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EQCMCAT
I found a single bulb socket(uses a 194 bulb) and harness that fits and illuminates the bezel pretty well on my benchtop mock up.
The socket and harness came from a spare F150-F250 underdash harness I had. It might be the radio or the temp control bulb/harness; not really sure.
Have not gotten around to the actual install into my 75 Highboy yet to see how it fits; hopefully this weekend.
Pics of harness and how it fits into the T bird housing are attached.
Thanks
Tbruz
Thats the one place I'd use an LED since then it could stay on 24/7 and never really run the battery down..
Backup lamps and a cargo lamp are worthy candidates too, in my opinion.
I wouldn't trust an LED to not drain the battery.
If I were doing that upgrade, I would buy/build a timer circuit to control the bulb. I would probably make it so that the dome lamp circuit starts the timer when the doors are opened. Alternately, you could do a separate single switch for the driver's door, or even build something which starts the timer when you turn the key in the lock to unlock the driver's door!
Hooking it straight up to the dome light circuit will make it illuminate and 'work' in that sense, but I'm thinking that its capabilities are best utilized when the dome lamp an all other lights are off - but only when you are actually inside the truck, or about to get in.
I guess that option is for cars like my old '68 Cougar. That Cougar had no lights above the dashboard. It had the footwell lights on both sides, courtesy lamps in the doors, and a light on the back of the console. But it didn't have an overhead lamp, nor even the lamps in the C-pillars.
Back when I was in high school, my buddy had a '74-ish Dodge Dart, and it had a lamp sticking out of the column which shined on the ignition switch. I don't think it was always on, but I don't know how it would've been controlled.
Backup lamps and a cargo lamp are worthy candidates too, in my opinion.
I wouldn't trust an LED to not drain the battery.
If I were doing that upgrade, I would buy/build a timer circuit to control the bulb. I would probably make it so that the dome lamp circuit starts the timer when the doors are opened. Alternately, you could do a separate single switch for the driver's door, or even build something which starts the timer when you turn the key in the lock to unlock the driver's door!
Hooking it straight up to the dome light circuit will make it illuminate and 'work' in that sense, but I'm thinking that its capabilities are best utilized when the dome lamp an all other lights are off - but only when you are actually inside the truck, or about to get in.
I guess that option is for cars like my old '68 Cougar. That Cougar had no lights above the dashboard. It had the footwell lights on both sides, courtesy lamps in the doors, and a light on the back of the console. But it didn't have an overhead lamp, nor even the lamps in the C-pillars.
Back when I was in high school, my buddy had a '74-ish Dodge Dart, and it had a lamp sticking out of the column which shined on the ignition switch. I don't think it was always on, but I don't know how it would've been controlled.
Ah, that's a good idea, hook it up to the door / overhead light. You could probaby just even use a capacitor with a resistor and it would work just fine. Calculate the capacitor size based on current draw and LED dropout voltage (usually around 1.7 volts). Two passive components needed only.
According to this calculator, for a discharge time of 20 seconds, you could use a 2Kohm resistor and a 4700uF capacitor, after around 20 seconds the voltage will drop to 1.54 volts, below any LED On voltage, turning the LED off. ALTHOUGH, I didn't take into account LED current draw here. 2K I think is too high of resistance for a LED current.
Looks like for a current draw of at least 30ma to power an LED, you could use only about 650ohms max..meaning you would have to have around 20,000uf capacitor. May be rather large LOL. I think actually capacitors for A/C home units are up in that range, although here we can get away with something like a 16V cap, so it would be a lot smaller anyway.
I'm imagining you'd want the Bezel to stay lit when the ignition is in "run" position though too? So I guess you'd have to hook up both the courtesy light +v AND the ignition run +v to the input of the capacitor , that way while running, it stays on. When you shut off the truck and get out, 20 seconds later the cap is fully discharged enough to turn off the light. When you open the door, the courtesy circuit turns on the bezel again, and if you close the door again, the capacitor discharges again.
Last edited by niko20; Jan 22, 2019 at 01:02 PM.
Reason: fixed some math
Ah, that's a good idea, hook it up to the door / overhead light. You could probaby just even use a capacitor with a resistor and it would work just fine. Calculate the capacitor size based on current draw and LED dropout voltage (usually around 1.7 volts). Two passive components needed only.
