Change all dash lights to blue? 2010 4Runner

[Foques]

sorry about the delay.. here is what we have to work with:

 

[Antman]

Where was the "Camel" gauge mounted? :lmao:

Seriously though- in an earlier post you stated all the LEDS for the gauges were white. How can the speedo LED's be white when the clear plastic that has the indicator tabs lights up orange? Am I missing something?

Any way you can light up that cluster with the faces off and take a pic?

Keep going here!

 

[Crusader131]

Orange is a passive color, after looking at it in the dark, it does not burn into your eyes. White does, so does green or light blue.
I had those colors, and will never consider them again.

Red is, psychologically, more agressive color. (though, it never stopped audi from putting out fun to drive cars)

Green is honestly one of the best colors to use for lighting inside a cabin. The human eye can see more shades of green than any other color which gives you better detail. With a little bit of a blue/green hue in the combo, and you are golden. Plus it helps keep your dark adaptation. Red is also a great color for keeping your dark adaptation, but horrible for secret NVG ops. :50cal:

 

[Foques]

Where was the "Camel" gauge mounted? :lmao:

Seriously though- in an earlier post you stated all the LEDS for the gauges were white. How can the speedo LED's be white when the clear plastic that has the indicator tabs lights up orange? Am I missing something?

Any way you can light up that cluster with the faces off and take a pic?

Keep going here!

sorry, perhaps, I didn't explain myself well. Speedo gauges are white, and painted orange.
other markers appear to be appropriately coded via led.
I'll be ordering some LEDs soon, and will turn the cluster on without gauges first. With my schedules it takes a lot of coordination to have enough time to rip the truck apart

Crusader.. have you ever driven a Crossfire?
Fun little car with green gauges.. After I would drive it at night, i'd see gauge "imprint" in my eyes for dang near 10 minutes.

 

[BensonTT]

wow! some of you guys are so brave... I get scared even removing a battery in the hood.. LoL

 

[Crusader131]

Crusader.. have you ever driven a Crossfire?
Fun little car with green gauges.. After I would drive it at night, i'd see gauge "imprint" in my eyes for dang near 10 minutes.[/QUOTE]

Ha no I haven't!!! But I drive a Blackhawk (no jokes) every night for about three hours in the dark with green gauges and I also wear NVGs which are green. Did you get a visual purple effect? Because our eyes produce rhodopsin from staring at light sources at night and the biological protein can take up to 30 minutes to go away. But I did stay in a Holiday Inn last night.:surfer:

 

[offroadingatc]

Orange is a passive color, after looking at it in the dark, it does not burn into your eyes. White does, so does green or light blue.
I had those colors, and will never consider them again.

Red is, psychologically, more agressive color. (though, it never stopped audi from putting out fun to drive cars)

I'm certain the reason some car mfg's use red is because it doesn't cause your pupil to constrict (that is it preserves night vision) unlike other most other colours, that's why cockpits are lit exclusively with red. I guess orange falls partially under that category also?

 

[Foques]

I'm certain the reason some car mfg's use red is because it doesn't cause your pupil to constrict (that is it preserves night vision) unlike other most other colours, that's why cockpits are lit exclusively with red. I guess orange falls partially under that category also?

that's exactly what I meant by "passive", and yes, dark orange and red are supposedly in the same category.
But I was told that by an art therapy student. it could be wrong, I suppose.

 

[1engineer]

There are some drawbacks to wearing red goggles or using red cockpit lighting. When reading maps, markings in red on a white background may be invisible. Red light also creates or worsens near-point blur in older far-sighted, presbyopic (decreased near focusing ability due to age), and pre-presbyopic aircrew. Under red light or using red goggles in normal light, red light is focused behind the retina due to the optics of the eye and more "near focusing" than average must be used to provide a clear image when reading at near.

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.

I have included the Mil specs below.

