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Gauge Light Dimmers

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Mickey Richaud

Mickey Richaud

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Does anyone really use them? Reason I ask is that in building the Victor TF, I'm trying to decide whether to add a rheostat for the gauge lights. I cannot for the life of me remember the last time I used the dimmer; and when I did, I think it was just to see if it worked, and how much difference it made.

There's not a lot of room on the dash panel, and my preference is to leave it off to avoid cluttering up the layout.

So how useful is a dimmer to you?
 
I have never dimmed the dash lights on a British car. The Mini didn't even come with a dimmer. There was/is a simple toggle switch to turn the dash lights on or off.
 
I bypassed mine on the Midget - though I did add an inline fuse
 
Really talking generically here; does anyone use them at all... on any car?
 
Use it here. My Nissan Altima automatically dims panel lights when I use the headlights.

So I use the manual dimmer to raise the lights back to max brightness.

(I guess that's using the dimmer to negate using the dimmer?)
 
I never touch mine.
 
Only if it makes them BRIGHTER! :encouragement: Hard to do when there's only Dim & Dimmer. :highly_amused:
 
Mick, couldn't even tell you if the Honda Ody or the BMW even have dimmers
That should answer the question for me
 
Footnote to my earlier post:
My wife used to drive our GT6 when she was in high-school and college. She didn't even know the car had a dimmer. The dash was dark and she just assumed the lighting (if there was any) was broken like most of the gauges on the car. Her dad had somehow turned the lights all the way down and never told her.
 
My EType has a (I think three way) switch Off, Low and Bright). I would usually set it to low just so the bulbs would last longer.
 
Dim, flicker and off, right?
I use them on the Jag, altho brightest is still difficult to see unless on a country road at oh dark thirty.
50's have switches for on and off, as does the Willys (factory).
Exploder has them and I use them all the time.
 
Never have used that feature. