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Blue Overhead Lighting in Front Seats

Go to settings and touch display and there you can change your ambient light colors
In his first post he mentioned that changing the ambient lightcolours does not affect these lights

Peter
 



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That would drive me nuts eventually. I'd grab a soldering iron and add or swap values with a series resistor to dim it till it was barely visible.
In my opinion they are barely visible unless you stick your head under them and look up. Like I mentioned, it took me almost 4 weeks to even notice them. They project a very warm, soft light down onto the center console. I really don't understand all the fuss.:dunno: I'm going on the premise that the Explorer has the same setup.

Peter
 






I get what ljn21 is saying. I have a 2017 Ex, but am guessing nothing has changed with the lighting thru the 2020 models. The ambient lighting is an interesting feature, but I'm not sure Ford didn't somewhat miss the boat with getting it right. Some observations:

The lights referred to in this thread are what control the sunroof (slide, tilt, shade). They are all what I'd consider a light blue color and they match all the other non ambient lighting in the cab. Examples that match are all the window controls, door locks, mirror adjustments and the like. I'm not an artist, so color coordination doesn't make that much difference to me, but mixing a bunch of essentially blue light that can't be changed with the colors available from the palette for ambient lighting, well, I'm guessing some don't go with blue ;) To make matters worse, the colors described on the palette don't really match what I'd have in mind for the color description. Take green as an example. When selected, it looks more yellow than anything to me. The "pink" that ljn21 referred to is actually called purple on the palette. So that's where I think Ford might have missed the 100% cool factor with the ambient lighting. I'd give it a solid 85% though. You could take this even further by looking at ALL the lighting colors and asking if they need to be the color they are. Take for example, the drive selector knob just aft of the gear shift (probably have those terms wrong, sorry...) The light in it to show what mode you're in appears to be always red. Why red? Red is usually reserved for warning lights that really need to be paid attention to. Same for the center console yellow-ish lights that indicate ON. Yellow is usually reserved for caution lights, but that is some deeper level stuff that quite frankly would be cost prohibitive to do differently for the overwhelming majority who don't notice or care. One last plug I'll mention in case any of the Ford design guys are reading, is how the touchscreen controls display things that are on versus off. The subject is lengthy, but suffice it to say most displays when first used are ambiguous. Does a dark blue box when the others around it are white indicate that feature is on or off? Then there is the use of the words on and off; does that indicate the current state of the equipment or does it indicate what will happen when you touch the button. The auto industry could take some notes, both good and bad, from the aviation people; e.g. 737 Max "problems". You don't want the folks up front pushing the wrong button at the wrong time, but I digress. Sorry :(

In terms of the dimming feature, it feels like another bit of a miss on design with the dimming push button at the upper right corner of the headlight control. That dimmer only appears to dim the main instrument cluster and the lighting on what I'd call the manual backup controls in the center console underneath the infotainment screen. The screen does auto dim if selected, but really just swaps to a different "dark" theme where they try to eliminate white by substituting black. Would have been nice to have the dim button actually dim ALL the interior lighting, not just certain ones and without rooting through the general menu options on the main screen.

IMO there is probably too much light pollution inside the cab due to having the lights up and not being able to dim things as low as they should be to aid in visual lookout. The same concept we all have experienced when you turn the map light(s) on at night which results in reduced ability to see outside through the reflections.

I'll summarize by saying I do really like the interior look and feel of my Explorer but there is room for improvement. I chuckle though when I reference the things we "complain" about when I think about my Dad's 23 model T.

Happy 2020 everyone!!:party:
 






I get what ljn21 is saying. I have a 2017 Ex, but am guessing nothing has changed with the lighting thru the 2020 models. The ambient lighting is an interesting feature, but I'm not sure Ford didn't somewhat miss the boat with getting it right. Some observations:

The lights referred to in this thread are what control the sunroof (slide, tilt, shade). They are all what I'd consider a light blue color and they match all the other non ambient lighting in the cab. Examples that match are all the window controls, door locks, mirror adjustments and the like. I'm not an artist, so color coordination doesn't make that much difference to me, but mixing a bunch of essentially blue light that can't be changed with the colors available from the palette for ambient lighting, well, I'm guessing some don't go with blue ;) To make matters worse, the colors described on the palette don't really match what I'd have in mind for the color description. Take green as an example. When selected, it looks more yellow than anything to me. The "pink" that ljn21 referred to is actually called purple on the palette. So that's where I think Ford might have missed the 100% cool factor with the ambient lighting. I'd give it a solid 85% though. You could take this even further by looking at ALL the lighting colors and asking if they need to be the color they are. Take for example, the drive selector knob just aft of the gear shift (probably have those terms wrong, sorry...) The light in it to show what mode you're in appears to be always red. Why red? Red is usually reserved for warning lights that really need to be paid attention to. Same for the center console yellow-ish lights that indicate ON. Yellow is usually reserved for caution lights, but that is some deeper level stuff that quite frankly would be cost prohibitive to do differently for the overwhelming majority who don't notice or care. One last plug I'll mention in case any of the Ford design guys are reading, is how the touchscreen controls display things that are on versus off. The subject is lengthy, but suffice it to say most displays when first used are ambiguous. Does a dark blue box when the others around it are white indicate that feature is on or off? Then there is the use of the words on and off; does that indicate the current state of the equipment or does it indicate what will happen when you touch the button. The auto industry could take some notes, both good and bad, from the aviation people; e.g. 737 Max "problems". You don't want the folks up front pushing the wrong button at the wrong time, but I digress. Sorry :(

