Climate control knob upgrade

I see all the dial choices below and curious. Which are the best or recommended since there are at least 3 options. thanks

 

Well, specifically the diameter of the PCB the SMD LEDs are attached to is wider than the actual hole that the standard OE incandescent bulbs fit in by about a millimeter.



See the white part the LEDs are on? At least in my HVAC control module for my 2006 TRDOR Tacoma, that won't fit into the hole. If you take the LED off, the plastic base fits fine. But the fiberglass circuit board is just too wide to get into the hole straight. The other issue is that none of the ones I've got have the actual PCB centered over the base but for the cost I guess that's not really a surprise. The perfs from where they snapped the boards off the main array when they were pick-and-placing the components are also rough and probably part of the reason the pieces don't fit.

I was able to get the piece into the hole if I slightly pried up the board from the base but the wires are such a thin gauge that just angling the board into the hold was too much force and broke the wire off.

Something I haven't tried is taking a dremel to the sides and gently sanding the parts but honestly I'm kind of over messing with them. I'm going to just go back to the OE old school amber colored bulbs and try to get them on in the correct polarity so they light up.

One final step would be to try to route out the hole the bulbs go in so it's wider but I'm really not a fan of messing up that larger PCB and also getting debris inside the cavity where the light piping acrylic is. Or if I was really REALLY willing to mess with shit, I could just take off the LED from the base and permanently solder it to the board that the little wires are pressed against when you tighten the base down. But that would entail very carefully inserting the LEDs into the hole and super gently holding them there while soldering in the little space since taking apart the whole HVAC module is a major pain in the ass, and, and...

Fuck that.
Not going to mess with this shit any more for the moment.

There are a lot more "pressing" mods I still need to do and while it would have been cool to have the rings light up crisp white on the knobs, my set up doesn't really seem to accept using aftermarket lighting options so I'll cut my losses and just be happy with the metal knobs as an easy upgrade. I can deal with having the amber color the OE bulbs give off, I just need to rotate them so they actually turn on!

 

So after having these a few weeks, if I could do it over again I wouldn't. Yes they look better, but the functionality is less. You cannot see where they are turned during the day.
The lights do not match. I know that can be fixed. And unless you pull the clip out of your original knobs and swap them out, they are loose.
All in all not worth it imo. But hey, I own a Tacoma, and this is Tacomworld we are talking about here. So tinkering and spending money is par for the course.

 

sub'd

 

So do you want to sell your knobs?

 

I think they look great! Should have been a factory option, regardless for $11 totally worth it. They don't wiggle and hold on to the arms better than the stock ones do. Hopefully it will hold up long term.

 

Cant. I glued the clip in.

 

I see a knob swap coming!

 

Just ordered mine. I like chrome, I like white dash lights, and I'll make the knobs fit with the spring clips from the OE knobs.

I don't care that they don't 'point' in the daytime to the setting. I know where they are by what the system is doing.

BTW, I used eBay. Sent an offer for $12, got a counter of $13 within just a couple of minutes, just now.

ETA 3/16-4/7. We'll see.

EDIT: 3/14/17 Arrived via USPS today, exactly 14 days after ordering. Exactly what I ordered, and all 3 knobs fit all 3 stems just fine, no alterations needed.

I like the look. It ties nicely with the OE interior, just dressing it up a bit. No one who has not owned a Tacoma will ever know they are not OE knobs.

I like subtle. Better than OE, but looking like it could have been OE.

To whoever found these originally, and started this run of sales

 

These are neat. I think I wanna do a set the more I look at them.

I have a few questions though.

- These are aluminum, correct?
- Is the chrome ring metal or plastic?
- Does the chrome ring pop off?
- They dont sell an all black knob?

I like the idea of these knobs, but the chrome doesnt match anything in my interior, all black or black & silver would be much better.

 

Did you ever receive yours in red? If so could you post a picture of them installed, please.

 

Here you go...

 

Just ordered mine last night. Hope to get it between this month or all the way in May, haha.

 

I for one, will not be replacing my oem knobs until there is a milled aluminium option on the market. Maybe something similar to the radio knobs from @wileydavis hondo?

 

Just ordered mine

 

Or Ellis Precision or @AJT DESIGN

 

Ellis had made them for the FJs. I think he has retired though. He did mention what a monumental pain they were to fabricate. Getting the piece for light to shine though right, the area that the OE clips go into (had to reuse the stock ones), ect.

Then in the end they were $200

 

the only thing i don't like about these is that there is no easily visible day time indicator. other than that im pretty happy.

 

I'm thinking there MUST be something to put on there to indicate the setting in the daylight for those with issues. I don't have mine yet, so I'm not sure about that whole thing, but I get it- you can feel the dial position in the original ones.

I'm wondering if something can be stuck on there that you'd feel by hand when you reach down to turn the knob.

 

I don't get the talk of not knowing where it is during the day..... the ring around the circumference that lights up has a notch in it (stealing pic from @Skrain)




How is that any different than the OEM knob that just has a translucent arrow on it? I understand the part of doing it by feel, so if that's all you're referring to then this doesn't apply to you. But if you look down at this knob and can't tell where it is, how are you driving?

Also, Alibaba is bigger than Amazon, Facebook, IBM, etc. For those of you concerned about ordering from them, don't be. Worst case scenario there's a data breach and your payment info is hacked. Not like that ever happens to domestic companies

Lastly, in closing your honor, I just placed my order. $8.37 FTW!