HVAC Control Unit Lume?

[LucaScali]

Are the up/down arrows supposed to glow in the dark? If so, what was the original lume color? Thanks

[EC900]

Yes, the Up/Down arrows are made with a phosphorescent material. The Fan/Fan Symbol is backlit by the little clear 1.2w bulbs (900-631-132-90). The glow-in-the-dark isn’t that bright, depends how much interior light gets on the arrows to absorb and after 45 yrs, but I don’t do much night driving to even notice.
Two pics, the top pic is with dash lights on, you can see bulbs lighting up function (note, bulb popped out of the fan symbol socket) …and.bottom pic shows arrows glow-in-the dark w/o dash lights on.

[LucaScali]

Thanks very much, EC. Appreciate it. Mine have no discernible glow at this point. I'm going to attempt to relume in green.

[spuggy]

Originally Posted by LucaScali

Mine have no discernible glow at this point. I'm going to attempt to relume in green.

On my '77, there is no lume, however there are bulbs behind the controls. 3 of them, if memory serves. They're the tiny glass push-fit base type.

Yours have probably either burnt out, or melted the little plastic tunnels the holders fit into, so are no longer held in the correct location to light up behind the fascia.

FWIW, I replaced mine with LEDs years ago and immediately felt obliged to remove a couple (think I left the indicator that the fan was running in) as they were overly bright at night...

[josephvman]

I'm my '84 Targa they light up when the headlights are on, but kind of a cream color. I've never noticed any lume on the markers, so maybe that's something on later cars.

As Supggy noted, the bulb holders can deform with time from the heat, and no longer hold the bulbs tightly. Trying to get the bulbs back into the holders from underneath is one of the very worst DIY jobs one can attempt on one of these cars, IMO. I gave up and had an experienced 911 tech do it, and I assume he has done a bunch and knows all the tricks.

[86 911 Targa]

Three on our 86.

Gerry

[LucaScali]

Originally Posted by spuggy

Yours have probably either burnt out, or melted the little plastic tunnels the holders fit into, so are no longer held in the correct location to light up behind the fascia.

Thanks for the suggestion, but I think EC understood the question. I was referring to the directional arrows, not the bulbs. As you can see in the pics he posted, the arrows appear to glow green independently of the light emitted by the bulbs. My bulbs are all intact and work fine.

[Jtt84911]

Hi Luca
Curious…. how/what is your plan “to relume in green”??
Are you going to use some sort of paint or a stick-on material. Needs to be translucent for bulb light to pass through.

BTW… good tip for those reading this…. I found all the plastic molded bulb sockets in the control unit had gotten larger over time.. causing the bulbs to fall out. I used plumbers putty (clay like material) in the sockets (so you could get them out to change the bulbs) several years ago.
Solved the problem 100%.

Regards,
JT

[LucaScali]

Hi JT,

I've actually been thinking about that. There are no bulbs behind the arrows, so translucency doesn't seem to be much of an issue. I considered using tape, but I don't think it would be as effective or look as good as a decent phosphorescent paint, which would be white/invisible when "off."