Is everyone's heating and A/C controller backlight extremely dim? Mine is so dim I can hardly tell it has a backlight. The bulb is brand new so I don't what to think.

cc

 

Are you referring to the light that shines down from just above the center A/C duct?

 

Check the wiring and the new bulb. Sounds like the control is not getting the voltage needed to fully illuminate. Could be the wiring; could be the "new" bulb or an incorrect bulb.

I've seen "new" bulbs be bad right out of the box.

 

mine is the same as yours,wonder if they sell a bulb with more wattage?

 

Most C3s shine down from the top. The lamp is on the top of the console. I have to change mine...it went bad last summer.

 

Note also that it's a fish eye bulb, not a standard dash light type.....maybe that's his problem.

 

I put a white LED in place of the bulb--fits right in the hole. It makes a nice sharp pattern and has a blue/white look. Brighter too.

 

My bulb plugs into the bottom of the heat/ac control unit. Found that out in the AIM.

I'm curious where you guys have a light that shines down from. My small guage cluster only has lights for the guages. Nothing shines on my shift console.

Sounds like this must be an early C3 thing to have a bulb plugged into the back/bottom of the controller.

 

Your right, I think in 78 the dash was updated with a bulb that shines down on the console....I know my 82 had that setup....my 71 has the bulb in the console near the ash tray and provides very little to no light on the heat/ac controls.

 

That bulb is on the dash/gauges dimmer circuit, brightness is controlled by the headlamp switch.

 

Ok, so it's time to go on a hunt for a brighter bulb or a way to feed more power to the existing bulb.

Maybe a relay using the original feed as the low voltage source and a direct battery feed to power the bulb!

I have several extra relays laying around. Of course that presents a new problem...bulb life will shorten considerably and they are a PITA to change. That particular spool of wire must have been horribly expensive when my car was built in December 1971 because there's just enough of it to reach the hole if you don't move the controller too much. Otherwise it will pull out.

Well alrighty then, a brighter bulb it is. All I have to do is find one that fits the socket, fits the hole in the controller and is brighter...no problem!

You know, on my 65 my heater control was a pair of ***** on the center stack. No light needed.

Now I got two wheels each with it's own dial indicator but sharing a single dial, (if that didn't take some getting used to) a sliding blower switch with a separate circuit for the highest speed, vacuum tubing everywhere and illumination so dim it may as well not be there.

No wonder they added overhead lighting in 78.

You can keep your C5's and C6's. I'll take a classic Corvette with all of it's idiosyncracies any day!

That's why I traded a C5 vert for this wonderful piece of automotive history.

Let me know if you find a brighter bulb and I'll do the same if I find one first.

cc

 

Yes it is but that bulb is waaaaaaayyyyyyyy behind the other bulbs because when they are on full he's on about 1/4 at best.

cc

 

The early C3 has the bulb in the bottom of the a/c-heater control.

Mine is fairly bright but I still have problems reading the letters on the control. The letters are small and it is pretty far away from the driver's position. I have to lean forward or try and remember the order of the control High A/C at top and Defrost at bottom for left wheel - Cold at top and Hot on bottom for right wheel.

 

I bought the special bulb for the application and it is little brighter than if you use the typical "57" dash light bulb used everywhere else.

It is still not teribly bright.....

However, after driving my '69 for 31 years and 145,000 miles, I can easily feel where the wheels are set by feeling the rotation (and detents on the selection side) of the wheels from both ends of both wheels travel!!!

 

I've been thinking about doing that myself. Including the gauge lights.

What did you do to correct the voltage for the LED?

 

I bought one of those plug-in cigarette lighter power adapters for 3/4.5/6/9V and ripped the circuit board out of it. A resistor would have worked, but I didn't know at the time which one to get.

The gauge lights you can buy with resistors built-in--I'm ordering some as I write this.

http://superbrightleds.com