guages too bright - how to dim?

[subtlt]

I've got Westach gauges, boost and EGT (ya, I know, "eye candy") in my dual pillar pod, and now that I'm driving it at night, I've noticed they're too bright. The VDOs in the console are about right, but I'd like to dim down the Westachs in relation to the dash.

Is there a resistor or something (sorry, I'm electronically challenged) that I could solder in line in the pos or neg lead to the bulbs to dim them?

Any input welcome. Thanks!

 

[salvageV6]

You might try a 1 ohm 10 watt resistor in line with the power lead to the bulbs.

This assumes only one or two lamps total don't try to make all you lamps dim.

Or a junkyard dash dimmer control rheostat would also work.

If too dim with the 1 ohm 10 watt resistor try two resistors 1 ohm 10 watts each rated and tie them together side by side NOT end to end.

That should give you a one Half ohm resistor.

Perhaps radio shack will have them they used to carry that size power resistor.

They will get warm so make sure they have room to breathe and the wires are insulated well.

 

[roz930]

I'm certainly no wiring genius, but couldn't you supply power to the lighting of your gauges through the dash rheostat that feeds the rest of the dashlights? Good Luck!

 

[Nick Micale]

In the fuse block there is a tap for instrument lights that works off the dash light dimmer. Just get your power for the gauge lights from there and solve your problem.

 

[salvageV6]

Unless of course the original dash lamps are not the same brightness as the new Westach ones. I doubt they are.

Aftermarket are usually brighter.

Then if you ajust the dimmer you will have just right Westachs and impossible to see factory ones.

Might have to control them separately to balance them.

 

[tc86gn]

Why not try a few different bulbs? I changed a few that were too dim and found that there are some differences in the brightnesses of bulbs w/the same voltage.

 

[TType84]

put in 168 bulbs if too dim..

theyre a bit brighter than 194s..

oh yea those european spec .. i think "5w5" or something are supposed to be brighter than normal peanut bulbs.. so maybe try some.. sylvania.

 

[Roger]

I went to Wall Mart & purchashed about a square foot of window tint. which I aplied to the face of my fuel pressure digital gauge - looks great.

 

[scottyb]

Originally posted by Nick Micale
In the fuse block there is a tap for instrument lights that works off the dash light dimmer. Just get your power for the gauge lights from there and solve your problem.

Ditto that. The fuse is marked "INST" (?) at the top of the fuse block. Worked perfect for my boost gauge.

 

[subtlt]

clarification

Sorry, should have made it clear that they are tied in to the dash dimmer, they are just porportionately too bright. To get them right, I have to turn down the dimmer to the point that the dash is too dim.

I'll try the resistor as suggested. The bulbs in the westach are these tiny little LED sized ones, so swapping them out would be a challenge.

Also thought of using a marker to color the bulbs darker?

Thanks for all the ideas!

 

[Nick Micale]

Most gauges come with a little cover for the bulbs that you can put on to make them less bright. Just threw out some yesterday, but may have more if you need some?

 

[salvageV6]

If they don't get too hot you can use some yellow Kapton tape or some black electrical tape to mask some of the lamp off if you don't have or can't find the caps.

Westach themselves might have a source for dimmer lamps to change to.

Lotsa options and always check the temps. those resistors run at before you permanently hide them away.

Most likely you will need two of the 1 ohm in a parallel configuration.

Junkyard rheostat is the best idea for complete adjustability.

 

[BoostKillsStres]

You might try using a black permanent marker on the bulb just as a test to dim it a little.
HTH

 

[earlbrown]

just wire the two bulbs in series. that should dim 'em down for you.


earl