In terms of the dimming feature, it feels like another bit of a miss on design with the dimming push button at the upper right corner of the headlight control. That dimmer only appears to dim the main instrument cluster and the lighting on what I'd call the manual backup controls in the center console underneath the infotainment screen. The screen does auto dim if selected, but really just swaps to a different "dark" theme where they try to eliminate white by substituting black. Would have been nice to have the dim button actually dim ALL the interior lighting, not just certain ones and without rooting through the general menu options on the main screen.

IMO there is probably too much light pollution inside the cab due to having the lights up and not being able to dim things as low as they should be to aid in visual lookout. The same concept we all have experienced when you turn the map light(s) on at night which results in reduced ability to see outside through the reflections.

I'll summarize by saying I do really like the interior look and feel of my Explorer but there is room for improvement. I chuckle though when I reference the things we "complain" about when I think about my Dad's 23 model T.

Happy 2020 everyone!!:party:

:popcorn:
 






Go to settings and touch display and there you can change your ambient light colors

Tried that, it changes cplors/dims the cup holders and door handles but not those 2 overhead lights.
 












They definitely do Not dim with the other interior lighting, just checked mine.

TBill
 






I get what this is about. I find it annoying when the ambient lighting doesn't effect all the lighting. Just like the random resetting oof the ambient lights in our 2013 and 2016 explorer and my previous 2014 sho. I think my Mustang did it the best with my color. I do not know why that is not moved to other vehicle lines.
 






Did you have the Ambient Lighting TSB done? I never had issues with my previous 2011 and 2014.

Peter
 






Did you have the Ambient Lighting TSB done? I never had issues with my previous 2011 and 2014.

Peter

Yep it didn't do anything.
 












For those not familiar with the subject, the Explorer lights being talked about are those between the map lights and the moonroof switches. They appear here as small black dots.

Peter

Overhead Console.jpg
 












Picked up my ST last night in Baltimore and drove back to Charlotte, so I had some time to play around with everything as we switched drivers back and forth for the 7 hour drive. One thing we couldn't figure out was how to dim or turn off the blue led lights in the roof console that flank the moonroof controls. Adjusting the ambient lighting would change the door handle intensity and color and cup holders, etc but not those overhead lights. We felt a little like everyone else around us could see into our car, like we had the maps lights on. Is there a way to turn them off or dim them? Change their color from the blue?
Like others said, so far I haven't found any buttons or console controls to turn them off. Personally, I hate them because I am a disabled veteran who gets headaches from too much light. My plan is to ask Ford if they could install a button for them up text to them in that empty space. Those lights are each connected to a positive and negative wire I assume. So I could do it myself but wouldnt want to void any warranties...
My suggestion is to ask Ford directly if they could install a button to turn them off. Anyways good luck.
 






Welcome to the Forum. :wave:
I have those in mine as well but I can say that I really don't notice them at all. Their purpose is to provide illumination for the console controls.
I doubt that Ford would modify the way they are currently installed but perhaps ii's something to keep in mind for future years since the 2021 likely has the same setup. In the meantime, why not just put a piece of black electrical tape over them as suggested in post #26 if they really bother you?

Peter
 






Welcome to the Forum. :wave:
I have those in mine as well but I can say that I really don't notice them at all. Their purpose is to provide illumination for the console controls.
I doubt that Ford would modify the way they are currently installed but perhaps ii's something to keep in mind for future years since the 2021 likely has the same setup. In the meantime, why not just put a piece of black electrical tape over them as suggested in post #26 if they really bother you?

Peter
I dont want to use duck tape on my brand new off the lot vehicle and I do think those lights are useful when I or my wife needs them on. So ford might not help but there are modifications that would help. There are actual spot next to each light that are open. I dont see why those spots cant be used..... So if Ford doesnt help radio shack on and off switch and some creativity... lol😁👍
 






"Radio Shack", now there's a name out of the past. I believe they closed up here in Canada around 2005.

Peter
 






I rather like them. They give off a pleasant moonlit effect.
Just enough light so as not to be reaching into a black hole at night, and not enough to be distracting.
 






You can find pens or bottle brush colors for stained glass or bulb coating on line. You could use one of these to darken the bulb.
 



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So, what I'm gathering here is, NO. You can't turn them off. How ridiculous. At least on the XLT (like mine). I actually like them, but, I want control of them. On all the time is a poor decision on Fords part. I don't appreciate being illuminated while waiting for my wife in some parking lot. 💡💡 So, for XLT owners wading thru the unhelpful "I like em" and "tape em" comments, you can't turn them off.
 






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