Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) Dimmer Control Upgrade

[TomoHawk]

38 minutes ago, Captain Obvious said:

I don't have any vacuum controls for the HVAC, so no worry there.

 

If you don't have any, what makes the doors move to direct where the air blows?  Mine is a 1978, so it has vacuum pots.

Edited March 29, 2016 by TomoHawk

[Captain Obvious]

Yours being a 78 isn't the reason it has vacuum pots. It has vacuum pots because it has air conditioning.

The non-AC cars don't use vacuum for any HVAC controls. Everything is mechanical with cables, no vacuum. It's not a year thing, it's a feature thing.

[TomoHawk]

In stead of building a fancy extension for the PWM control to make it fit in like the old rheostat,  I'm going to just remove the rheostat, and just attach the PWM to a little bracket on one of the rheostat screws, with the knob pointing down.  It won't be visible, but you don't need to fool with it once it's set, so hiding it underneath will be fine. I won't have to run a wire all the way to the radio area either.

 

Edited April 19, 2016 by TomoHawk

[TomoHawk]

I have thePWM dimmer unit wired up and I tested it in the car.  It works.  I have a full range of brightness for the gauges.

 I installed the dimmer on a bracket I made that replaces the bracket for the hazard flasher unit.  I substituted the EP34 flasher for both, so the bracket was no longer needed.  I only added a small side extension so I could mount the PWM in a way that I can reach the knob from below.  Now only the hole from the rheostat remains.

[Captain Obvious]

I was out last night with my Z for the longest dark drive yet since I did my PWM and LED install, and I love it. I wish I could figure out some way to take pictures that realistically convey how the dash looks now but I don't know enough about photography to accomplish such a feat.

For your empty rheostat hole, you could put in a fuel pump prime button. 

[TomoHawk]

Use a camera

Edited April 19, 2016 by TomoHawk

[TomoHawk]

I could just cover the hole with a textured cover or a vinyl patch.

If I had a restored dash, I could cut a rectangular hole and install a dimmer with a surround, maybe with a roller in stead of a knob?  You would only need to feed the three wires through and connect to the old rheostat connector.

But a fancy new dimmer from a newer vehicle would look too "modern?"  How about this dimmer,from a Honda Accord, with the integral illumination, so you can find the dimmer in the dark car and adjust it constantly?

 

 

Edited April 19, 2016 by TomoHawk

[Captain Obvious]

Haha! I've got the camera, but it's one of those new-fangled "cameras for dummies" where it takes care of pretty much everything for you.

And one of the things it takes care of is the light sensitivity and shutter speed and all that crap. What this means is that when I try to take pics of the dash, it says to itself "Wow, it's really dark. I need to do whatever I can to make it brighter to compensate." And my dash lights have these big white halos around the outsides of the faces that really isn't there in real life.

I probably have to spend some time RTFM and turning off some of the auto settings. I never was a photo bug kind of guy.

[TomoHawk]

Try astrophotography with a digital camera through a telescope.

Those little digital cameras are fine for cheap, spontaneous photos, but are in no way to be considered actual  photography. Because of them and smartphones  like the iPhone (which supposedly has a "great camera" because you pay an extra $75 for the stuff) people think you can get "great photos" and the real art or skill of photography has been lost.Some people will argue that modern digital cameras are better, but they are only electronic devices meant to mimic film cameras.  They are only as good as the optical sensors and optics, but since they don't use film, they are quite different and have their own uses.

Edited April 20, 2016 by TomoHawk

[Captain Obvious]

I'll mess around with my camera settings and see what I can come up with.

Maybe I could put the incandescents back in the tach and that could provide a common point of reference? Tach is pretty easy to get in and out.

[TomoHawk]

Nah-  digital cameras were designed so you can take LOTS of crappy photos, and delete the bad ones.

On my camera, I can switch to manual exposure & focus, but you would only need the former turned on.  Either that, or do like we did with film-  focus on and get an exposure  reading from a brighter spot, so they come out less bright.