Awesome! I'm gonna do this cuz amber isn't the color of my energy!!! Subcribed!! Boo yah!

 

What other colors can be done? I was thinking a purple or green color, my 58 plymouth has green and its bad ass i love it.

 

from here:
http://www.oznium.com/plcc-2

 

Almost any color!

Here are some that I have done:

 

WOW those look great thanks for the information.

 

hey toku can u hook me up with that dash light change?

 

Actually red or amber doesnt mess up your night vision as much as white light, but good right up and it does look good.

 

WOW, nice work!!!
Well done sir.

 

Man I love the look of the blue gauge's! I think it would look fantastic with my new Alpine HU. Are those LEDs something that could be found locally somewhere or do I need to purchase them online?

 

I think they look really great. The Blue and white LED's make them look more modern. But, there is a scientific reason why the dash is amber. They did research and found that amber light is the easiest for the eye to adjust to when looking down at the instruments then back to the road. While Blue and Green and white look cool, they actually take longer for your eyes to adjust too and they hurt after long drives.

If you look at any BMW, they have been using amber dash lights since the 70's right down to today. Even their iDrive system uses a brown background, even though I think it's ugly, because the eyes can easily adapt. Just FYI... nobody kill me for pointing this out

 

Relatively correct. We create a chemical called "visual purple" which helps us to see in minimal lighting. Part of this is also referred to as "dark adaption". Brighter white lights can destroy this, while really red does not. This isnt quite as profound as it can be made out to be in regards to driving (assuming lack of extremes). As long as you keep lighting relatively dim and you arent staring at your gauges all the time, it shouldnt mess with your night vision too much in regards to driving. Hell, you still have to battle oncoming headlights etc.

From AOPA...

"Red light was used for illumination of the cockpit in post-World War II aircraft because it, like red goggles, did not degrade dark adaptation. The intent was to maintain the greatest rod sensitivity possible, while still providing some illumination for central foveal vision. However, red cockpit lights interfered with reading maps and log books, especially for pre-presbyopic and presbyopic aviators. With the increased use of electronic and electro-optical devices for navigation the importance of the pilot's visual efficiency in the cockpit has increased and new concerns have arisen.

Low intensity, white cockpit lights are often used now because they afford a more natural visual environment within the aircraft, without degrading the color of objects."

Anyway...as long as you keep your dash lights fairly dim, and you dont routinely drive for prolonged periods in VERY dark environments you shouldnt notice too much of a difference...at least not enough to make you fear different gauge colors

 

This is very cool! I actually have a very hard time adjusting between the amber dash lights and the white oncoming headlights and have found that turning on a blue light in the cabin helps my eyes. Some recent research has reported that blue light might actually help keep people more awake/aware, as well.

But what about the radio cluster and other buttons, etc.? Is there a way to change out every amber light?

 

Nice write up!! But no way would I do that on my own. I watch Seth do mine and wow I wouldn't want to Mess anything up