Newbie Dash Light question, -why so dim? Options

[smarens]

ok I have driven my 914 enough and tinkered enough to have confidence for longer journeys

-drove today in the dark, dash lights so dim I can barely see the needle/number on the gauges
-I have the light switched turn all the way up (which is clock wise, is that correct?)
-even the blue high beam light on the dash gauge I can only see at night, not in the day even when all clouded over

-normal or do I have some issue?

-don't think I can get and accurate picture of it to show exactly (tried but can't see without flash, and of course with the flash it looks like a daytime shot)

thanks, (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

[GeorgeRud]

The bulbs are not all that bright, but I'd check your battery voltage to be sure you're OK. If you want brighter bulbs, folks are using LED replacements that seem to work well ( though there is some concern about too bluish a light or the bulbs not being dim able). I sometimes think that the dim appearance of the instruments that I notice is more due to my 'vintage eyes' than any real change in the instrument illumination.

[smarens]

ok I have 13.6v, saw other guys doing the LED replacement, my eyes have faded a little to but boy is this thing dim, just wanted to be sure it was what I thought it should be and not something wrong, thanks

[Java2570]

Check out Timothy nd28, he does nice LED conversions for our dim gauges. I think a lot of the dimness
(other than the dim bulbs) is from the aging process of the gauges themselves. The insides and color
filters get gunked up and lose some brightness. I bought LED's from several sources and was a bit
lukewarm on the upgrade but it's an improvement at least. Tim's use of LED strips inside the gauges
is the best idea.

[Dave_Darling]

Several things cause this.

1- They are just plain dimmer than modern cars. Exterior lights (headlights, turn signals, etc.) are also dimmer than those of modern cars.

2- Drooping battery voltage will make them dimmer. Is the charging system OK?

3- Dirty contacts will cause the voltage at the bulb to be lower than it would otherwise be, which will cause dimmer lights. Cleaning every connection (power and ground) from the battery to the light and back to the battery, including the bulb socket, can help in many cases.

4- The bulbs wear, transferring some minuscule amount of the filament material to the glass. Replacing the bulb can give you a brighter light. (Probably also relates to corrosion or dirt on the contacts.)


If that's still not enough for you, the LED conversions can pump out a lot of light if you want them to. They can be dimmed, but you will have to build a circuit to do that--the stock resistor-based dimmer won't work correctly on them.

--DD

[914itis]

Yes Timothy_nd28 did mine. Great improvement.

[orthobiz]

I agree...Tim is the way to go! You can even see the lights in the twilight...

Paul

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/farm3.staticflickr.com-7438-1398901714.1.jpg)

[smarens]

I'm going to verify everything you guys said 1st (Dave's list), have a set of bulbs I think I will try while I'm at it, can't think of sending out my gauges now when I just started driving my new toy, maybe winter

thanks again this is a great site with awesome people and responses

[saigon71]

The dash lights, even fully functional, are dim. But they light up my dash enough to see all the gauges decently at night. Check to see if any bulbs are burned out and decide if you can live with it. The LED's look good.

[boxsterfan]

I'm going to verify everything you guys said 1st (Dave's list), have a set of bulbs I think I will try while I'm at it, can't think of sending out my gauges now when I just started driving my new toy, maybe winter

thanks again this is a great site with awesome people and responses

I replaced all of my bulbs. It helped some, but not that much. Probably not worth the money. I will be going LED someday in the future.

[Mblizzard]

Check with Tim he may have a completed set that he could send so that the down time is very minimal.

Just to be sure, I know that this is stupid to say but just in case! There is a dimmer function on the light switch. Verify that you have the dash lights at their brightest setting by rotating the light switch knob.

But I am here to tell you that you won't add anything better to the interior of your car than Tim's upgraded gauges. Huge improvement on safety and cool factor.

[Cap'n Krusty]

You might want to check the voltage where the dash light wire leaves the light switch. Clean/check the instrument grounds, as well.

The Cap'n