Troy Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 I have looked around with much dissatisfaction at a replacement solution to the dimness of the gauge lighting level. the rheostat seems fine, it's just that these old eyes of mine could use more light. Anyone out there actually do a lamp upgrade with part number, etc? (or is it really my rheostat?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetesPonies Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 Light switch ( rheostat ), IVR, poor grounds . . one of them or all of them :) You could see if you can get a voltage reading from on of the lights while turned on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1986F150Six Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 Light switch ( rheostat ), IVR, poor grounds . . one of them or all of them :) You could see if you can get a voltage reading from on of the lights while turned on. In my truck [1986 F150], with the guidance of Gary Lewis, the blue filters were removed and the bulbs replaced with Blue LED bulbs. This was done while at the 2016 OK GTG. The instrument needles were also repainted. The change was dramatic. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.ford-trucks.com-vbulletin/1995x1333/80-80_dsc_4732_30614f76ec986c96d46aaadcdcfb4f48eea61a51_cdf28934893922405b2a40371c67adcca3d092b7.jpg My son has a 1984 F150 and he is more of a purist. I removed the blue filters and replaced the 194 bulbs [clear] with 194B [blue] and it looked much brighter than it had been and probably much like it was, originally. The blue filters become opaque and restrict the light. https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/LMA194B?interchange=1 In both cases, we were well pleased. By the way, I removed an instrument cluster from a medium duty truck [same instrument cluster as ours], but the filters are light green and absolutely clear. I showed these to some of the guys who attended the 2017 OK GTG. If you want to try something different, you can have them for free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 In my truck [1986 F150], with the guidance of Gary Lewis, the blue filters were removed and the bulbs replaced with Blue LED bulbs. This was done while at the 2016 OK GTG. The instrument needles were also repainted. The change was dramatic. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.ford-trucks.com-vbulletin/1995x1333/80-80_dsc_4732_30614f76ec986c96d46aaadcdcfb4f48eea61a51_cdf28934893922405b2a40371c67adcca3d092b7.jpg My son has a 1984 F150 and he is more of a purist. I removed the blue filters and replaced the 194 bulbs [clear] with 194B [blue] and it looked much brighter than it had been and probably much like it was, originally. The blue filters become opaque and restrict the light. https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/LMA194B?interchange=1 In both cases, we were well pleased. By the way, I removed an instrument cluster from a medium duty truck [same instrument cluster as ours], but the filters are light green and absolutely clear. I showed these to some of the guys who attended the 2017 OK GTG. If you want to try something different, you can have them for free. Troy - Take it easy on the "old" comments. I'm 70. 😩 David - You act like I knew what I was doing. I thought we were learning together. 😉 Anyway, the change is dramatic. I did the same thing on Big Blue and now I can see the gauges. But, I might try white LED's next time as I'm curious what that will look like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oz EconolineF100 Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 Troy - Take it easy on the "old" comments. I'm 70. 😩 David - You act like I knew what I was doing. I thought we were learning together. 😉 Anyway, the change is dramatic. I did the same thing on Big Blue and now I can see the gauges. But, I might try white LED's next time as I'm curious what that will look like. Hi Gary Can you give me the part numbers for these globes please as I would like to try these in my F100 and Econoline as they both have very dim lighting in the night and do you know a supplier that may ship these O/S ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 Hi Gary Can you give me the part numbers for these globes please as I would like to try these in my F100 and Econoline as they both have very dim lighting in the night and do you know a supplier that may ship these O/S ? I used these from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Y1CFAB2/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1. I don’t know if they’ll ship to you, but any similar bulb should do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oz EconolineF100 Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 I used these from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Y1CFAB2/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1. I don’t know if they’ll ship to you, but any similar bulb should do. Thanks Gary you're a champion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Posted October 14, 2017 Author Share Posted October 14, 2017 Hi Gary Can you give me the part numbers for these globes please as I would like to try these in my F100 and Econoline as they both have very dim lighting in the night and do you know a supplier that may ship these O/S ? lol, but now I know it's not me just being curmudgeonly...I am not alone ;), and now I have something to tinker on. parts already added to cart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FoxFord33 Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 lol, but now I know it's not me just being curmudgeonly...I am not alone ;), and now I have something to tinker on. parts already added to cart Did you have to do something to the switch to limit the volts/amps or increase the ohms in order to make the LED's dimmable? I think I have heard something about that before... I am thinking of doing this, but want to maintain the original dim-sweep function. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 Did you have to do something to the switch to limit the volts/amps or increase the ohms in order to make the LED's dimmable? I think I have heard something about that before... I am thinking of doing this, but want to maintain the original dim-sweep function. We put in a resistor to put enough load on the rheostat to drop the voltage and, therefore, dim the LED's. But, David found that wasn't needed as he liked the lighting on high, so when I did Big Blue I didn't bother and the lighting is fine. I'll show you one of these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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