Bet I'm not the only one with this, ahem, feature in my british car (TR6
in my case).
The instrument lights are not very bright. They do exist however, as
evidenced by squinting in extremely dark conditions with the headlights
on and the rheostat turned to brightest (defintiely a relative term
here!). I am sure they can be much brighter, even so as to be useable in
night time driving. I am looking for ways to accomplish this.
Here is my situation:
The indicators for the wipe/wash and hazard lights are wired into the
rheostat according to my wiring diagram. These indicators are well lit
when the rheostat is on bright. They dim when the rheostat is on dim.
This is good. I am not sure if this behavior is indicative of a
different (strength??) current in these two bulbs, or if these two bulbs
are in better shape than the instrument ones, or what. But in any event
they are nice and bright.
The instrument gauge lights are a different story. The volmeter light is
out completely (I am sure it is a burnt bulb, haven't had a chance to
fix that yet although I am quite looking forward to the gymnastics which
will undoubtedly be involved). The other intruments' lights work but are
just really dim, although they do get brighter when the rheostat is
turned up. They just don't get very bright. I would like to make them
brigther.
In comparison with the indicators (wipe/wash and hazard) they are very
weak. I find it hard to believe all the instrument bulbs would get
"weak" at once while the indicator bulbs stay "strong" (excuse the
non-technical babbling). Perhaps because the instrument lights are not a
"direct" light source like the indicators (ie. the indicator bulbs are
directly behind the plastic things they illuminate while the instrument
lights provide light from the side)?
Also, I currently have the heater control light disconnected from the
circuit cause the console is out of the car. I am not sure if this, or
the fact that the volt meter light is not working at all are related to
the dimness but though I would mention it just in case. Also the car is
always in a dry garage (has been for at least 16 years) and is in decent
shape. Looking under the dash I see nothing but clean wiring. No rust,
not even a lot of dirt and/or dust.
I would like some info on how to proceed with analyzing this problem (or
if someone has already found a fix for the "weak" rheostat let me know).
I have a good multi-meter at my disposal and have good access to most of
the wires since my center dash support (console) is currently out of the
car. I am willing to try removing the rheostat if there is an overhaul
or testing procedure for this part (which seems to cost $$$. I assume it
is used to control the voltage passed to the lights and is passing a
lower than required voltage to the instruments (in which case why are
the indicators getting what appears to be suffucient voltage?).
Any ideas? Thanks for any info...
Peter Zaborski
76 TR6 (CF58310 UO)
Calgary AB Canada
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