According to this calculator, for a discharge time of 20 seconds, you could use a 2Kohm resistor and a 4700uF capacitor, after around 20 seconds the voltage will drop to 1.54 volts, below any LED On voltage, turning the LED off. ALTHOUGH, I didn't take into account LED current draw here. 2K I think is too high of resistance for a LED current.
Looks like for a current draw of at least 30ma to power an LED, you could use only about 650ohms max..meaning you would have to have around 20,000uf capacitor. May be rather large LOL. I think actually capacitors for A/C home units are up in that range, although here we can get away with something like a 16V cap, so it would be a lot smaller anyway.
I'm imagining you'd want the Bezel to stay lit when the ignition is in "run" position though too? So I guess you'd have to hook up both the courtesy light +v AND the ignition run +v to the input of the capacitor , that way while running, it stays on. When you shut off the truck and get out, 20 seconds later the cap is fully discharged enough to turn off the light. When you open the door, the courtesy circuit turns on the bezel again, and if you close the door again, the capacitor discharges again.
There you go. Sounds like you know more about it than me...
On the Toyota site I go to, a couple of guys have retrofitted lighted ignition switches into their mid '90s Corollas, and probably with varying methods of controlling the light.
I remember my mom had a '79 Lincoln Mark V and when you lifted the outside door handle the door key hole would light up for a set period of time. I always thought that was a cool feature when I was a kid. Wonder if I could make this work on a dent??? This thread has got me thinking what other options were available.
tbruz,
Thanks for your earlier reply. I looking for how you'll mount the illuminated bezel behind ignition switch. I've sourced the same exact 66 Thunderbird illuminated bezel and yesterday I removed my 77 F-150's ignition switch and saw it will be a challenge to use the entire piece (it's too wide to fit over the ignition switch and the bezel will not be able to screw onto the actual ignition switch. Also, the 77 F-150's ignition hole would have to be enlarged to accommodated the amber ignition bezel. Would appreciate you sharing what you finds works. Thanks
I remember my mom had a '79 Lincoln Mark V and when you lifted the outside door handle the door key hole would light up for a set period of time. I always thought that was a cool feature when I was a kid. Wonder if I could make this work on a dent??? This thread has got me thinking what other options were available.
Installed the illuminated bezel Sunday. Sorry I don't have any pictures (I still use an old flip phone) but will post a picture once my son comes over and takes a photo of it illuminated. It turned out okay. If you look at a clock, it's illuminated from 12:00 to 3:00 clock. Like I mentioned earlier I sourced the 1966 Thunderbird ignition bezel off eBay. The metal housing that fits onto the ignition switch behind the dash, I was only able to use the plate that the actual light socket clips onto because it too thick. I had to remove the 77 F-150's metal ignition guard and drill holes into it, then used a carbide cutter to cut a half moon slot into the OEM metal guard to allow light to shine through permitting the green bezel to appear illuminated. I wired it into my parking lights. One temporary inconvenience, I can see light coming out between the lower steering column trim where it meet the lower dash. I'll either have to put some rubber molding to block the light or something similar. I'm going to try and replace the incandescent W/a BA9S LED white bulb. And I did have to enlarge the existing ignition switch dash hole about 3/32 to accommodate the large diameter bezel. I think it looks pretty cool even during day with the 66 Thunderbird's slight larger ignition bezel.
Installed the illuminated bezel Sunday. Sorry I don't have any pictures (I still use an old flip phone) but will post a picture once my son comes over and takes a photo of it illuminated. It turned out okay. If you look at a clock, it's illuminated from 12:00 to 3:00 clock. Like I mentioned earlier I sourced the 1966 Thunderbird ignition bezel off eBay. The metal housing that fits onto the ignition switch behind the dash, I was only able to use the plate that the actual light socket clips onto because it too thick. I had to remove the 77 F-150's metal ignition guard and drill holes into it, then used a carbide cutter to cut a half moon slot into the OEM metal guard to allow light to shine through permitting the green bezel to appear illuminated. I wired it into my parking lights. One temporary inconvenience, I can see light coming out between the lower steering column trim where it meet the lower dash. I'll either have to put some rubber molding to block the light or something similar. I'm going to try and replace the incandescent W/a BA9S LED white bulb. And I did have to enlarge the existing ignition switch dash hole about 3/32 to accommodate the large diameter bezel. I think it looks pretty cool even during day with the 66 Thunderbird's slight larger ignition bezel.
Were you ever able to get pictures of it illuminated?
My Montego was illuminated with parking lamps on, off while headlamps were on. Open car, door pull on parking lamps and dash would illuminate along with ignition switch.
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