Dim Dash Lights

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70orangeswinger

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Is there a solution for dim dash lights? At least I think they are abnormally dim. I thought replacing the circuit board regulator would help but now I am unsure. Any help out there? I have a 70 Swinger 340 with rallye dash.
 
Mine were dim also. Replaced them with LEDs. Still have car on stands so I can't say how good they are. Others seem to like them though.
Yote
 
Do a search on this forum for( led dash bulbs) that will give you several options not just what I used. Don't know how mine will work yet. The other bulbs I got for the tail and brake lights only lasted from 1/2 to 30 seconds.
Yote
Ps, I used the green ones, like the color , hope they last. Don't get the cheap ones I did. LOL
 
Forget the generic no-name garbage you can buy all over eBay. Spend the money to buy legitimate bulbs so you can do the job once and never have to do it again.

Now there are finally(!) some(!) legitimate and good-quality LED retrofits: these (2-pack) and these (1-pack).

Take note, LED means Light Emitting Diode. A diode passes current in only one direction, not both like a filament. So it matters which way round the bulb is installed in the socket (or the socket in the circuit board). If the LED is installed backwards, it won't light when it should. If there are other LEDs in the system (as there are in the dashboard) then just one backwards LED can create weird new paths for electric current that shouldn't be there, causing a no-light or no-light-when-supposed-to or light-when-not-supposed-to situation.

So, fashion a jumper to ground the cluster properly (when installed in the dashboard it grounds via dashboard metal). Install one LED bulb/socket assembly. Try it out to see if it works correctly. If it doesn't, remove it, turn the bulb or the socket (not both!) 180°, and reinstall it so it works. Then move on to the next one: install one more LED bulb/socket assembly and try it out. Proceed this way until all the bulbs are installed and working.
 
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You can install LED lamps but that still does not solve the underlying problem of having a potential voltage drop at your dash. You've got a resistance path somewhere in your wiring and you should find it first. There are a lot of threads on this subject here on FABO.
 
cudajim said:
You can install LED lamps but that still does not solve the underlying problem of having a potential voltage drop at your dash.
Click to expand...

Except it kinda does. LEDs take much less current than filaments, so enough current to run them at full brightness will tend to get through even an imperfect circuit. Think of it like running water: if all you need is a trickle of water, a very small pipe will do just as well as a large one…it's only if you need more waterflow that the small pipe is going to make problems. The stock bulbs (158 or 194) take 4w apiece. The linked LED bulbs take 1w apiece. So if you've got five illumination bulbs in your dashboard, not counting indicators, that's 20w for the original bulbs or 5w for the LED bulbs, a 75% reduction in current draw, which is going to make most of the resistance in the circuit irrelevant. Of course if it's really bad, like the dashboard light rheostat in the headlamp switch is severely corroded or worn out, then yeah, bulbs won't help.
 
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lights 1.jpg
You could install FABO member crackedback's headlight upgrade. Your dash, rear tail lights and head lights will benefit from it.
 
FYI the voltage Regulator in the dash has nothing to do with the dash lights. Only supplies voltage to the Gauges.
 
d1970 said:
You could install FABO member crackedback's headlight upgrade. Your dash, rear tail lights and head lights will benefit from it.
Click to expand...

While headlight relays are a good idea, the tail, park and dash lights are on a separate circuit
 
67Dart273 said:
While headlight relays are a good idea, the tail, park and dash lights are on a separate circuit
Click to expand...

You are correct, however, the wiring has more available amps/voltge to fire those lights with the headlight removed from the bulkhead/welded splice. That's why the instrument panel and marker light get brighter.
 
crackedback said:
You are correct, however, the wiring has more available amps/voltge to fire those lights with the headlight removed from the bulkhead/welded splice. That's why the instrument panel and marker light get brighter.
Click to expand...


LOL. Well "technically" correct but if this is the case, then the light kit was not the "cure" only a "change in symptoms". In that case the usual MAD article and bad bulkhead / ammeter connections need fixed

I give ya kudos on your headlight / relay kits those are a good setup.
 
