Brighter Dash / Gauge lights..?
- Thread starter nodemon
- Start date
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65TerrorCuda
Well-Known Member
LED's, really nice. Granted they'll probably quit working or get super dim before incandescent bulbs would, but I hardly drive at night
New head light switch- the terminals are clean (lol!)
If you change the bulbs for 198 bulbs they are brighter than the factory bulbs. I can not for the life of me remember the factory bulb number.
If you change the bulbs for 198 bulbs they are brighter than the factory bulbs. I can not for the life of me remember the factory bulb number.
Congrats on getting the dash lights to work. What was the final issue?
194's...?
#158
AJ/FormS
68 Formua-S fastback clone 367/A833/GVod/3.55s
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Hyup 198s in my dash too.
I used some LEDs. I had a bunch leftover also. If I can find em I'll let you have em. .I'll look tomorrow .If you want em.
LEDs work great!
Super-Cuda
MOPAR .. Move Over, Plymouth Approaching Rapidly!
Ok, here's what I suggest to help brightness. See the attachment for reference as this applies to rallye gauges but should also work for any cluster.
1. See those blue diffusers? Take them out and clean them very well. the dirt that collects in them over the past 50 plus years blocks light. Also, the old plastic gets cloudy with age and also blocks light.
2. Make sure when you put the blue diffusers back, they are sealed up tightly so they don't " leak" light.
3. Paint the whole inside of the housing bright white to increase reflectiveness
4. As was suggested by 65TerrorCuda, replace all the bulbs with Leds . they will last way longer than incandescent bulbs and are brighter.
5. Clean the gauge faces and the white markings on them.
6. Polish the clear lenses.
I will definitely try the LED's.. I recently had my cluster completely torn down and cleaned everything, as well as sand, buff and polished the lenses. I even painted the needles.
I didn't, however, repaint the housing as it looked pretty good..
Yup! 194 not 198. Sorry. Moving too quick this am.
If that offer was to me, that would be awesome..! Those bulbs are a bit pricey I think, so I'd definitely give you something for them.
Not really sure..lol except I changed ALL the bulbs and replaced a socket that had a broken tab and wasn't making contact. Not sure it that circuit board works like the old Christmas light strands, where if one bulb burns out, the whole strand isn't working, but maybe that one socket was the issue ??
I still have a problem with the dimmer though, but probably just worn some and not good contact. Is it normal to turn that dimmer switch all the way to the left, where it "clicks" and the dash lights stay on..? I can't remember if that's normal...lol
New headlight switch arrives tomorrow...although, I have several OEM ones and they all seem to work the same.
I went with these bulbs and they are dimmable with the knob. They are pricy but I’m hoping Sylvania is a cut above the no name LEDs on amazon. I only replaced the gauge lighting not things like turn signals, high beam indicator, oil and brake light
Tons of cheap LEDs on Amazon. Just pick one with good reviews.
I’m willing to chance it with cheap LEDs on things like dome light, trunk lights, etc.. ones that are quick and easy to get to and change.
Pretty sure turning the knob all the way left past the click turns on the dome light. Turning it to the right decreases backlighting brightness
FEATHERDUSTER76
The Feather Duster is Mopar's Light Weight
Correct on light switch CCW to the click turns on dome light . I bought My LED lights on e-bay and They have been in cluster for over 4 years now and R Great haven't had to change any yet
New M&H wiring throughout, new dimmer switch, new headlight switch, new circuit boards and still had dim gauge lighting. Cracked backs headlight harness was the answer for me. Wish that he was in better health, I would order two more of his harnesses for my other cars. Led's did nothing for me, I did not try 194's.
@moparmat2000 has a neat set up where he lines the inside of the housing with a rope-light of sorts.
Simple test if you're concerned about instrument panel light intensity...like I am! My 71 Demon is darn near impossible to see the gauges at night. So since we know the dash lights are fed from the rheostat on the headlight switch (rheostat feeds the instrument panel fuse in the fusebix), we can bypass the rheostat by a simple alligator clip jumper wire feeding the fuse with a straight 12v.
Pick another fuse that has 12v on it and clip to it then clip the other end to your instrument panel fuse. That bypasses the rheostat and makes your dash lights as bright as they're gonna be since full voltage is applied. It also tells you if you need a new headlight switch if the dash lights are brighter than they were when being fed thru the headlight switch.
In my case, I need a new headlight switch but even with the 12v applied as noted above, I've decided that the gauges are not bright enough for me. So I'm in the process of replacing the 194 dash bulbs with LEDs. I got the new headlight switch at O'Reilly's and the LEDs have been ordered online at Superbrightleds.com.
Pick another fuse that has 12v on it and clip to it then clip the other end to your instrument panel fuse. That bypasses the rheostat and makes your dash lights as bright as they're gonna be since full voltage is applied. It also tells you if you need a new headlight switch if the dash lights are brighter than they were when being fed thru the headlight switch.
In my case, I need a new headlight switch but even with the 12v applied as noted above, I've decided that the gauges are not bright enough for me. So I'm in the process of replacing the 194 dash bulbs with LEDs. I got the new headlight switch at O'Reilly's and the LEDs have been ordered online at Superbrightleds.com.
I'll see if I can find them this morning and let you know.
Again, appreciated..! but I actually had some delivered and at my door at 5 am.. Amazon is incredible...lol
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