At night, my dash/gauge lights are hard to see.
01-30-2004, 01:57 AM
#2
Rennlist Member
Unfortunately not a whole lot.
However, you can pull the gauges and make sure the bulbs all work and/or aren't 'blackened'. Mediocre is all you'll get . . .
todd
86 Coupe
However, you can pull the gauges and make sure the bulbs all work and/or aren't 'blackened'. Mediocre is all you'll get . . .
todd
86 Coupe
01-30-2004, 02:33 AM
#3
Your bulbs are old, weak and dirty. Get new ones in there. It isn't as grim as mentioned above. I know that because there is a noticeble difference right now between my 80 and 88. I can barely read the odometer in my 80. The only reason I haven't done anything about it is because I am lazy.
01-30-2004, 02:26 PM
#4
Addict
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
427,
Had the same problem, looked into a higher wattage bulbs but could not find anything. I ended up replacing all the old, original bulbs with new of the same wattage and replaced black gauge faces with white. It made a big difference at night.
Had the same problem, looked into a higher wattage bulbs but could not find anything. I ended up replacing all the old, original bulbs with new of the same wattage and replaced black gauge faces with white. It made a big difference at night.
02-01-2004, 04:33 PM
#7
Burning Brakes
North Hollywood Speedomter has been retrofitting the gauges with LEDs. The difference in brightness is staggering. I saw them at the German Auto Fest last year.
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02-01-2004, 04:42 PM
#10
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Well Scott,
I've been waiting for the magic bullet for a few years. I have a spare bulb socket and will someday try to match it up to another socket that will fit with a higher watt bulb. That's my only bright idea..
I've been waiting for the magic bullet for a few years. I have a spare bulb socket and will someday try to match it up to another socket that will fit with a higher watt bulb. That's my only bright idea..
02-04-2004, 01:30 PM
#11
Rennlist Member
I have not tried this, but it's a thought.
The dash lights run thru a dimmer that is part of the headlight switch. Most dimmers are at best 95% efficient. That means when set at the max level the lamps are operating at 5% under their rated voltage. This translates to a less bright and slightly more yellowish light output.
So the "bright" idea is, if you can live without the dimming feature, just bypass the dimmer output and connect the dash lights to one of the non-dimmed terminals on the switch. I have not looked at the switch and the electrical diagram lately, but if I recall there are some empty terminals that might work without much modification required.
You could test to see if it makes a difference with a jumper wire from a hot terminal to the dash lights lead. I might even try this tonight.
I doubt the dash lights are much of an electrical load so they shouldn't cause a problem if added to another switch output. But if you think it helps and you find that you have connected to the headlight circuit, you would definitely want (need) to have a headlight relay kit installed. Can't imagine a problem if on the parking light circuit. Just don't put it on a turn signal circuit
Since the lamps will be operating at closer to their rated voltage, one down side of all this might be a little shorter lamp life and more frequent replacements required for the dash lamps.
As previously mentioned, change all your lamps first, you might find that is all you need to do.
Good Luck
Andrew
The dash lights run thru a dimmer that is part of the headlight switch. Most dimmers are at best 95% efficient. That means when set at the max level the lamps are operating at 5% under their rated voltage. This translates to a less bright and slightly more yellowish light output.
So the "bright" idea is, if you can live without the dimming feature, just bypass the dimmer output and connect the dash lights to one of the non-dimmed terminals on the switch. I have not looked at the switch and the electrical diagram lately, but if I recall there are some empty terminals that might work without much modification required.
You could test to see if it makes a difference with a jumper wire from a hot terminal to the dash lights lead. I might even try this tonight.
I doubt the dash lights are much of an electrical load so they shouldn't cause a problem if added to another switch output. But if you think it helps and you find that you have connected to the headlight circuit, you would definitely want (need) to have a headlight relay kit installed. Can't imagine a problem if on the parking light circuit. Just don't put it on a turn signal circuit
Since the lamps will be operating at closer to their rated voltage, one down side of all this might be a little shorter lamp life and more frequent replacements required for the dash lamps.
As previously mentioned, change all your lamps first, you might find that is all you need to do.
Good Luck
Andrew
Last edited by AJ88CAB; 02-04-2004 at 02:48 PM.
