Rev Counter light

[Jon S]

My F reg 350 I has got the upside down speedo and rev counter. All the time I have owned it the speedo illumination has always been much brighter than the rev counter. Over xmas I ve taken the dash apart to find out why. The bulbs are the same on both so I've stripped the clocks apart. The speedo faceplate is made of a glass type material that let's light through the digits but rev counter face plate is solid metal so the light can t shine through. The light can only shine round the edges so the numbers are in a shadow and it's difficult to read.

Are they all like this or is it just mine? Has any one done a modification to make the rev counter brighter?

Thanks
Jon

[GV]

Yes they are - mine is the same.

[The Hatter]

Mine, too. I'm glad you pointed it out, I was planning to remove the dash at some point to investigate.

[Jon S]

Thanks for the responses. Strange how clocks made by the same manufacturer can be made so one works well but the other doesn t. Looks like someone had investigated before cos the bezel holding the glass had been removed before.

Going to clean and lube the speedo while it's in bits cos it makes a clicking noise, though it might be the cable then scrape my knuckles getting the dash back together.

Cheers
Jon

[Wedg1e]

Be careful where you squirt oil in a speedo. If it gets between the spinning magnetic parts it'll act as a fluid coupling and you will be doing 160mph everywhere

[Jon S]

Thanks for the advice wedg1e. I've been dabbing the oil on the end of a cocktail stick ( knew I bought them for something) and a paintbrush!
Cheers

[The Hatter]

I wonder if you can get different wattage bulbs and the rev counter bulb should be higher power?

[Danny Hoffman]

I did read somewhere that this had been done intentionally (possibly at Peter Wheeler's request?), can't see the logic myself.

[Jon S]

You probably can put a higher wattage bulb
in but there still isn't much of a gap between the face plate of the rev counter and the casing for the light to shine through.

I wondered about putting something reflective Like tin foil to see if this would put more light on the face as the inside of the casing is sprayed white on mine. But it will probably look a bit toss and if it comes loose it could short out the rev counter.

[adam quantrill]

My Rev counter and Speedo are - like yours - the upside down type (in the 400SX) but are both the same brightness. However the clock is very dim - as it has stopped working too I shall upgrade the lighting when I fix it.

[ElvisWedgely]

I have the same clocks and they are all the same brightness, except the time clock which is very dim. In fact, its so dim, until recently I thought it wasn't working at all. Then, when I went to the BNG in Leeds, I drove in areas of total darkness and noticed that the clock does actually have a bulb in it that works. Good job I wear a watch.

Tony. TCB.

[chapperssx]

Hi Peeps Adam Oz2 seems to of solved the issues with of a lack of lighting in the dash with good affect..

[Oz2]

Hi Martin

thought i'd better explain

very easy,i,m am very much an autoelectric novice.....I just replaced the bulbs and holders with 12v 10mm green leds and the mudmap diagram shows how i replaced the useless fiber optic crap that illuminates the switches.

hope it helps and inspires, a good winter job

Adam

[adam quantrill]

Adam - good job - I've been considering a similar upgrade (probably just the clock first though). How do the LEDs/resistors behave with the dimmer switch - do they dim the same (about half brightness)?

[pasogrande]

Hi Adam,
A regular rheostat dimmer doesn't work with LEDs. You need something that regulates the pulse width. I have tried one like this on a different application:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/12V-8A-LED-Light-Dimmer-Br...

Wilf.

[Oz2]

Hi
I did that mod ages ago and have never thought to try the dimmer, mind you I wanted to brighten up the dash lights so I won't be wanting to dim them again.
I'll have a look though a d let you know.
Adam