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I recently got the dash of my 75 back together only to find one of the bulbs is out,it's on the far right of the tach. Does this thing have to come completely apart to replace that one bulb or can it be accessed from the bottom of the dash?
You might be able to reach it from underneath if you have small enough fingers. Otherwise you can slightly lower the steering column and remove only the gauge panel to gain access to all the lights.
Id also recommend replacing the bulbs with LEDs. I did it on my 76 a few months ago and love the blue backlighting rather than the yellowish green it was before.
You might be able to reach it from underneath if you have small enough fingers. Otherwise you can slightly lower the steering column and remove only the gauge panel to gain access to all the lights.
Id also recommend replacing the bulbs with LEDs. I did it on my 76 a few months ago and love the blue backlighting rather than the yellowish green it was before.
Wow. The LEDs look sweet! I may have to do that as well.
Make sure to get LEDs that are not polarity sensitive. I like Superbright LEDs. You enter your year, make, and model, then each bulb is crossed referenced to a corresponding LED.
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
There are amperage dimmable bulbs but harder to find. I believe the leds usually use voltage, hence the issues with dimmimg and turn signals with older cars. And you need a led turn signal and hazard relays....
Superbright LEDs are great. I found that the two ears that hold the bulb in the socket when you twist it are not quite as long as on the original bulbs. As such, the LEDs can pop out of the sockets and into your gauges, which creates additional headaches to retrieve them.
You might be able to reach it from underneath if you have small enough fingers. Otherwise you can slightly lower the steering column and remove only the gauge panel to gain access to all the lights.
Id also recommend replacing the bulbs with LEDs. I did it on my 76 a few months ago and love the blue backlighting rather than the yellowish green it was before.
I did the same, love it, mine has that green color.
I did LED's also in my '77. Very happy with my decision. I got mine off of Amazon and had no issues with polarity. Used Lt Blue for the gauges and white for the warning lights. I also painted the inside of my speedo and Tach cans white.
So your advice would be stay with the factory bulbs? I have a few burned out bulbs and need to replace them all.
I would never suggest not converting to LEDs.
Way back when I bought my first batch, bi-directional, dimmable, warm LEDs were not yet a thing. So I have warm LEDs that I had to check for polarity. You can barely tell they are on during they day, at night they look stock+. But they have that warm, retro glow.
There are much better options today, including dimmable, or you can replace the stock dimmer with a PWM module and make any LED dimmable.
One advantage of LEDs is that you get to pick your color and/or color temperature (3000K is warm, 6500K is harsh white light that will kill your night vision, for example). But the big advantage is that you can get the same, or more, lumens for a fraction of the current in your car's 50 year old circuits.
Originally Posted by Corvettedave02
I'm going with red LEDs so all the aftermarket gauges and stereo lights match. Was the only common color.
So your advice would be stay with the factory bulbs? I have a few burned out bulbs and need to replace them all.
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When I had the dash apart , I cleaned all the sockets, dimmer / switch, feeds and all terminals, I also ran a new ground to each side of the dash.
The gauges and Tech / Speedo are super bright with the stock bulbs,
The plus is that it looks natural , without the overflow of the light in the gauge face.
To each their own, I like the factory look and its bright enough that I usually durn it down some.
No. Go with the LEDs. Just make sure the LEDs are securely seated in the socket. If not, they will easily pop out and then fall into the the speedo, tach, or instrument gauge unit. Then the pain starts.
I found the Superbright LEDs not to fit very well, In fact, I had to remove the dash several times due to them falling out. I checked the 'ear tab' width on the bulb and sure enough they where narrower.
A question about dash bulbs.