Mil-STD 1472F 5.8.2.2 (table XVI) display lighting
Brightness of markings
Condition of use Lighting Technique * cd/m2 foot-lamberts Brightness Adjustment

Indicator reading, dark adaptation necessary Red flood, indirect, or both, with operator choice 0.07-0.35 (0.02-0.1) Continuous throughout range

Indicator reading, dark adaptation not necessary but desirable Red or low-color-temperature white flood, indirect, or both, with operator choice 0.07-3.5† (0.02-1.0) Continuous throughout range

Indicator reading, dark adaptation not necessary White flood 3.5-70 (1-20) Fixed or continuous

Panel monitoring, dark adaptation necessary Red edge lighting, red or white flood, or both, with operator choice 0.07-3.5 (0.02-1.0) Continuous throughout range

Panel monitoring, dark adaptation not necessary White flood 35-70 (10-20) Fixed or continuous

Possible exposure to bright flashes, restricted daylight White flood 35-70 (10-20) Fixed

Chart reading, dark adaptation necessary Red or white flood with operator choice 0.35-3.50 (0.1-1.0) Continuous throughout range

Chart reading, dark adaptation not necessary White flood 17-70 (5-20) Fixed or continuous

 

[offroadingatc]

Any planes I ever flew were exclusively red, but they were pretty old. There definately were some issues with reading maps.

Unrelated but had a pilot report a blue laser strike recently, I didn't even know they existed.

 

[-JD-]

I also read somewhere that blue light is supposed to help keep you awake and alert...

 

[limamike]

There are some drawbacks to wearing red goggles or using red cockpit lighting. When reading maps, markings in red on a white background may be invisible. Red light also creates or worsens near-point blur in older far-sighted, presbyopic (decreased near focusing ability due to age), and pre-presbyopic aircrew. Under red light or using red goggles in normal light, red light is focused behind the retina due to the optics of the eye and more "near focusing" than average must be used to provide a clear image when reading at near.

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.

I have included the Mil specs below.

Mil-STD 1472F 5.8.2.2 (table XVI) display lighting
Brightness of markings
Condition of use Lighting Technique * cd/m2 foot-lamberts Brightness Adjustment

Indicator reading, dark adaptation necessary Red flood, indirect, or both, with operator choice 0.07-0.35 (0.02-0.1) Continuous throughout range

Indicator reading, dark adaptation not necessary but desirable Red or low-color-temperature white flood, indirect, or both, with operator choice 0.07-3.5† (0.02-1.0) Continuous throughout range

Indicator reading, dark adaptation not necessary White flood 3.5-70 (1-20) Fixed or continuous

Panel monitoring, dark adaptation necessary Red edge lighting, red or white flood, or both, with operator choice 0.07-3.5 (0.02-1.0) Continuous throughout range

Panel monitoring, dark adaptation not necessary White flood 35-70 (10-20) Fixed or continuous

Possible exposure to bright flashes, restricted daylight White flood 35-70 (10-20) Fixed

Chart reading, dark adaptation necessary Red or white flood with operator choice 0.35-3.50 (0.1-1.0) Continuous throughout range

Chart reading, dark adaptation not necessary White flood 17-70 (5-20) Fixed or continuous

Not to derail the topic, but I believe this is for general workspace lighting; try MIL-STD 3009 instead for aviation lighting requirements.

EDIT: Here's the relevant section...

 

[Jtraskell]

I also read somewhere that blue light is supposed to help keep you awake and alert...

Yea, especially if it is flashing in your rear view mirror!

 

[isam250]

Well, we tore apart my cluster last night..

Bad news and good news.

The bad news is that the faceplates are painted. What that means is that orange color is not coming from LEDs like it did in lower level models.

LEDs behind the faceplates are white, and the faceplates are painted orange. Thus the only way to change colors to blue is to sand the back of the faceplate or to get a custom one made.
the back of faceplates as also a plastic protective film. So, rubing alcohol solution will not be available (in Infiniti, one can just rub the paint off with a q tip and polish remover)
the screen on the speedometer is same as in many other Yotas... which means it is VERY fragile.


