Air Con Temp Background Colour, took the plunge! - Now RED!

[solaris]

thanks for the pictures.... i think that i will do it too.... but in RED...

[dchuraman]

ive just taken it apart again, to have a look at a few things. There is a sheet of diffusing plastic behind each lcd screen. it is translucent white, and removing it just makes each led visible as a source of light. to use white leds, what you really need is a more transparent clear diffusing film, but i dont know where to get that. the white looks good in the flesh, and driving around with it makes the dash look much sleeker. however with clear diffusing film it will look even better.
As for the red, it looks like the other red bits on that panel, such as the buttons, have a similar diffusing plastic on. i assume that is what VW use to get their specific red colour, but it will be tailored to their specification. i dont know what wavelength/shade of red led to go for, as if its slightly off i think it will look worse, but i am going to try later in the week

[Jonny96]

Just got back from the dealer to ask if they could have a go at doing it, muppets aren't allowed to touch anything like that! What happened to proper mechanics, its just plug in and follow instructions now!

looks fantastic dchuraman!! Its been bugging me for 3 months now! do a lot of night driving and it just looks so wrong!

P.s Can i pay you to do mine! PLEASE!!

[dchuraman]

hey jonny96, im sure we can come to some arrangement! not looking to make much money out of doing anythign for guys on the forum, so im sure we can work something out. where are you and what colour are you thinking of? im hoping to change mine to red before the end of the week so others can see what it looks like, so you can have a look at that as well

[jonallen628]

Fair play dchuraman

The white looks much better than the blue, would love to see how Red looks.



Edit; We have some guys on the forum who are in to there photography, would it be possible to butcher a colour filter foil of some sort to fit over the L.E.D to tailor the colour? I am sure i have seen a swatch of thin plastic filters somewhere on the web when i looked into this a couple of months back but can't find the link now.

Something like this perhaps or am i completely mad?

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/product ... ku=1012227

[gingerscotsman]

Looks very good.

I think a how too guide is in order !!!

[dchuraman]

Fair play dchuraman

The white looks much better than the blue, would love to see how Red looks.



Edit; We have some guys on the forum who are in to there photography, would it be possible to butcher a colour filter foil of some sort to fit over the L.E.D to tailor the colour? I am sure i have seen a swatch of thin plastic filters somewhere on the web when i looked into this a couple of months back but can't find the link now.

Something like this perhaps or am i completely mad?

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/product ... ku=1012227

im into my photography too, not that you can tell with those pictures though! i have thought about the idea of filters and diffusion, but i dont think things like the link you posted, or thin plastic filters, would work properly. i tried it with a couple of coloured filter sheets of plastic that i cut up and you can still see the individual leds shining through. the key is it being relatively thick and obviously a specially made material for this type of job. The original diffuser is a thick translucent diffuser made specifically for VW, so getting the same type of material could be tricky and expensive (unless someone knows more on that subject than me). im sure it exists but dont know where to look other than the places ive looked at already.

All in all i thik its easier to change the leds and keep the diffuser thats there, at least thats what i think so far. ill wait to see what the red looks like first. PLus you can get these leds in loads of colours, more than you would want for the car, ie i doubt most people would want to go for a bright green display but the led exists if you did

[dchuraman]

Looks very good.

I think a how too guide is in order !!!

thanks! when i re do the red ones ill try and get some photos and put it into a guide at some point

[jonallen628]

im into my photography too, not that you can tell with those pictures though! i have thought about the idea of filters and diffusion, but i dont think things like the link you posted, or thin plastic filters, would work properly. i tried it with a couple of coloured filter sheets of plastic that i cut up and you can still see the individual leds shining through. the key is it being relatively thick and obviously a specially made material for this type of job. The original diffuser is a thick translucent diffuser made specifically for VW, so getting the same type of material could be tricky and expensive (unless someone knows more on that subject than me). im sure it exists but dont know where to look other than the places ive looked at already.

All in all i thik its easier to change the leds and keep the diffuser thats there, at least thats what i think so far. ill wait to see what the red looks like first. PLus you can get these leds in loads of colours, more than you would want for the car, ie i doubt most people would want to go for a bright green display but the led exists if you did

Ah ok, having not taken a unit apart i had no idea of the thickness / flexibility of the filter. Sounds like changing the L.E.D's is the way to go.

[dchuraman]

ive just done half the red so far, i must say it looks much better than the white, although thats in the daytime. the other thing is these leds are much brighter than the originals, so hopefully they wont be too blinding. it does mean you can see them well when they are on in the day. pics to follow soon...

[dchuraman]

ok, all done, the original reds that i used were too bright, a bit like the white ones, so i tried some other ones id ordered, and they seem perfect. obviously a bit brighter than the original blues, you can see them properly in the day, but should be much better at night, although ill have to wait till later to prove that.

I will get a daytime pic up asap.
(also, the red appears to be a good match to the existing reds in the switches etc)

[CTRnutter]

ok, all done, the original reds that i used were too bright, a bit like the white ones, so i tried some other ones id ordered, and they seem perfect. obviously a bit brighter than the original blues, you can see them properly in the day, but should be much better at night, although ill have to wait till later to prove that.

I will get a daytime pic up asap.
(also, the red appears to be a good match to the existing reds in the switches etc)

Cant wait to see this, not that I'd try to do it myself or anything ha ha

[easybreeze]

Brilliant... can't wait to see the results - although I wouldn't be attempting it as it's a lease car.

[dchuraman]

best i could do in the day time, im still waiting to see what it looks like in the dark:

[drnick]

Now that does look good! Better than the white in my opinion. You're a brave man!

[dchuraman]

thanks, yeah it does look better than white, ill be sticking with these i think

[iAmbu]

Looks good! I think they'll be brighter than the rest of the red illumination at night, but is that a problem? - I don't think so, as they are displaying figures which you want to know about

[dchuraman]

no its not a problem, the white ones were a bit of a problem becuase they were a little distracting at night being bright, but the red is much easier on the eye and also not as bright as the white ones.
The black text is also more clear on the red than white

[iAmbu]

[easybreeze]

looks perfect now