Dash Light Brightness??

[MEK-Dangerfield]

Pics of the light bar.   Only 3 sections of the blue tinted areas.   Part number pic also.   

From my memory, that does NOT look like my light bar. I'll shoot a pic tomorrow for you to compare.

A stupid question, but the battery you used to check these lights, was it recently charged? As I said, I bypassed my dimmer switch, meaning the lights are getting the full 12 volts now and looking great. Even with 3 lights, they should light up your dash gauges well i would think if given enough voltage.


  Mike

[MEK-Dangerfield]

I'm back with a pic of my light bar. Notice 4 lights, with a 5th one off to the left for the switch panel. Could you be using a light bar from a standard setup? I have never seen one close up in person, but I know there is a difference. More lights=more light. 


  Mike

[GoodysGotaCuda]

the first dash light picture posted is what i have. they are wired in parallel, only thing you can do to possibly upgrade that is to change to higher wattage bulbs and add their own grounds (probably wont do much if anything at all there), and bypass the rheostat.

[DAYLEY/CHALLENGER]

Well the pic you posted Mike is really different.   My dash is from a 73.    Maybe that is the difference.  Anyway, I will deal with the lights later anyway.  Now that I got all my guages working and external lights, including a backup light, I am putting on the dash cap and installing the windshield and will start on the interior.   Now I am making progress!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bullitt-]

David, To add to your confusion, My Challey is an original '73 Ralley & my light bar looks more like MEKs with the exception of green rather than blue lenses.
Wade

[hemi71]

I soldered a jumper wire across the dimmer contacts.  But running the dash lights directly to a feed connected to the headlights would do the same thing.

I also soldered a length of wire to each light socket body and connected all of them to ground.  Never liked the factory method, too many variables.

Running a feed wire from the headlight circuit to the dash lamps is NOT a good idea. The headlight circuit is protected by only the fusable link (40-50 amps) or the internal circuit breaker in the headlamp switch itself. The wiring for the instrument lamps is designed for a max current of 5 amps or so. It's feed is derived from the radio ckt, fused at 5 amps. You short circuit a lamp socket, the wiring will burn up and possibly catch fire before the overcurrent protection in the headlite ckt. will protect it.

[GoodysGotaCuda]

Running a feed wire from the headlight circuit to the dash lamps is NOT a good idea. The headlight circuit is protected by only the fusable link (40-50 amps) or the internal circuit breaker in the headlamp switch itself. The wiring for the instrument lamps is designed for a max current of 5 amps or so. It's feed is derived from the radio ckt, fused at 5 amps. You short circuit a lamp socket, the wiring will burn up and possibly catch fire before the overcurrent protection in the headlite ckt. will protect it.

Then explain why i can go out to my 980 cranking amp optima, no fuse, and hook a dash light up to it....and nothing will blow. Sorry, that just doesn't make sense to me. You can wire it in that circuit if you feel, throw a 5a fuse into that circuit and you will have no issue. Current flow through a circuit is based off the resistance of the loads and the voltage applied to them. Ohms law,


Here are three lights hooked up to a 980amp 'circuit', however due to the resistance in that circuit, only 21amps goes through it.


I'll be more than willing to demonstrate, I'll gladly run three dash lights off my alternator output wire with the alt fully loaded with accessories (90a alt). 
 

[MEK-Dangerfield]

David, To add to your confusion, My Challey is an original '73 Ralley & my light bar looks more like MEKs with the exception of green rather than blue lenses.
Wade

Wade,

   Due to my lack of having any kind of talent for picture taking, my lens' appear blue, but I assure you the lighting is green from them.  

I'm still wondering if DAYLEY doesn't have a standard dash light bar.  


  Mike

[422STROKER]

Goody I think he was saying that if you had a dead short a 40-50A fuse would/could cause a problem.  I know what your saying about hooking up a lamp, but take the lamp out of the equation.  Take the wire size to the lamp and connect that from the POS to NEG post of your battery with a 50A fuse, see what gives first the wire or the fuse?  Check back in with us OK?

I think that if you tossed in a inline fuse holder on the bypass that would be a safer solution.

