cygnusx1 Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 Has anyone ever tested stock S30 gauges to see if the numbers and needles light up with black light? I was thinking of installing some black light LED's to shine at each gauge. I think it would look amazing if the white print would reflect the light back. You could probably adapt one of the kits for PC cases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naviathan Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 The needles will light up. I have ultra bright LEDs in my gauges from behind and the blue light makes the orange needles glow like neon. It's very much like a black light effect. I don't have the white overlays though. I would like to get some eventually though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnusx1 Posted July 26, 2007 Author Share Posted July 26, 2007 United States Patent 20040189483 INSTRUMENT CLUSTER FLOOD LIGHTING UTILIZING ULTRAVIOLET LED I am going to buy a UV LED light to test the gauges....if they glow, it's going to be a nice upgrade from the factory gauge lighting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators BRAAP Posted July 26, 2007 Administrators Share Posted July 26, 2007 Keep us posted, pics if possible.. Thanks, Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwik240z Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 I am interested too. I installed the Speedhut EL Gauges in my 240Z and the dials light up great but you can't see the needles at night. I thought about pulling the needles and painting them with glow in the dark paint but I am not sure if this would work and if it did, how long the glow in the dark paint would last. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiZZZin 78 Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 Looking forward to the pics, I'd really like to do this mod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 I don't mean to burst your bubble, but... Do an Ebay search. There are a few companies already selling this. Please don't get yourself into a patent/legal bind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnusx1 Posted July 28, 2007 Author Share Posted July 28, 2007 Ebay? selling black light kits for gauges? Hmm. Never saw one. Anyhow, I can't get sued for patent infringment unless I sell something. I am only going to experiment for my own use. That is perfectly legal. Update: I ordered 10 UV LED's with a 30degree light pattern. Once I figure out how to power them, I plan on mounting them at the base of each gauge pocket pointing up at the faces at about a 45-60 degree angle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 Cygnus -Don't get me wrong, its a cool idea I'd like to do. I just didn't want to see you get in trouble. Out of curiosity, how did you go about patenting your idea? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mario_82_ZXT Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 I've always wondered the same thing. I wanted to try it with UV EL wire and just make a ring around the gauges. If you use the LEDs, maybe try to incorporate a diffuser to get a more even glow. On a side note, isn't real UV damaging to the eyes? Mario Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hailstorm Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 He's not patenting the idea... hes just doing it himself which is completely legal. Anyways, I just installed speedhut reverse-EL Glow gauges and I will let you know how these work when I finish hooking up the dash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnusx1 Posted July 28, 2007 Author Share Posted July 28, 2007 Sorry, I didnt patent the idea. I just linked to a patent that I found. If you need info about patenting something, I can help you with that also. I do a fair amount of patent work through my engineering job. I was playing with a black light at work and then it hit me. All the needles and the printed numbers in the stock Z gauges MIGHT be able to reflect some visible spectrums of UV (black light). If so, it would be a very nice looking dash illumination. As far as damage to your eyes from UV. I believe that comes from staring directly into a powerful black light for extended periods of time. Reflected UV is visible light which is not harmful...I think. Any physicists or eye doctors on the board? http://wolfstone.halloweenhost.com/Lighting/bltled_BlackLightLED.html#Safety "As you state, indirect usage - illuminating fluorescent materials - is the correct and safe usage. In such cases, the UV is converted to visible light and any reflected UV is diffused and greatly diminished in intensity." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnusx1 Posted August 2, 2007 Author Share Posted August 2, 2007 Myth BUSTED! I got the UV LED lights and hooked two of them up to a 9v battery. They are much brighter than I thought and can nicely illuminate the gauges in a flood of purple blue light. Unfortunately, the white ink that Nissan used on the gauges has no flourescent value at all and just remains dim and dull. The only thing that really lit up brightly was the HybridZ patch on the dashboard. It was pretty cool walking around the garage and house trying to find anything flourescent. I found that in general, any white cloth will light up. Any white labels, or flourescent labels like the orange and yellow grocery store price stickers reflect UV like a beacon. Oh well. Someone with white faced gauges might want to try this out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mario_82_ZXT Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 Do they make UV activated ink pens? You might be able to paint the numbers/lines/etc. I know they sell UV activated paint, but if they sold it in a "pen" like a sharpie it'd be much easier to draw over the gauge. Just a thought, Mario Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olie05 Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 yes. They sell this at craft stores... I know because my Design I project was a ping pong-golf ball sorter, which happened to have 2 rows of UV cold cathode tubes powered by a small 12v battery. We painted everything we could with flourescent markers and flourescent paint... This could have promising results for the z dash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnusx1 Posted August 2, 2007 Author Share Posted August 2, 2007 With flourescent ink on the gauges the UV light would look extremely nice. Unfortunately, I am too darn lazy to take apart all my gauges and trace the lines with ink. If I take apart all the gauges to do that, I would just go with the electroluminescent faces. If you have the patience and the time, I would love to see the result. Here is a link to the UV LED's. http://www.bgmicro.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=11721 You can power them up in parallel groups of "three in series" with 12volts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zlalomz Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 The UV leds work great illuminating vaseline glass marble eyes too! 3 months 'till Halloween. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedgato Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 I have some extra gauges, lets try the UV pen Idea on them Mario. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnusx1 Posted August 4, 2007 Author Share Posted August 4, 2007 It's going to work and it's going to look great. Just have to be very neat with the pen. It's going to take a steady hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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