JimVT

I have always wondered why the Instrument lights on my 1989 944 are Dim. With the dimmer set to its highest point it seems the gauges are barely lit up.

I removed the cluster thinking I had a bad bulb. Turns out all 3 bulbs are OK. The painted plastic on the back of the cluster seems to be faded. Should I repaint that white so it better reflects the light onto the gauges?

Or has anyone else come up with a better solution?

Can I put in a higher wattage bulb?

Thanks Jim

josephsc

Remove the old reflective paint, install aluminum foil using double-side tape -- worked for me well.

Clark's garage on Instrument Panel Lights

apierce918

better yet, use aluminum duct tape

JimVT

Thanks guys, I had the same idea. I found some Foil Tape that I used on sealing furnace pipes. I sealed up the old faded/frosted plastic. See attached photos.

Can old bulbs get dimm over time? These bulbs say they are 2watts. Should I buy new ones? Or see if I can buy 3watt versions?

http://www.villageantiquecenter.com/...rschefoil1.jpg
http://www.villageantiquecenter.com/...rschefoil2.jpg

Thanks Jim

ATL944

I had the same problem, but I replaced the cluster all together.
http://www.procarparts.com/store-det...=onlinestoreDB

JayP

There's a FlamingEye LED kit that's reasonable... based in the UK but there's a supplier in the US. I've lost the link or I'd post.

There are cheap solutions but you get what you pay for, right?

Darwantae951

I never did like the look of those kits in our cars...

-Darwin

Kyle Donley

I did the foil tape fix. I don't really like the look of the reverse gauges but, that's JMHO.

Darryl92Cab

I did foil tape AND replaced all three bulbs with 3W Sylvania 194. I used a product from the stained glass industry called Brite Bak. A tremendous improvement if you want to keep it stock. Upon removal, I did notice some dark haze on the old bulbs. I decided to remove all the bulbs and do a quick swipe to clean them off, but the 3W helps and doesn't get too hot.

- Darryl

JimVT

I picked up some of those 3W bulbs at lunch. I applied the foil tape over the weekend. I am sure I will notice the improvement when I re-install the cluster.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Keithr726

Clean your grounds

jbrill

www.jageng.com has nice led kits, you can go whote, for a stock look. personally i went blue and it looks great!