Dash lighting color.

[Jabberwock]

One thing I’m not super stoked about on the Bronco is it follows the trend that American cars have suffered from for a while now of bright dash lights/screens in colors that are not conducive to good night vision.

Auto makers have gone with flashy bright lighting because apparently it sells cars instead of doing what would be best for safety, which is dash lighting in amber/orange/red colors.

European companies and some Japanese companies are the last hold outs although that is changing as well. VW’s, BMW, and I believe Mercedes used to always have orange or red lighting, but more recent models are trending towards the bright white or blue.

Vehicle dash lighting should be first and foremost designed for safety, like a planes cockpit- simple, intuitive, non-cluttered layout in orange/amber/red.

I drive a fair amount on rural roads, and having dash lighting in warmer colors makes it easier to see deer, etc. as they are coming towards the road and are not in the primary path of the headlights.

My current vehicle is ten years old (2011 Tundra) and has orange dash lights, so making mods to interior lighting on newer vehicles isn’t something I’ve looked into. Just wanted to find out if anyone knows what is/might be possible. I know apart from a change in the software, a change to the dash LCDs isn’t possible, but wondering about the analog buttons. My Bronco is still in production, but I’m assuming the brightness can be adjusted on the LCD screens, but that’s still not the ideal solution.

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[Aviboy97]

Don’t think an airplane is a good example….they have many colors and bright screens.

 

[Hbass321]

Nowadays it’s much harder to change interior lighting. Most buttons and instrument clusters are LED which involves diodes being soldered to the boards. It’s possible, to change these out for different colors, but would require someone with extreme experience and in the end would not be worth it. I guess on some things it would be possible to put a color filter over the diode, but still risky taking apart the electronic.

 

[BroncoTodd]

Your best hope is that Ford Sync gets updated with some sort of night mode. These 2 screens in the car are the brightest light producers in the car. There are no other lighting to illuminate analog gauges. Any other ‘lighting’ would be inconsequential.

 

[Ksjrb03]

Your best hope is that Ford Sync gets updated with some sort of night mode. These 2 screens in the car are the brightest light producers in the car. There are no other lighting to illuminate analog gauges. Any other ‘lighting’ would be inconsequential.

The screens already have a night mode.

 

[Jabberwock]

H

Don’t think an airplane is a good example….they have many colors and bright screens.

That is something that has been changing as well.

Here is a short article that mentions that change as well as the pros and cons of each, but settles on red as preferred.

https://www.aviationsafetymagazine.com/features/cockpit-lighting-choices/

 

[Maximus3311]

Don’t think an airplane is a good example….they have many colors and bright screens.

Yep just want to second this. The only thing we can do to preserve any night vision is turn our screens down.

There’s no thought to protecting night vision - our screens are designed to be visible during the day (or in close proximity to lightning that’ll destroy your night vision anyway).

In fairness maybe there are GA planes with some kind of night vision setting. It’s been a long time since I flew one of those. I was on a CRJ for a long time now an Airbus.
You fly?

 

[Maximus3311]

H


That is something that has been changing as well.

Here is a short article that mentions that change as well as the pros and cons of each, but settles on red as preferred.

https://www.aviationsafetymagazine.com/features/cockpit-lighting-choices/

That looks like an opinion article geared towards general aviation pilots (when I was a flight instructor years ago I flew with a flashlight that had a red setting on it…honestly was pretty useless for anything like reading charts).

I’ve been an airline pilot for a while now and there’s no thought to red illumination on the flight deck.
Interesting idea - but we use colors to determine what mode(s) the aircraft is in/what kind of route we’re following or looking at on our NAV displays (primary flights plan/secondary/missed approach/temp etc)

We need various brighter colors for everything we do. Even in something like that opinion article red only wouldn’t work. Your attitude indicator needs to be two colors (blue for sky and brown for ground).

When you’re flying night vision is very secondary to being able to accurately read your instruments. And a *huge* part of that is having different colors and being able to tell them apart.

Thats very different from being able to read a speedometer

 

[Jabberwock]

That looks like an opinion article geared towards general aviation pilots (when I was a flight instructor years ago I flew with a flashlight that had a red setting on it…honestly was pretty useless for anything like reading charts).

