Bulb type... ?

[2stroke]

Hi !

Can someone tell me what type of bulb there is in the fan speed controls ?

[TMB]

9 minutes ago, 2stroke said:

Hi !

Can someone tell me what type of bulb there is in the fan speed controls ?

 

They are LEDs.

[2stroke]

Just now, TMB said:

 

They are LEDs.

..so there is no way to change them ?

[TMB]

Just now, 2stroke said:

..so there is no way to change them ?

 

Well they're not meant to be changed but you could probably do it if you're skilled enough.

[TMB]

You could buy a used panel. They are different depending on whether it has A/C

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Skoda-Fabia-reg-Heater-Controls-6Y0-819-045-J-B41-/112428868908?hash=item1a2d48652c:g:SfsAAOSws5pZMWxt

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SKODA-FABIA-MK1-00-06-HEATER-CONTROL-PANEL-WITH-A-C-SWITCH-6Y0820045A-/172744804658?hash=item2838648932:g:phMAAOSwlMFZIYog

 

[2stroke]

4 minutes ago, TMB said:

 

Well they're not meant to be changed but you could probably do it if you're skilled enough.

I want to have brighter LED/bulbs to the fan fontrols.

[TMB]

Just now, 2stroke said:

I want to have brighter LED/bulbs to the fan fontrols.

 

Oh right, so they are all woking but you just want brighter ones?

[2stroke]

2 minutes ago, TMB said:

You could buy a used panel.
They are different depending on whether it has A/C or not.

car has A/C.

[2stroke]

Just now, TMB said:

 

Oh right, so they are all woking but you just want brighter ones?

Yes
I think the light output is to weak.

[TMB]

I thnk a few people have done them on here.

[2stroke]

Just now, TMB said:

I thnk a few people have done them on here.

As a new member here, I'm a bit lost. 
Any link ?

[TMB]

Just now, 2stroke said:

As a new member here, I'm a bit lost. 
Any link ?

 

You are already in the right place. I'm sure someone who knows about it will be along to help

[Breezy_Pete]

They can be very hard to see in daylight. I've got a control module in bits *somewhere* I can have a look at.

[Breezy_Pete]

There seems to be two LEDs associated with each of the A/C and Recirculate buttons.  Haven't looked at it carefully yet to see how they're wired up and if a simple resistor value change could make them brighter. I suppose that one of each pair is for backlighting of the switches so you can see where to press at night-time, the other of each pair will be the 'I've been switched on' indication, the one that needs to be brighter, at least in the daytime.  May be tricky to find a compromise of bright enough to see in daylight versus not too dazzling at night, but because of them being quite low down on the dash, that may not be much of an issue.

 

 

[TMB]

Isn't it mainly the rotary knob illumination he was meaning? Or do those light the knobs as well?

Edited 27 June, 2017 by TMB

[VWD]

From previous cars, the dash etc normally have some form of voltage regulation -has this panel. Formula for determining the current through a LED ( and hence it's brightness) is

[V -V(LED)]/ RESISTANCE (in series with LED, IN ohms). wHERE V= SUPPLY VOLTS ,and V(LED) = forward voltage drop across LED( for most small LED CIRCA 0.7- 1V)

So for a LED with a forward drop of .7, and a supply of 12v, with current of 10mA, resistor would be in order of 1100 ohms. Lower resistor would raise current and make LED brighter, but there's a point where the voltage might be harmful to LED.

However, from the photo in Wino's post,( I'd suggest) the resistors are surface mount ones and beyond the skill of the average DIYer. The board look as if there's a few IC's ,so anti static precautions need to be observed, along with the use of an anti static professional soldering iron.

But even on the brightest of days, I've never had any problems seeing the AC or Recirc lights.

[Breezy_Pete]

On ‎27‎/‎06‎/‎2017 at 19:55, TMB said:

Isn't it mainly the rotary knob illumination he was meaning? Or do those light the knobs as well?

Now that you mention it, I'm not sure. There are other LEDs that illuminate those.

The main one I have trouble seeing, and only in sunny daylight, is whether the A/C button is lit up or not. I think I was assuming that was what the OP meant, but that isn't really the fan speed controls.

 

Maybe the OP could explain, do you mean how the panel is lit up at night, or how well the buttons are lit when pressed?

 

 

[Breezy_Pete]

FWIW, I'm fairly sure that the 'button pressed' LEDs are the outer two in my photo, and their current limiting resistors are the 1206-size resistors near to each with 241 written on them. They are powered off 12V via the small transistors just outside each of them. Soldering another higher value resistor on top of each (in parallel) would be quite easy, and would reduce the resistance and up the current/brightness. When I've tried it, I'll report back.

 

[2stroke]

On ‎2017‎-‎06‎-‎27 at 20:55, TMB said:

Isn't it mainly the rotary knob illumination he was meaning?
Or do those light the knobs as well?

 

1 hour ago, Wino said:

Now that you mention it, I'm not sure.
There are other LEDs that illuminate those.

The main one I have trouble seeing, and only in sunny daylight, is whether the A/C button is lit up or not.
I think I was assuming that was what the OP meant, but that isn't really the fan speed controls.

 

Maybe the OP could explain, do you mean how the panel is lit up at night, or how well the buttons are lit when pressed?

I mean the whole panel, knobs everything.
I want to have brighter light in the whole panel.
 

Edited 29 June, 2017 by 2stroke

[Breezy_Pete]

Ah, my mistake. That's what assumptions do...

Then it's all the other LEDs apart from the two I thought you meant, that need to have resistor adjustments or more efficient LEDs fitted instead.

 

I'm afraid Christmas tree dashboards are really not my scene so I'll have to let someone else take over from here.

 

Edited 29 June, 2017 by Wino