Gauge lighting question?
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 464
Likes: 0
From: silverdale washington
Gauge lighting question?
So I probed every wire coming out of the rheostat for the interior light dimming switch and found out which one controls it. This is so my gauge lights dim with the interior lights on the factory switch. Now when my gauge lights are on it is to much of a voltage drop that all the interior lights dim by about half. and I only have a little adjustment before they go out. I have cut the dimming by about half by using leds in my gauge lights which draw significantly less power. Is there any other way of setting this up without installing another rheostat or losing the ability to dim my gauge lights? Surely somebody out there is as picky as me and likes the stock switchs and has to have all gauges dim the same. Thanks in advance.
Pro
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 591
Likes: 1
From: Moore South Carolina
it sounds like you may have tied into the dimmer reference signal that sends a signal to the other lighting circuits in the doors and consoles. That may explain why they are all dimming if the extra load is dropping the reference.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 464
Likes: 0
From: silverdale washington
I did. On purpose, that way I can dim my gauges with the rest of my dash. however my question is, is there another way of doing this short of installing an additional rheostat? The signal is so weak because all of the dash lighting is leds and they dont draw much power. So if you add more lights it drops the signal. Is there a way to amplify the power source going to my gauges from the stock dimmer, so that it also uses a +12v source without reverse powering my dash and overriding the dimmer switch? I know all my electrical engineering basics, but I dont know of products that do what Im trying to do. if that makes any sense.
Pro
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 668
Likes: 35
From: Lantana, TX
So I probed every wire coming out of the rheostat for the interior light dimming switch and found out which one controls it. This is so my gauge lights dim with the interior lights on the factory switch. Now when my gauge lights are on it is to much of a voltage drop that all the interior lights dim by about half. and I only have a little adjustment before they go out. I have cut the dimming by about half by using leds in my gauge lights which draw significantly less power. Is there any other way of setting this up without installing another rheostat or losing the ability to dim my gauge lights? Surely somebody out there is as picky as me and likes the stock switchs and has to have all gauges dim the same. Thanks in advance.
