Instrument panel lights really dim
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Junior User
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 61
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From: Arvada, CO
Instrument panel lights really dim
83 E-350 (yeah, I know - it's not an "F" but this forum is more active than the van forum and it's the same/same instrument panel, right?) Anyway, instrument panel lights are dim. They go from dim to really dim to off with the dimmer switch. They don't appear to have any darker spots that I would think indicate burned out or missing bulbs ... how hard to remove the instrument cluster or are the bulbs accessible from under the dash?
Logistics Pro
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 3,826
Likes: 101
From: Martinsburg, WV
If it is the asame as the trucks, than it is just a matter of pulling a handful of phillips head screws and popping the speedo cable and the wiring harness. I pulled mine and removed all the darn blue caps over the bulbs, and went with green 194's from the parts store. It has clear 168's under the blue caps which is a dimmer bulb. I have a nice even light all the way across the cluster.
Posting Guru
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,635
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From: Niceville, FL.
If they have the blue translucent covers like the F-series get rid of them and buy colored bulbs.
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Post Fiend
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 8,786
Likes: 28
From: Northern California
The 1975-1991 Econoline Van shares the same instrument cluster as the 1973-1979 F-series pickup, with a few differences between years for printed circuts, etc...
They share exactly the same problems as our 1980-1986 trucks, because although they are designed and look different, they function exactly the same.
removing the filters over the illumination bulbs and replacing them with colored bulbs will indeed help.
The Eraser trick, and making sure the light switch instrument cluster resistor is functioning properly are also points to look at.
Hope this helps.
They share exactly the same problems as our 1980-1986 trucks, because although they are designed and look different, they function exactly the same.
removing the filters over the illumination bulbs and replacing them with colored bulbs will indeed help.
The Eraser trick, and making sure the light switch instrument cluster resistor is functioning properly are also points to look at.
Hope this helps.
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Junior User
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 61
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From: Arvada, CO
yep - blue bulb covers in the cluster - but the frugal - ok, cheap - SOB in me decided there had to be another way to brighten things up without a trip to the parts store for new bulbs. So, I put the bulb covers to the bench sander and thinned them way down so they let a lot more light thru. The calibrated eyeball says I got them "good enough"!!!
Thanks!
Thanks!
Senior User
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 121
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yep - blue bulb covers in the cluster - but the frugal - ok, cheap - SOB in me decided there had to be another way to brighten things up without a trip to the parts store for new bulbs. So, I put the bulb covers to the bench sander and thinned them way down so they let a lot more light thru. The calibrated eyeball says I got them "good enough"!!!
Thanks!
Thanks!
Thread Starter
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Junior User
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 61
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From: Arvada, CO
the bulb covers fit over my fat thumb perfectly so stuck a thumb inside one, fired up the bench sander and gently sanded them thinner - took maybe 3-4 minutes per bulb cover (only 2) since I was being careful to not get them too hot and smear melted plastic all over. This plastic was hard enough that it didn't melt. The still retained a slight blue tint, but significantly more opaque than when I started.
If I ruined the bulb covers, I was really no worse off, because the next step I was going to do was to toss them and color the clear bulbs with a blue sharpie marker. If that ended up been too dark, I figured I was still no worse off than the original proposed fix of replacing the bulbs.
Hey - uncle.stosh - why a pen and not pencil eraser? I was an avionics tech in the Navy - way back in the vacuum tube days - and we used a pencil eraser to clean contacts (making sure the senior chief didn't catch us and give us a dressing down for not using approved maintenance methods)
If I ruined the bulb covers, I was really no worse off, because the next step I was going to do was to toss them and color the clear bulbs with a blue sharpie marker. If that ended up been too dark, I figured I was still no worse off than the original proposed fix of replacing the bulbs.
Hey - uncle.stosh - why a pen and not pencil eraser? I was an avionics tech in the Navy - way back in the vacuum tube days - and we used a pencil eraser to clean contacts (making sure the senior chief didn't catch us and give us a dressing down for not using approved maintenance methods)
MSEE
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 10,386
Likes: 35
From: Austin, TX
I'm going to add that if there is corrosion built up in your headlight switch, the lights aren't going to be bright no matter what you try because they're not getting the juice in the first place. The resistor in the dimmer switch is an old-fashioned coil with a tab that moves around it to shorten and lengthen it's effective resistance. After a while the coil can corrode or deform so that the tab actually loses contact. It doesn't stand the test of time.
