dim dash lights 1973

dash lights still dim after new bulbs / whats my problem ? headlight switch

Common problem, LED bulbs are the best solution. HiPo seems to have the best.

https://www.hipoparts.com/

I just ordered a bunch of LED's from them!

If you have an alternator indicator lamp, do not replace it with an LED; the incandescent part of the bulb is an integral part of the circuit.

Also the blue screens are most likely very clouded and should be removed as well.

It is amazing the different with age. When my car was new you had to dim the dash lights. Now you can't see anything, lol. The defuse cap does not look that cloudy but something has changed.

Midlife. Is there a voltage regulator for the lights that could be sending too low of a voltage?

It is amazing the different with age. When my car was new you had to dim the dash lights. Now you can't see anything, lol. The defuse cap does not look that cloudy but something has changed.

Midlife. Is there a voltage regulator for the lights that could be sending too low of a voltage?

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Just the rheostat on the headlight switch.

Face it folks, our eyes are going bad and we simply can't see the way we used to.  It happens when you drink too much beer and every female you see looks great because the lights are so dim.

Interesting you brought that up. The Federal Highway Administration has lots of training they provide for state agencies. One that I attended many years ago was "Designing for Older Motorists". One of the things that was discussed was dimming and yellowing of vision as we get older, even without cataracts. I developed a cataract in my right eye due to a previous surgery and had cataract surgery for it. Now that my right eye sees clearly I can see how yellowish everything looks in my left eye. 20/20 in both eyes, but I can see better and brighter in my right eye, which is my "shooting" eye .

Also the blue screens are most likely very clouded and should be removed as well.

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How do you remove the blue filters? I've not been in there to see. My dash is also dim even with Leds the past owner put in.

Thanks for the info

Also the blue screens are most likely very clouded and should be removed as well.

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How do you remove the blue filters? I've not been in there to see. My dash is also dim even with Leds the past owner put in.

Thanks for the info

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Well, the dash gauge pod needs to be removed, not hard but be careful not to damage anything. The speedo has a little press tab to release it from the cable and the wiring plug also has clips to release it.  Once out, and if I remember, carefully disassemble the pod. Be very careful with the circuitry. The blue domes should then be able to be removed. On mine, I just needed to clean them and were good to leave in there.

As for your LED's, they're probably cheap Chinese junk. As mentioned, go to  Hi Po Parts and buy the Elite Series II SMD bulbs. They are way better than LED's and well worth a little extra. Also as Midlife says, do not replace the ALT bulb if you have idiot lights, it MUST remain a 194 incandescent bulb.

Geoff.

I worked at Cutler Hammer and when the LED came out one of the engineers was showing me how it used less electricity. He had put on a long wire so he could spin in a 5 foot circle. Turn the lights off in the room and you could see the on off with the LED spinning.

The other day I was working on the vert and had an LED flashlight and just by coincidence the fan was turning at just the same frequency as the LED was flashing and stopped it dead like a strobe or timing light. Did not look like it was turning.

I was a tool & die maker and in the shop they required that the florescent lights over the lathe be removed and incandescent be added. At the right RPM the lathe would look like it was not turning. Government figured someone would reach down and get slammed by the moving chuck. It was part of the OSHA inspections.