Viewing instrument panel

[Jfhaas]

Am I the only one having a hard time viewing a F 53 Ford instrument panel in certain lighting conditions. No sunglasses on as that makes it impossible. Thought of getting small LED light but can not find one small enough. Any ideas or suggestions would be great. Thanks

[beaverjocky]

I have the same problem with my 04 Beaver. My eye sight isn't the best but it take my eyes off the road way too much to use. I haven't done it yet but plan on getting some pinstripe tape and place it on the gauge where "normal" operation should be. That way I'll be able to see if something is out of line. I would bet there are aftermarket digital gauges available but that would be a major operation.
Good luck with your fix. Let me know if you come up with a good fix.
Jerry

[kenandterry]

Not sure exactly what part of the instrument panel you are having trouble seeing.

The speedo, tach, fuel, oil, transmission guages are all analog guages and easily read..........day and night.

Are you talking about the driver information center? Ford's illuminated screen for odometer, trip guage etc sucks, but that is not information that really matters.

[Clay L]

I need reading glasses to help see the Workhorse IP.
I ended up getting sun glasses with a bifocal reading area. They made that clear with no shading.
It is low enough on the lenses that the sun glasses still work fine and I can see the digital stuff.

[Hikerdogs]

Originally Posted by Jfhaas

Am I the only one having a hard time viewing a F 53 Ford instrument panel in certain lighting conditions. No sunglasses on as that makes it impossible. Thought of getting small LED light but can not find one small enough. Any ideas or suggestions would be great. Thanks

I hope you bought the power drivers seat option. We had to order it in our current motorhome and in the 2013 Adventurer 32H we just ordered. Without it the seat is so low there's nothing but glare on the speedometer and odometer.

When I raise the seat to almost full height it changes the angle to the instrument panel just enough to eliminate the glare.

[Jfhaas]

My problem is not glare. I can not see the speedo or tach in certain lights. I just had LASIK eye surgery 6 months ago and can see fine. With sunglasses there is no hope of seeing speedo or tach. This is on a 2012 Winnie vista. I think it's a bad design. I use a pen light to check speed and RPM. Morning light or overcast conditions are fine.

[ghutch]

I know what you are talking about. In daylight, my eyes could not focus quick enough from looking outside, and then trying to read the IP. Here is my fix;
Went to Auto Zone, bought a 12 inch strip of 12v LED lights with adhesive back. Press the strip as close to the clear face as possible shinning down, then applied a very fine chrome adhesive strip against the light strip to block the light from shining outward. Wired it through a rocker switch. Now I CAN SEE the IP in the daytime, and not use it at night. Regular dash light are fine at night. Anyone needing photos, let me know. This is a very good looking fix and will solve your problem.

[Jfhaas]

That's exactly what I'm looking for. Please send pics. Thanks. Jack

[Rich and Cork]

Hmmm, I used to have problems seeing the gauges on the dash and then I had cateract surgery on both eyes; and now the problem is solved. Just a thought.

[ghutch]

After

[ghutch]

Sorry the pics are a little blurry, hope you can see the difference. I need to practice posting pics too.

[Airstreamer6]

WOW ghutch, what a difference. Great solution. Thanks!

[mre]

Originally Posted by ghutch

I know what you are talking about. In daylight, my eyes could not focus quick enough from looking outside, and then trying to read the IP. Here is my fix;
Went to Auto Zone, bought a 12 inch strip of 12v LED lights with adhesive back. Press the strip as close to the clear face as possible shinning down, then applied a very fine chrome adhesive strip against the light strip to block the light from shining outward. Wired it through a rocker switch. Now I CAN SEE the IP in the daytime, and not use it at night. Regular dash light are fine at night. Anyone needing photos, let me know. This is a very good looking fix and will solve your problem.

When you ran the LED lights through a rocker switch, where did you run the hot wire from?

[Dutch Star Don]

"ghutch"....good fix for this problem!