TSO
New member
This project took shape because the bulb on PASS side of the dual CC's was burned out, so I thought that since I was going to replace a bulb, I should see if I could add a bit of color to the light monotone orange color scheme... I should start off by saying that while many people like to swap out the entire interior light color (white, blue, etc...) I prefer orange interior lighting, so I wanted to add just a bit of "flare". Specifically, I wanted to change the TEMP ^ to red, and the TEMP v to blue.
I contacted darkie3495 who wrote this thread: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-g...ster-hvac-switches-window-steering-wheel.html ... as I had some questions pertaining to the possible differences between his Sr5 controls and my Limited controls. (This guy was a big help - thanks again man!! )
My main concerns were: Is it going to just be 1 bulb that lights the entire side? Is it individual LED's that I can just change out with colors to get the effect I want?
Long story short, there's only 2 bulbs that cover the entire backlighting for the middle dial (limited), and they use this clear-plastic routing frame (cool idea, actually) to spread the light around the dial. Additionally, there are orange LED's that light the momentary switches (Dual, A/C, Auto), but no individual ones to change the ^/v colors.
I shined a light through the back of the control "face" (when it was apart) and saw that the light shined through clear, which meant either the bulbs were orange (they looked clear) or the light was too dim and gave an orange glow. Well, the latter is the case. So, instead of changing bulbs, I just colored the back of the ^/v with Red & Blue sharpie markers !!! Pretty redneck, I know. But, it works.
I still want to replace the stock bulbs with brighter LED's so the red & blue stand out a bit more, but it definitely has the effect I was going for. By the way, I got the replacement bulbs at Radio Shack for a couple bucks. I'll have to order the LED's (3mm size btw) online.
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Starting with:
Removed:
Turned around & remove these 4 screws:
Then remove these 2 screws to take the main harness/board out of the housing:
Remove the main tab from the board for the middle dial: Don't forget the other 1 screw holding the center dial on.
Pry up on these 2 spots, then pull the wire-harness out of the clip:
Then you can remove the middle dial assembly:
To take apart the dial assembly, remove these 2 screws:
3 LED's light the momentary switches through the viewing holes, while 2 bulbs light the rest of the backlighting via a glass "duct."
From the front, I pulled off the switches for ^/v, which just needed muscle & elbow grease. then, I used sharpie markers and colored the ^/v in red & blue::
These are the Radioshack replacement bulbs: I still plan to replace them with brighter LED's
Put it all back together, this is what you have:
--------------------
EDIT: Now that I look at it, it DOES look like the replacement bulbs are a bit brighter than stock... That middle dial seems brighter than the others.
I contacted darkie3495 who wrote this thread: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-g...ster-hvac-switches-window-steering-wheel.html ... as I had some questions pertaining to the possible differences between his Sr5 controls and my Limited controls. (This guy was a big help - thanks again man!! )
My main concerns were: Is it going to just be 1 bulb that lights the entire side? Is it individual LED's that I can just change out with colors to get the effect I want?
Long story short, there's only 2 bulbs that cover the entire backlighting for the middle dial (limited), and they use this clear-plastic routing frame (cool idea, actually) to spread the light around the dial. Additionally, there are orange LED's that light the momentary switches (Dual, A/C, Auto), but no individual ones to change the ^/v colors.
I shined a light through the back of the control "face" (when it was apart) and saw that the light shined through clear, which meant either the bulbs were orange (they looked clear) or the light was too dim and gave an orange glow. Well, the latter is the case. So, instead of changing bulbs, I just colored the back of the ^/v with Red & Blue sharpie markers !!! Pretty redneck, I know. But, it works.
I still want to replace the stock bulbs with brighter LED's so the red & blue stand out a bit more, but it definitely has the effect I was going for. By the way, I got the replacement bulbs at Radio Shack for a couple bucks. I'll have to order the LED's (3mm size btw) online.
--------
Starting with:
Removed:
Turned around & remove these 4 screws:
Then remove these 2 screws to take the main harness/board out of the housing:
Remove the main tab from the board for the middle dial: Don't forget the other 1 screw holding the center dial on.
Pry up on these 2 spots, then pull the wire-harness out of the clip:
Then you can remove the middle dial assembly:
To take apart the dial assembly, remove these 2 screws:
3 LED's light the momentary switches through the viewing holes, while 2 bulbs light the rest of the backlighting via a glass "duct."
From the front, I pulled off the switches for ^/v, which just needed muscle & elbow grease. then, I used sharpie markers and colored the ^/v in red & blue::
These are the Radioshack replacement bulbs: I still plan to replace them with brighter LED's
Put it all back together, this is what you have:
--------------------
EDIT: Now that I look at it, it DOES look like the replacement bulbs are a bit brighter than stock... That middle dial seems brighter than the others.
Last edited:
