Removal of dash blank for custom switch?

9252 Views 8 Replies 4 Participants Last post by Infected, Oct 21, 2015

jimmyc13

Discussion Starter · Jun 12, 2011

Has anyone ever removed a blank in their dash and installed a light or switch in one of the openings? I'm referring to one of the small rectangular plastic pieces that are next to the dashboard dimming switch.

I'm going to be hardwiring my Escort 9500i radar detector and can go with a plain hardwire from the fuse box to the detector, or as I prefer, I can get a hardwire kit that includes the mute button and red/green lights (found here: https://www.escortradar.com/store/direct-wire-smartcord-red.html).

I just read on a random forum that the blanks can be removed just from popping them out from the front, but I will need to get access from behind the blanks in order to somehow install this mute button.

Has anyone does this before? I'm thinking I can just drill 3 holes in the blank, leaving room for the 2 lights and 1 switch and then epoxy this to the back of the blank, then insert it. Any idea if this will work? Bad idea/good idea?

There are easier ways to install this mute button, but think it would not come out as clean (i.e. some people just put velcro on the bottom and mount it on the dash somewhere), but I prefer not to do that if I don't have to.

I think if there's really no easy way to do this, I might just get the wire w/out the mute button option.

Thanks!

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dgstan

· #2 · Jun 12, 2011

I don't know if this will answer your question or not, but yes, I did something like this in my 2005 Prius. There was a blank on the left side of the dash where the Euro models had an EV switch installed. In the attached picture, the dial shown on the left is the factory dash brightness dial and the one on the right side are my custom switches.

I drilled out the blank to add two switches and it came out really well. The round push-button is my own EV switch and the rocker is a speed-sensor defeat, which allows phone numbers/destinations to be entered while driving. Please understand though, my Dremel skillz are second to none.

I also bought a new blank from Toyota in case I needed to reverse this mod. Cost: $5.

(Of course, this was all done back in the old days when Toyotas were much easier to hack. I don't think anyone's found a way to defeat the speed sensor on our cars.)

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Matt_RN

· #3 · Jun 12, 2011

Prestigious Society makes a plug-in module for disabling the lockout on the nav. It works pretty great on the newer Lexuses from what I've heard.

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dgstan

· #4 · Jun 12, 2011

Matt_RN said:
Prestigious Society makes a plug-in module for disabling the lockout on the nav. It works pretty great on the newer Lexuses from what I've heard.

$350 ??????
Prestigious Society Navigation and Video Enhancement Module

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Matt_RN

· #5 · Jun 13, 2011

Lol. It's a JDM product. It has gotten great reviews.

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jimmyc13

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jun 14, 2011

dgstan said:
I don't know if this will answer your question or not, but yes, I did something like this in my 2005 Prius. There was a blank on the left side of the dash where the Euro models had an EV switch installed. In the attached picture, the dial shown on the left is the factory dash brightness dial and the one on the right side are my custom switches.

I drilled out the blank to add two switches and it came out really well. The round push-button is my own EV switch and the rocker is a speed-sensor defeat, which allows phone numbers/destinations to be entered while driving. Please understand though, my Dremel skillz are second to none.

I also bought a new blank from Toyota in case I needed to reverse this mod. Cost: $5.

(Of course, this was all done back in the old days when Toyotas were much easier to hack. I don't think anyone's found a way to defeat the speed sensor on our cars.)

Thanks, that's exactly what I want to do, but it's not clear to me how you install the switch onto the blank plate. How do you get access from behind the dash part to get the wiring/switch in/do you need to take the dash off entirely? Partially? Any idea how much room is behind there? Any help is most appreciated!

Thanks,

Jim

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dgstan

· #7 · Jun 14, 2011

jimmyc13 said:
Thanks, that's exactly what I want to do, but it's not clear to me how you install the switch onto the blank plate. How do you get access from behind the dash part to get the wiring/switch in/do you need to take the dash off entirely? Partially? Any idea how much room is behind there? Any help is most appreciated!

Thanks,

Jim

Sorry, but I'm a little confused by your question, so I hope I'm answering correctly.

The blank pops out and you do what you need to and then pop it back in. I was able to fish the wires I needed to connect under/through the dash without having to disassemble anything, but of course, this was on a Prius.

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jimmyc13

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jun 15, 2011

dgstan said:
Sorry, but I'm a little confused by your question, so I hope I'm answering correctly.

The blank pops out and you do what you need to and then pop it back in. I was able to fish the wires I needed to connect under/through the dash without having to disassemble anything, but of course, this was on a Prius.

That makes sense, didn't think it would be that easy! Though I need to see if the "mute button" switch that I want to install is small enough to fit thru the opening....that's a different story!

Thanks man.

Jim

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Infected

· #9 · Oct 21, 2015

Old thread revival:
Has anyone had any success popping out a blank?

I also want to add a button into one of the blanks.
I think I can just use a hole saw and drill through without removing one, but I'd really like to have it out of the car when I do this.

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