Gauge light bulb spec?

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Noizemaker

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Hey all,

Quick question... Speedo light doesn't work. Worked once, doesn't come on anymore. All the other gauge and shifter lights work. I got the original owners manual with the car (64 Valiant) and I just spent some time reading it. It specs all the instrument cluster lights as type 57.

That's not a familiar bulb type to me. What's the modern replacement type for it, or am I just blind and not recognizing 'em on the shelf? My local parts store lists NO parts for my car so I'm on my own.

I'm sure I need to just clean some contacts, but in the interest of having everything I need in place, i'd rather have a bulb handy. :)

Actually... while i'm on it, what's the procedure for replacing the bulb? Unscrew the IP surround and drop it forward, or do I have to reach behind and cut my hands up?
 
Try This Guide. Click on-- Replacement Guide http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProducts/AutomotiveLighting/default.htm

Replacing these miniture bulbs can be a pain , then sometimes it's easy. The bulbs are in plastic holders, and being old the holders can break. The plastic tits break off, so be careful.

A lot easier with the dash out, but that's a job.

If I remember right, You turn them about a qtr turn Counter clockwise and then pull out. Most of the time, hard to get a hold of.

Once you get the holder out, the miniture bulb just pulls out of the holder.

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=124556

If you look about half way down this thread there is a picture of the back of a Dash. It shows two bulb holders, they are black, which is what you are looking for.
Hope this helps !
 
Thanks guys.

From the pic there, the bulb looks like the exact same thing that's in my Neon dash! Appreciate the info.
 
I am pretty sure my owners manual states the bulbs are a 194 in my 68 Barracuda Owners Manual. I went with a 168 because they are a little briter than the 194's.
 
dgc333 said:
I am pretty sure my owners manual states the bulbs are a 194 in my 68 Barracuda Owners Manual. I went with a 168 because they are a little briter than the 194's.
Click to expand...

Horse of a different color, my friend. The older cars used miniature bayonet base, lamps like the 194 are the "push in" kind
 
Awesome! I looked for 57s tonight at the parts store... O'Reillys doesn't stock them, apparently.

Oh well. As an aside, learned a valuable lesson tonight. When you're used to plastic dashboards you forget that metal dashboards and always-on ignition switches do not mix. I let quite a bit of smoke out of the wires. Whoops. Now to find out how to put it back in there...
 
Interesting,

I have my instrument cluster out, pulled a bulb and it is a GE158. (67 Cuda)

So I go searching to find out the brightness of this bulbs (Lumens) and it is 25 lumens and 3watts. Checked on the 194 and it is same 25 lumens but 4watts.

I notice they are T3.25 Wedge spec so I search for T3.25 Wedge and there are a bunch of those. http://www.elightbulbs.com/catalog_search_results.cfm?keywords=T3.25+Wedge

All the way to 10 watts! Although some are 7volts, 12v-14v.

I am going to give this one a try:

http://www.elightbulbs.com/Eiko-49031-1450X-Miniature-Automotive-Light-Bulb

Eiko 5 watt .357 AMP 14 volt T3.25 Wedge Base #1450X Xenon Miniature Incandescent Eiko Light Bulb Lumens????

10watt might be a bit much.
 
Rbob said:
...10watt might be a bit much...
Click to expand...

You might just find melted plastic.

Another thing to look for while reading "those charts" is stuff like projected lifetime

I noticed you last bulb--the 50 watter--only had a projected life of 200 hours

Let's put that into perspective: If you say, were "on the road" and drove 10 hours a day, that bulb would only last 20 days!!!
 
The pre-'66 holders aren't easily available. The '66-up holders take the all-glass wedge-base bulbs and fit the dash circuit board holes same as the earlier holders. Standard # SP500A if your circuit board holes are 1/2" diameter, Standard #HP4090 if they're 5/8" diameter. Use W3W bulbs (e.g., Sylvania 2821) if you want ordinary dim dash lighting, W5W (Sylvania 2825) if you want considerably brighter, WY5W (Sylvania 2827) if you want considerably brighter and a yellower green color (or amber, if you remove the blue plastic balloons inside the instrument cluster).
 
My obsessive/compulsive disorder got the best of me.

Brand Part # Lumens Watt’s Hours Price

GE 25837 75 5 700 7.99
GE 89239 39 5 1,700 5.99
GE 18442 50 5 2,000 1.99
GE 25962 38 5 1,500 1.69

Sylvania 34711 38 4 1,500 2.49
W/house06204 38 5 2,800 2.19
Bulbrite 715510 100 10 10,000 1.99
Litetronics32580 50 5 2,000 .80
 
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