Come on Del...

If you have a 10ga wire and pull 30 amps through it you have a certain amount of voltage drop over the run length. What happens to voltage drop if you reduce the amp load by removing a draw (headlights and say 10+ amps) from the same run? Everything on the run now has more voltage, which OEM style light bulbs like.

Running the Mad solution does not always help, in some cases it's not as good as oem with one 16ga fusible link, longer run lengths to fusebox/welded splice. You are still feeding the same loads, through the same size wire. The exception is reduced potential resistance at the bulkhead.
 
crackedback said:
Running the Mad solution does not always help, in some cases it's not as good
Click to expand...

That's because the Chevyheads at Mad Electrical propose a halfаѕѕеd "solution" that addresses 1/2 the problem, at best. The way you (Crackedback) and I do it addresses the whole problem, all the way. I long ago stopped counting the number of times I've had someone write to me along the lines of "I did the Mad Electrical upgrade and I still have the following problems…". It's often enough that I keep canned text describing the actual fixes and how to do them.

It's really not more difficult or costly to do it right, and yet people who know enough to know better keep on parrotting "Mad Electrical, Mad Electrical, Mad Electrical".
 
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The mad modification works just fine so long as it's actually done. Frankly I doubt you have even fully read the article. THE POINT of the article is if nothing else to make people THINK before they put an 8+ amp alternator on an otherwise stock sytem

**** I did a "partial" mad upgrade in about 1972. You will notice this was BEFORE Al Gore invented the internet. My old 70 decided to tear up the bulkhead terminals. I drilled them out and ran larger gauge wire through the holes, then tore into the cluster and soldered up the poor connections in the ammeter shunt to stud connections. I knew about this **** before Mad electrical ever came along.

You'll notice Dan doesn't come up with much unless there's a price tag attached.
 
Yup, there is that whole E=IR thing. Someday I'll convert to led's since my bulbs always burn out at the most inconvenient times.

slantsixdan said:
Except it kinda does. LEDs take much less current than filaments, so enough current to run them at full brightness will tend to get through even an imperfect circuit. Think of it like running water: if all you need is a trickle of water, a very small pipe will do just as well as a large one…it's only if you need more waterflow that the small pipe is going to make problems. The stock bulbs (158 or 194) take 4w apiece. The linked LED bulbs take 1w apiece. So if you've got five illumination bulbs in your dashboard, not counting indicators, that's 20w for the original bulbs or 5w for the LED bulbs, a 75% reduction in current draw, which is going to make most of the resistance in the circuit irrelevant. Of course if it's really bad, like the dashboard light rheostat in the headlamp switch is severely corroded or worn out, then yeah, bulbs won't help.
Click to expand...
 
The rallye dash has only 4 illumination bulbs in a straight line across the center. 2 middle ones are so close to the center pod that half the emitted light can be blocked.
With a white plastic blank in the center pod, some middle light is redirected. The performance indicator ( vacuum gauge ) is nearly see through or hollow so it is the best option for lighting.
Worst options from lighting stand point is tach or clock. These are solid bodied like the blank but... their flat dark color absorbs a lot of the light that hits them.
Gotta tach ? Wrap white tape around it and marvel at the difference, with any bulb type.
 
I'm late to the party but very grateful to find this info on LED options. Thanks Dan and others, great to have your recommendations on this perennial problem!
 
d1970 said:
View attachment 1714930559 View attachment 1714930560 You could install FABO member crackedback's headlight upgrade. Your dash, rear tail lights and head lights will benefit from it.
Click to expand...
I noticed that d1970 added the white face to his gauges which I'm sure helps tremendously but my question to all of you guys when you install these LED lights do you take the blue plastic inserts out of the metal dash frame or do you leave them in?
Pat
 
Good question, I've been wondering the same... does it help to remove the blue plastic caps that shield the bulbs?
 
If you use the legit LED bulbs I linked, you can remove the blue plastic balloons for a bit more light reaching the gauges.
 
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