05+ Climate control back light and face color change

This may seem like a stupid question, but what is the point of painting the dials if you're going to put the laminate over them with the actual icons and such?

 

I was thinking the same thing when I first did it too.

I tried it without painting and it just looked bad to me. The ink thickness wasn't there to block the light on the black parts, it turned out to be glowing spots instead of the shapes.
Printing in white on clear vinyl isn't possible unless you have access to white ink for the printer. It's not typical for home printers. So during the daytime the white icons didn't stand out as much.
The red and blue dials were complexly washed out when the lights were turned on.

 

Gotcha, makes sense. I appreciate it! Gonna order some of the paper and have at it when it arrives. Looking for something to tinker with in the Taco haha.

I have a couple questions though, is priming the dials necessary? I noticed it in the picture of paints he used but he didn't mention priming it. I figure since the vinyl laminate is going over it anyhow, it won't make a difference?

Also, for the AC and Recirculate lights, I've read elsewhere that a 5mm LED from RadisoShack will suffice. Is all I need to do simply pop out the old bulb and replace with a bulb such as this?

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062551&locale=en_US

Or do I need something like the Corvette twist bulb to replace them? (I didn't quite understand what he meant about adding in a resistor. First time doing this).

 

If you just pop in a regular 5mm led it will blow it. You need to either add a resistor or do the corvette bulb. I'm running the corvette bulb from oznium.com

 

What about a 3mm LED? These are the ones I need to solder in, correct?

 

Ok so well theres two different spots where you're going to change. The AC/Recirculate LEDs are 5mm LEDS but the ones that light the rest are (2) corvette bulbs or LEDs with resistors.

 

I didn't prime it, just cleaned it with rubbing alcohol it be sure it. Just thin coats of paint. I have peeled off the vinyl a few times and never had paint come off.

3mm or 5mm LEDs that you have to solder in for the AC and Recirculate indicator lights will work. The 5mm are going to be brighter.

The twist bulbs are ones for the whole dials and the A/C and car with the arrow buttons that have to have a resistor in them to not blow. I would get the corvette twists bulbs from Oznium. They already have the resistor added to the LED to not short out when you install it.
The corvette twist bulbs are the same thing as taking the brown twist bulbs base out and replacing the incandescent bulbs with a LED with a resistor.

Hope it helps.

 

I appreciate the help. I noticed elsewhere that someone just swapped the twist bulbs out with a #74 LED, would you have to add a resistor to that? I ordered those, I suppose I could return it and get the corvette bulbs instead - do they fit decently enough?

 

I did this and it looks ok, I couldn't get the vinyl flush like the OP though. Anyone have any tips for making it nice and smooth?

 

Get guys question, I got all the screws removed but I still can't get to the circuit board/tunnels.

 

Pull the knobs off.

 

i understand you used a zipt tie to pry it open but how did you cut the solver trim off from the black before prying it

 

A pocket knife, where the silver meets the black part. Just roll it around the edge till it cuts.

 

Idk how u did it man... Mine is getting dented and torn up and only the outside is off. Not the inside portion....

 

I just gave up on it.....eventually i used a dremel saw to carefully clean the back out to reach the orange film.. worked perfectly just need to paint it.. unfortunately i destroyed one of the control knobs faces when trying to perform this so i need another one anyways....

Good practice though I guess,

 

Hey man how much for me to ship my other one to you? So you can black it out, I already have the white LEDS that will ship with them.

 

is there anyone i can ship my guages/weather control to so that they can do the mod?

 

So are you saying that you attacked the orange layer by first cutting through the plastic "windows" on the back side of the assembly? How did you achieve this without damaging the vinyl? Is there sufficient space between the vinyl & the back? What bit did you use on the Dremel?

I also see that you damaged a control knob in the process. How did you get far enough to cut the back without removing the knobs? (Just curious). I have an 05 & have to totally disassemble it.

I want to perform this modification, but afraid of damaging the vinyl. I cut mine already, but it does not want to come off. (I realize it has a sticky backing). Considered using "Goof Off" but that is harmful to the vinyl. May try denatured alcohol next.

TB

 

Anybody know how hard it would be to swap the factory lights over to LEDs? Pretty soon here I will be doing the dash light mod and installing a LED 4WD switch and would like the climate control switches to be the same color

 

I managed to do it, but it wasn't easy. (I used the same LED's used on the dash, smd type). (how do I word this?) If I remember correctly, there is a clear plastic "spider" within that channels the light from 2 bulbs to everywhere. The problem is that a light bulb has 360 degrees of light. The bulb fits "into" the "spider" and the light is spread throughout the control. However, an LED shines light in one direction. The light pipe (spider) does not pick up the light and spread the love.

I had to use 3 LED's (6 total, smd type, only because I wanted it to match the dash LED's and that is what I had) per area a bulb was in and position them so that the light was spread down the pipe evenly. Some modification where the LED shines into the light pipe was required. I did this in the evening in my shop where I could turn the lights off, and see exactly where the light was being "piped" down. Then super glue them in. It was time consuming and labor intensive, but it does look good when done right.

In hindsight, I wonder if using an LED with a "dual in line" package (cylindrical with round top) would have been better, although those are still pretty much "directional".

Perhaps if you could find an LED that emits light as a bulb does that would be MUCH easier! (Hindsight is a wonderful thing isn't it?)

TB2