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Ok,taken out gauges,and besides cleaning up real good,the bulbs seem to be good or replace them,any tips is very much appreciated. This is what I found inside rattling around.
Yes, if you're all the way in there definitely replace all the bulbs. Incandescents tend to darken with age. Nice new bright bulbs will certainly help.
Cheers, Greg
Consider Warm LED bulbs from SuperbrightLEDs.com (or eBay). Just check the orientation before installing, if they aren't orientation agnostic. You may be able to reach behind and swap them after installation, too.
Get the Super Bright LEDs that are not Polarity Sensitive. Go to their web site, enter your year / model and it gives you the correct LED for each bulb, very simple, I have down three cars.
New, normal incandescent bulbs will really make a difference. And your dimming function will still work as intended.
LED's.
Your car wasn't designed with them in mind. Dimmable LED's are available. They will change the entire look of your gauges and tend to flicker when dimmed. Not to mention will cost heaps more than normal incandescent bulbs.
Some call them a upgrade.
Not all of us.
The printed circuit board harmonica contacts look like they are coming loose from the green sheet in a few places. If your gauges were acting flaky it would not surprise me. I got a new one on Ebay for $30. I did not want to have to go back in there again.
My 77 always seemed to dark even with new bulbs and new LED's. I wound up painting the blue backing plate of my center gauges, tach, and speedo white.
Made all the difference in the world, plus they dim if desired. I like the later oil pressure gauge, I may swap the clock for it.
New, normal incandescent bulbs will really make a difference. And your dimming function will still work as intended.
LED's.
Your car wasn't designed with them in mind. Dimmable LED's are available. They will change the entire look of your gauges and tend to flicker when dimmed. Not to mention will cost heaps more than normal incandescent bulbs.
Some call them a upgrade.
Not all of us.
I tried LED's on my truck a few years ago when they first became the craze. They lasted almost a year before they all started to burn out. Pretty disappointed and yeah, they didn't want to dim very well either. Went back to incandescent, no burn outs yet.
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If the plastic face of the gauges are scratched, fogged, discolored, while it's out I would replace that with brand new plastic / what a difference it makes. Usually after you take out & apart the center gauge cluster, like you have & put it back, you will soon be reminded it's not a job you want to do again unless you have no choice. It's a PITA project. Replace, repair, repaint, clean, etc everything you can while it's out / TRUST ME ............
Last edited by 427SIXPACK; Sep 17, 2023 at 11:13 PM.
Center gauge cluster