Tom

BTW don't really do that cause I don't want to see you ruin your battery or get hurt!

[DAYLEY/CHALLENGER]

Hey Wade and Mike.  My lenses look blue but when light is applied it is green. The light bar mounts up just fine with 6 screws and has one orange lead.  Maybe there were several different types used. 

[Bullitt-]

Yes, there are different types, yours may be from a standard dash  but the amount of light
should not be so different as to cause problems...maybe the pattern could be better and I guess that's why there is more than one type.   If it's a big issue keep an eye open for one, I know I've seen them on eBag for less than $20.

Some have recommended brighter bulbs and this may be doable but I would be cautious as to how much heat they might create.....wouldn't want to melt anything in there..
Wade

[GoodysGotaCuda]

Goody I think he was saying that if you had a dead short a 40-50A fuse would/could cause a problem.  I know what your saying about hooking up a lamp, but take the lamp out of the equation.  Take the wire size to the lamp and connect that from the POS to NEG post of your battery with a 50A fuse, see what gives first the wire or the fuse?  Check back in with us OK?

I think that if you tossed in a inline fuse holder on the bypass that would be a safer solution.

Tom

BTW don't really do that cause I don't want to see you ruin your battery or get hurt!

I wouldnt imagine someone adding a circuit to something without properly fusing it. If its the headlight circuit, or any other was my point. A simple fuse is the solution, not just anywhere but the headlight circuit.

[422STROKER]

I wouldnt imagine someone adding a circuit to something without properly fusing it. If its the headlight circuit, or any other was my point. A simple fuse is the solution, not just anywhere but the headlight circuit.

I agree with what you are saying.  I can imagine lots of people not fusing things properly!  See it on a regular basis in my day job.

But I have also seen what people can do to these cars...  Never mind putting in a fuse or not.LOL

Tom

[GoodysGotaCuda]

 

[hemi71]

Then explain why i can go out to my 980 cranking amp optima, no fuse, and hook a dash light up to it....and nothing will blow. Sorry, that just doesn't make sense to me. You can wire it in that circuit if you feel, throw a 5a fuse into that circuit and you will have no issue. Current flow through a circuit is based off the resistance of the loads and the voltage applied to them. Ohms law,


Here are three lights hooked up to a 980amp 'circuit', however due to the resistance in that circuit, only 21amps goes through it.


I'll be more than willing to demonstrate, I'll gladly run three dash lights off my alternator output wire with the alt fully loaded with accessories (90a alt). 
 

I think I know about Ohm's law...I'm an electrical engineer. Been working on safety sensitive railroad signal systems and traction power systems for 25+ years.

 Do you know what a short circuit is? What is the resistance of a short circuit? Let me tell you, it's ZERO ohms. What is the current when flowing thru zero ohms?  It's the maximum capacity of the source (theoreticaly it's infinite current). So if a lamp socket shorts out (as i pointed out in my first post), and you wire the dash lamps (which use #18 wire) to the headlamp ckt you are asking for a problem. Tha capacity of #18 wire is around 5 amps. The headlamp ckt's is set up to supply at least 30 amps. If thats not a potential problem to you, then you dont know any better. The wire will become the fuse and melt, thats what a fuse does, it melts when it blows. I'd like to see your little experiment with a battery and #18 wire and a short ckt....you would not be smiling when it was over if you held that #18 wire in your hand.

When people modify these car's electrical circuits and dont know what they are doing, that's what causes dash fires and other problems. The post i responded to did not say an inline fuse would be utilized. I'm just trying to help someone from doing something to their car that might set up a potential disaster.

As said by someone else in this thread, I've seen plenty of hack jobs on electrical systems on these cars thru the years.

By the way, if you are going to modify the inst lamp ckt feed, better to run it off of the tail lamp ckt or parking lite ckt with a 3 amp fuse inline or tap it off of the fused side of the ckt. The headlamp ckt is hot only when the headlites are on....if you have just the parking lites on, you will have no instrument lamps. The best solution is to replace the instrument dimmer and repair the ckt if there are any other problems, 2nd best is to jump it out. Fix things the right way, anything else is just a bandaid.