Climate control knob upgrade

Bought as a Christmas gift for myself. They took 2 weeks to get to me; originally bought red, but the seller said they were more pink so I decided on black to be safe. I'm very happy with them. I used a couple pieces of Teflon tape to remove the play (I probably wouldn't have noticed at all if I hadn't read this thread...) I don't have an issue with seeing the selection indicator in the day time. As my first "mod" I'm damn pleased!

 

did you just use full strength red acrylic model paint on the inside?

 

yes sir. I did 3 light coats. waiting to dry in between. in retro spec, i would only recommend doing 2 coats to let even more of the light through

 

I had these on for about a month but I've gone back to the factory originals. I couldn't see the indicator during the day so I had to go back to full stop and count my way over to the desired setting which became a PITA. The other thing was there was very little to grip onto to turn the knobs because they're very short.
They look great at night (better than the originals) but all in all not worth the effort for me. The OEM's are more functional.
I'll hang onto them in case I change my mind later but I just wanted to post my experience with them.

 

I agree with it being hard to see the indicator of where they are pointing during the day. I have yet to do it but I am going to do what others have done and put a dot of white paint on each knob so the middle shows up during the day.

 

Not to add more pictures of the same knobs that everyone has posted already, but I went to tint the back side red last night like some people have done. I got some red acrylic paint, but in the end I wiped that off and went with a rattle can - Satin "Poppy Red" Rust-Oleum. So much easier to manage and cover every sharp angle that allows white light through, faster trying times as well. I felt like the acrylic was too thick. I did probably 5-6 very light coats of the spray, probably could have gone with a little less.

Whats funny is you only need to paint the flat part of the back of the clear plastic, no need to paint the insides at all really from what I can see. I had a bunch of acrylic paint left inside mine from the 1st attempt, if you spray yours, it's not going to hurt to get paint down in there.

Taped the knobs off, make sure you plug your hole:

https://i.imgur.com/0TpxBtb.png

Final. You can see the knobs are a bit more "red" than the HVAC controls (they are pretty washed out in this pic looking at it now):

https://i.imgur.com/7V9mo5e.png

next step is to add some type of indicator on the outside. I actually have a little bit of a tough time seeing it at night too...maybe too heavy with the red. Going to try something while that will maybe let some light through.

 

Spray a little bit of rattle can red paint into the can cap and brush on one light coat of paint on the inside of each knob, itll tint it just enough to match without over doing it. Its much easier to add paint to the knobs than it is removing it because you over did it.

 

I put a little dab of white paint on these, turned out pretty well I think. Maybe they will be easier to see the position in the daylight.

 

Just got 1 in, this one, and planned on using it for my 4c4 switch. I did put it on my heater controls, fit loose but did allow light to come through.

 

Did you add your own pointers to the knob? how?

 

This is exactly what I want to do with mine. Put ine on the 4x4 switch. You didnt have to modify the knob at all? I ordered 3 and 1 seperate to do this.

 

I did. I had some spare scraps of white vinyl laying around but you could use part of a sticker... Cut little triangles and applied *veeerrrrrrry* carefully. Worked like a charm and still there after more than 6 months.

Now if I could only get the goddamnmutherfuckingassbutthole lights to work in them at night, I'd be stoked! That issue has nothing to do with the knobs, BTW.
(pretty much gave up on them and just use feel like a blind man when adjusting things in the dark)

 

Nope. Goes right on and works fine.

 

Got them in today. Haven't tried them with the lights on yet. Got them from Amazon and they fit great right out of the box.

 

Ok so, I installed the knob onto my 4x4 switch and it for perfectly. No metal sleeve needed, no play on the knob. Wverything was great until I selected 4 low and when I pushed the knob in and moved it to 4 low the knob didnt stop and somewhat over rotated. I heard a snap sound and my truck was stuck in 4 low!!!!! I thought WTF do I do now. So I somewhat muscled the switch back to 2 wd and now I really dont feel any clicks on my switch and it free floats so Im nervous about the switch moving into 4 hi by itself through vibrations.

Looking at the original knob, there is a finger sticking out from the back that fits into a groove in the switch that stops the knob from over rotating. Im letting you all know this as I dont want this to happen to you guys. I nowhave to buy a new switch which isnt that expensive but costs more than the mod!!!!!

Happy modding all.

 

So today I decided to see what happened to my switch after being over rotated. Like the above post said I was stuck in 4 low and muscled it back to 2 hi.

As you can see in pic 1, the oem knob has a finger that sits in a grove in housing, pic 2. The after market knobs, as cool as they are, do not have that finger for the grove thus the knob over rotated. Pic 3 is the backside of housing and pic 4 is the white stem that the knobs attatch to on front. There is a spring with a little ball bearing on the end of it that sits in the groves in pic 3.

Upon disassembly, the spring was jacked up and the lil ball bearing was stuck to the white grease. My switch just free floated and didnt have those clicks. I was affraid that the vibes and bumps of the road would make the knob turn on its own.

I was able to fix it today and just wanted to share my experience with you all as I dont want to see this happen to anyone but there is a fix and it was pretty easy. Being stuck in any 4 wheel drive on dry pavement will not end up well.

 

Does this fit a first gen?

 

Installed mine today in my 11 tacoma. The right side knob has a hint of orange lighting. Anyone have a recommendation of bulbs. These are the stock ones

 

I've had mine for about 2 months, no complaints so far! I also used a little bit of electric tape on each of the knobs to prevent play, they look super awesome in the night!