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IFD 540 Night lighting problems...
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SB Jim View Drop Down
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    Posted: 11 Jan 2021 at 9:24am
I rarely fly at night these days as I am retired but I had the need to fly at night last week.

Much to my surprise the IFD 540 (new install in in Feb. 2015) was quite poor. The bezel and screen were so dimly lit they were very difficult to read. 

Checking the configuration page both were set to SENSOR. The other choices are DIM BUS (which does not work at all in my installation, I’m thinking the shop chose not to hook that up) or USER. I ended up selecting the USER option to fix the issue.

I am stunned at how poorly the SENSOR option worked on my unit. My very old CNX 80 has a sensor that controls the lighting beautifully. I’m wondering if something is amiss.

Anyone?
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oskrypuch View Drop Down
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Points: 2786 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote oskrypuch Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jan 2021 at 11:44am
I think something is amiss. My IFD shows up very nicely at night.

Below are my settings, just go into the System pages, and adjust yours to the same.




Edited by oskrypuch - 11 Jan 2021 at 11:44am
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SB Jim View Drop Down
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Points: 173 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SB Jim Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jan 2021 at 5:25pm
Thank you; I will give the System pages a try.

Is your IFD wired to your aircraft Dim bus?

I think mine isn’t - but was hoping to rely on the sensor as I do with my CNX 80.

Regards, Jim
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oskrypuch View Drop Down
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Points: 2786 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote oskrypuch Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jan 2021 at 6:41pm
It was installed a long time ago, but I'm pretty sure it was wired. I don't use the dimbus.

* Orest
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Rallylancer122 View Drop Down
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Points: 7 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Rallylancer122 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Feb 2021 at 7:37pm
I have a 540 and a 440 in my plane.  At dusk the 540 dims too aggressively and is difficult to see.  The 440 is fine all the time.  I checked the settings and turns out they identical.   Doh!

Point here is that apparently there is some variation in the sensors and what worked in someone else's plane, or perhaps  what your shop had used on previous installs, may not work on yours.
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skitheo View Drop Down
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Points: 130 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote skitheo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Feb 2021 at 12:38pm
Originally posted by Rallylancer122 Rallylancer122 wrote:

I have a 540 and a 440 in my plane.  At dusk the 540 dims too aggressively and is difficult to see.  The 440 is fine all the time.  I checked the settings and turns out they identical.   Doh!

Point here is that apparently there is some variation in the sensors and what worked in someone else's plane, or perhaps  what your shop had used on previous installs, may not work on yours.


I think you make a good point. Orest's settings are a good starting point for non-dimBus configurations. I had to tweak them to what works best for me. A recent 3 hr night flight allowed us to observe satellites passing overhead and a fantastic view of the Milky Way, yet still be able to read the map on the screen. Following is what I've had since some time between May 2017 and May 2019:
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