lighting question

Topic: lighting question (Read 1633 times) previous topic - next topic

lighting question

April 21, 2006, 03:16:23 PM

Ok folks just an idea I came up with. How exactly do the buttons and stuff on cars where you can read the stuff at night work? I got to notcing on my car I cant hardly find anything at night if Im not thinking about where its at. You almost have to memorize where everything is to find anything as far as the window switches mirrors ect. Also its kind of a pain in the @ss to have someone try to roll the window down and the front or back of the seat start moving. I came up with the idea of using a dremel with an engraving bit on it and carving out the words on the panel and mounting an LED behind it so it shines through but Im not sure that would work the greatest exactly how do they do it to where the buttons light up? Ive never taken one apart to look and dont have any at the moment that I can take apart. I found a bunch of LED's on ebay so finding lights to use wouldnt be a problem the problem is how and where to put them to make them so you can see the stuff without just mounting a LED on the surface and having it shine over the plates or what not. Im actually looking for a way for the light to come through the plate kind of like our head light panel does on a 87 tbird just not green.

lighting question

Reply #1 – April 21, 2006, 03:50:12 PM

I've had this complaint for as long as I've owned my car. I too have been contemplating a way of lighting the "unliten".

I have infact had the seat switch and window switch apart. There is absolutely no room for a light of any means... You would be better off with carving out the letters and backlighting them. Instead of an LED I would use some of that Electrolumenecent (sp?) stuff that electronic houses sell for projects (such as this eh?). Gunkle04 (dont' know your real name) actually used switches for a taurus, wich are backlit. This would involve fabing up a console plate and a means of mounting the switch from behind. Personally I don't like it because it just doesn't flow well with the rest of the car. I must give an A for effort though gunkle.

Now you do have some space to work with around the switch itself. If you could aim a LED at the side of the switch underneith the panel it would shine up around the edges of the switch.

lighting question

Reply #2 – April 21, 2006, 03:53:10 PM

is the electroilluminescent stuff ( thats a big word) is that that plate stuff that the light shines all the way around?

lighting question

Reply #3 – April 21, 2006, 04:24:30 PM

I THINK that most vehicles that have light up switches and whatnot, at least the older ones, just use light bulbs and diffusers (much like how factory gauge panels and stereos are).

It would be cool if you could get lettering for the switches that was made out of some sort of glow-in-the-dark stuff that lasts a long time. The remote for my Sony CD player is like that, the buttons are glow-in-the-dark, and they don't need much exposure to light to glow for quite awhile.

Either that or lettering made of tritium

lighting question

Reply #4 – April 21, 2006, 04:31:58 PM

Ok first of whats tritium? Second off my daughter had glow in the dark nail polish at one time I wonder how it would work and last to make a stencil of the lettering and do it with that. My main idea was just carve the letters out and shine an LED through it that way I could make the light any color I wanted just about but the O's and the round part of the D's and such might pose a problem on that Im gonna have to take my headlight cover out of the dash and see how thats set up maybe I can come up with some sort of an idea on it. I like the idea of shining a light at the switch but the only problem on that is someone who doesnt know our cars wouldnt really be able to tell the difference between the window and the seat adjust switches in the middle. Hell I dont know how many times my dads tried locking the doors rolling down the windows and he seems to always raise and lower the front and back of my seat before I finally reach down and open or close the window for him

lighting question

Reply #5 – April 21, 2006, 05:49:41 PM

Quote

Ok first of whats tritium?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritium

lighting question

Reply #6 – April 22, 2006, 06:23:11 PM

i was considering a defuser of sorts. my wifes grandfather ownes a laser engraving shop in town. the idea was to take some plexi or possibly real glass and engrave basically a scan of the factory plate into the glass. i belive it can be ingaved in either the surface or into the "center" of the meterial below the surface. the back could be painted black or whatever. the plate would replace the factory one somehow. useing leds or bulbs like the gauges needles do it could be "backlit and for the most part only the engraving would realy catch the light. the whole ideah is somewhat still in my head but way on the backburner as i dont even have any time to mess with the car as it is and no ambition when i do. im also wishy washy on if it would realy work well or look right in the interior of the tbird. not to mention idealy id rather swap in an sn95 interior but thats way to involved for the near future. oh...and sorry bout the spelling grammar..its been much worse lately for some reason...lol

lighting question

Reply #7 – April 22, 2006, 10:02:11 PM

that could work. Im actually working on my headlight switch at the moment, one of the 15 projects I have started for the car lol. basically its turning the lights from green to blue problem Im having is the words are so small and intricate what I have to do it with isnt small enough to make the letters right but I just came up with another idea after reading your idea on making the stuff behind the plate. I'll let you all know how it works

lighting question

Reply #8 – April 23, 2006, 12:50:25 AM

I don't know if this helps or not, but on the 2nd page in of this thread:
http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?t=1900

I have a picture of my center console with backlit switches, I believe they were from a 92 or 93 Taurus/Sable.

lighting question

Reply #9 – April 23, 2006, 01:05:21 AM

well other then not being able to see the plate itself real good on my computer it helps how much longer are those then the mirror switch? Im planning on putting dual power seats in eventually so Id have to keep the switches on that

lighting question

Reply #10 – April 23, 2006, 01:11:47 AM

actually I was just looking at that again can you get me a picture of the plate from like a top view of it like if you were looking straight down at it I might have an idea.