Ambient Lighting Question

[Eurythmian66]

Does the dash area under the driver's side left air vent - above the headlight controls contain Ambient Lighting?
Mine has never lit up since new. It looks as if it should and match the other side of the dash.

I have grabbed some images off eBay viewing the part at various angles which show a thin opening along the side which fits against the dash. It appears Ambient Lighting would illuminate thru this opening.

Did FORD decided to not make this light cutting costs? Is there a way we could modify it?

What are the groups thoughts on this?

 

[Mrob1]

I just checked (2020 Reserve) and there's no light on mine. It doesn't bother me, I really don't look at that area since I keep my headlights set to auto.

 

[Eurythmian66]

So it appears they decided to not illuminate this portion of the dash with Ambient lighting. I’ve never experimented with this type of thing but know it can be done. Anyone out there have suggestions? It would be a nice modification which would appear stock.

 

[bbf2530]

So it appears they decided to not illuminate this portion of the dash with Ambient lighting. I’ve never experimented with this type of thing but know it can be done. Anyone out there have suggestions? It would be a nice modification which would appear stock.

Hi Eurythmian. Not tying to discourage you, but it likely will be more difficult than you believe.

Unless everything needed is already there in the dash (and only needs to be programmed), it would not be considered an easy modification. Lighting modules would need to be designed and built. The dash would need at least a medium amount of disassembly. Then wiring to a suitable power source. One which would not affect other electronic features, would turn on/off with the lights etc. That is for starters.

Also keep in mind these two important factors:
1- Modern vehicles and their electrical systems/circuits are very sensitive to electronic/electrical draws. So messing with the lighting could lead to unintended problems. Some of them serious.
2- Modifying the electronic/electrical system may/will very well lead to warranty claim denials for any electrical and electronic issues if you should have any future claims and the Dealer/Lincoln realize you performed this modification. Even if the issue/claim is only remotely connected to the modification.
And those warranty ramifications could be a significant issue, especially with a modern vehicle full of electronics/computers etc.

I’m sure others will weigh in with more advice, so keep us updated and good luck.

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[Eurythmian66]

Thank you - I recently needed to disassemble the drivers side of the dash to replace the upper padded portion of the dash cover. This was quite the project and not one I ever want to venture back into. I guess not having that portion of the dash have ambient lighting is just fine.

 

[SilverWings]

Interesting observation, my guess is that the original design called for the same ambient lighting strip in that location as the passenger dash area, but final production decided to cut this part due to low perceived added value compared to the passenger side one, since the parts required are likely the same except the fibre optic is much shorter. I noticed the same thing in my focus, where the rear doors have cutouts meant for ambient lighting fibre optics, but none were installed.

In the conti I noticed the light output from the passenger dash light isn’t perfectly uniform, so I’m assuming it uses the same fibre optic design that ford has used on many of their cars, so adding this part back would be as simple as acquiring an LED module and a fibre optic, the same one as the passenger dash light, then you’d wire them up to any other ambient lighting module in parallel. If my assumption is correct, then adding this back would be easy in theory, the difficult part may be sourcing the OEM part to match the passenger side. Using aftermarket lighting modules will most likely result in noticeable differences in light output, but you also have the option to retrofit aftermarket lights to replace all OEM modules, which imo is more complicated.

 

[Eurythmian66]

Interesting observation, my guess is that the original design called for the same ambient lighting strip in that location as the passenger dash area, but final production decided to cut this part due to low perceived added value compared to the passenger side one, since the parts required are likely the same except the fibre optic is much shorter. I noticed the same thing in my focus, where the rear doors have cutouts meant for ambient lighting fibre optics, but none were installed.

In the conti I noticed the light output from the passenger dash light isn’t perfectly uniform, so I’m assuming it uses the same fibre optic design that ford has used on many of their cars, so adding this part back would be as simple as acquiring an LED module and a fibre optic, the same one as the passenger dash light, then you’d wire them up to any other ambient lighting module in parallel. If my assumption is correct, then adding this back would be easy in theory, the difficult part may be sourcing the OEM part to match the passenger side. Using aftermarket lighting modules will most likely result in noticeable differences in light output, but you also have the option to retrofit aftermarket lights to replace all OEM modules, which imo is more complicated.

Thanks for the info. I also own a 2019 Lincoln MKC Reserve and that portion of the dash does have the Ambient Lighting we are talking about. It’s actually about the same size in length as the Continental’s dash. So I’m guessing this OEM part is the same part used on all FORDs with Ambient Lighting and it would operate perfectly with the rest of the lighting. It would be a matter of ordering that fiber optic strip and module (and any other needed parts) and doing the work. The question is, is it worth it?

 

[SilverWings]

Thanks for the info. I also own a 2019 Lincoln MKC Reserve and that portion of the dash does have the Ambient Lighting we are talking about. It’s actually about the same size in length as the Continental’s dash. So I’m guessing this OEM part is the same part used on all FORDs with Ambient Lighting and it would operate perfectly with the rest of the lighting. It would be a matter of ordering that fiber optic strip and module (and any other needed parts) and doing the work. The question is, is it worth it?

That’s good news, because I would guess that the modules used in both of these cars may very well be the same or interchangeable ones. That would make sourcing the part much easier as conti parts are hard to come by. Whether or not it’s worth it is very much down to personal choice. Seeing that the area it lights up is relatively small and not very noticeable, I personally wouldn’t spend more than around $50 for that. For reference I bought OEM ambient lighting for the door handle pockets in my focus for $50 each, and it’s a bit smaller than this part. If you value this quite a bit you may be willing to spend more. If you end up going through with this, please make a post! I’ll be very curious to see it.

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