The good news is that circuit board isn't much different from other toyotas. If one wants to have red LEDs, it can be done without sanding or anything else crazy.

Notification icon backgrounds are transparent, and can be changed to anything.

this looks to be the sum of the LEDs that are needed:

17 plcc LEDs for numbers

10 LEDs for needles

33 LEDs for warning lights

5 LEDs for odo screen

I was considering going red, so i'm in a pretty ok place at the moment.
i'll post a couple of pictures soon; didn't get home early enough last night.

I was going to swap it to white led yesterday. Ledmod.com they're in California but he took a look at the gauge and said he has to scan it and make a costume face. I can't leave the car out there since I need it to get to work.

 

[jrhaze]

There are some drawbacks to wearing red goggles or using red cockpit lighting. When reading maps, markings in red on a white background may be invisible. Red light also creates or worsens near-point blur in older far-sighted, presbyopic (decreased near focusing ability due to age), and pre-presbyopic aircrew. Under red light or using red goggles in normal light, red light is focused behind the retina due to the optics of the eye and more "near focusing" than average must be used to provide a clear image when reading at near.

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.

I have included the Mil specs below.

Mil-STD 1472F 5.8.2.2 (table XVI) display lighting
Brightness of markings
Condition of use Lighting Technique * cd/m2 foot-lamberts Brightness Adjustment

Indicator reading, dark adaptation necessary Red flood, indirect, or both, with operator choice 0.07-0.35 (0.02-0.1) Continuous throughout range

Indicator reading, dark adaptation not necessary but desirable Red or low-color-temperature white flood, indirect, or both, with operator choice 0.07-3.5† (0.02-1.0) Continuous throughout range

Indicator reading, dark adaptation not necessary White flood 3.5-70 (1-20) Fixed or continuous

Panel monitoring, dark adaptation necessary Red edge lighting, red or white flood, or both, with operator choice 0.07-3.5 (0.02-1.0) Continuous throughout range

Panel monitoring, dark adaptation not necessary White flood 35-70 (10-20) Fixed or continuous

Possible exposure to bright flashes, restricted daylight White flood 35-70 (10-20) Fixed

Chart reading, dark adaptation necessary Red or white flood with operator choice 0.35-3.50 (0.1-1.0) Continuous throughout range

Chart reading, dark adaptation not necessary White flood 17-70 (5-20) Fixed or continuous

If you're going to copy/paste info could you be so kind as to provide a link? Unless maybe your intent is to represent the words as your own...

The Eye and Night Vision

I'm assuming you aren't the author of the article there, if I'm wrong my apologies.

 

[Stifler]

If you're going to copy/paste info could you be so kind as to provide a link? Unless maybe your intent is to represent the words as your own...

The Eye and Night Vision

I'm assuming you aren't the author of the article there, if I'm wrong my apologies.

way to try and bust [MENTION=66316]1engineer[/MENTION]'s chops more than 2 years later:clap2:

 

[1engineer]

If you're going to copy/paste info could you be so kind as to provide a link? Unless maybe your intent is to represent the words as your own...

The Eye and Night Vision

I'm assuming you aren't the author of the article there, if I'm wrong my apologies.

Sorry man. Usually I post my sources but apparently I missed this one a few years ago. My bad. Most of the guys here know if it's about electricity or a current flows through it then I am way out of my element.

 

[Swarty]

Anyone considered a '14 gauge swap? They look very close.

 

[Jeffy]

sorry to revive this.... I just picked up a 5th gen after totaling my 4th gen this weekend and I already can't stand having the puke orange back.
Did anybody ever find a successful way to swap the colors? I'm thinking you might be able to use a dremel to "polish" away the paint on the back, leaving it clear plastic?
I'm really hesitant to try this on a pristine car that I've owned for less than a week. I'll be really pissed if I screw something up.

 

[-JD-]

Ironic to re-read this post and see all the negative posts about blue illumination...