I’ve been an airline pilot for a while now and there’s no thought to red illumination on the flight deck.
Interesting idea - but we use colors to determine what mode(s) the aircraft is in/what kind of route we’re following or looking at on our NAV displays (primary flights plan/secondary/missed approach/temp etc)

We need various brighter colors for everything we do. Even in something like that opinion article red only wouldn’t work. Your attitude indicator needs to be two colors (blue for sky and brown for ground).

When you’re flying night vision is very secondary to being able to accurately read your instruments. And a *huge* part of that is having different colors and being able to tell them apart.

Thats very different from being able to read a speedometer

Great to get a response from some actual pilots! I will say the most time I spent in a cockpit was when I was a kid and they actually invited kids into the cockpit at the gate! Back then planes seem to have more amber lighting but could just be what I focused on. IDK if post 9/11 kids still are invited but I hope this is still the case. I think it was prob a good recruitment tool.

Ultimately a personal choice, I just happen to like the warmer colors.

 

[Maximus3311]

Great to get a response from some actual pilots! I will say the most time I spent in a cockpit was when I was a kid and they actually invited kids into the cockpit at the gate! Back then planes seem to have more amber lighting but could just be what I focused on. IDK if post 9/11 kids still are invited but I hope this is still the case. I think it was prob a good recruitment tool.

Ultimately a personal choice, I just happen to like the warmer colors.

Happy to help and I can absolutely understand! I live in Colorado and can see the appeal to lighting that preserves night vision driving through the mountains in the dark. And it’s very likely that when I have my Bronco in the back country and it starts getting dark your preference.
Think of it this way - in an aircraft (especially airlines) we “see” by using our instruments. There isn’t much looking out the window except taxi/takeoff/landing (aside from just staring out the window out of boredom over the Midwest/eastern US or for me out of appreciation over the western US/Caribbean/and central and South America).

In a car you only have one primary instrument - your speedometer. And color doesn’t matter for that. A backup might be GPS but a monocolor GPS in a car would work fine.

Planes are just different (and unlike in a car there isn’t really anything to hit).
As for kids in the cockpit - absolutely! When we’re at the gate we love having kids come up and talk to us and get their pictures taken!

It’s always great to talk to someone (even a 3 year old) who’s still excited by airplanes

 

[Jabberwock]

Thats very different from being able to read a speedometer

Happy to help and I can absolutely understand! I live in Colorado and can see the appeal to lighting that preserves night vision driving through the mountains in the dark. And it’s very likely that when I have my Bronco in the back country and it starts getting dark your preference.
Think of it this way - in an aircraft (especially airlines) we “see” by using our instruments. There isn’t much looking out the window except taxi/takeoff/landing (aside from just staring out the window out of boredom over the Midwest/eastern US or for me out of appreciation over the western US/Caribbean/and central and South America).

In a car you only have one primary instrument - your speedometer. And color doesn’t matter for that. A backup might be GPS but a monocolor GPS in a car would work fine.

Planes are just different (and unlike in a car there isn’t really anything to hit).
As for kids in the cockpit - absolutely! When we’re at the gate we love having kids come up and talk to us and get their pictures taken!

It’s always great to talk to someone (even a 3 year old) who’s still excited by airplanes

I definitely still have the wonder of a child every time I fly! The fact that we can get 200 tons into the air with such ease and control is still amazing to me. My favorite seat is still the window seat and I still gaze out the window for long periods when I fly, at least several times a year. I think it’s sad that most adults lose that sense of curiosity and wonder as they get older. I’m just a generally curious person in general though. Sometimes I feel like I never grew up!

Thanks for making it the safest way to travel.

 

[Maximus3311]

I definitely still have the wonder of a child every time I fly! The fact that we can get 200 tons into the air with such ease and control is still amazing to me. My favorite seat is still the window seat and I still gaze out the window for long periods when I fly, at least several times a year. I think it’s sad that most adults lose that sense of curiosity and wonder as they get older. I’m just a generally curious person in general though. Sometimes I feel like I never grew up!

Thanks for making it the safest way to travel.

Haha thank the fine engineers at Airbus...it's a wonderful way to travel (at least from the front row). The issue for most people is that air travel has become such an unpleasant headache that there isn't much joy left in the process.

But...like you said still the safest and most efficient way to travel long distances.

Also - you're always welcome to come up and take a look too. I never have an issue with an adult wanting to look at flight deck. It's a pretty impressive feat of engineering.

Anyway stay safe and enjoy your Bronco (whenever you manage to get it)!

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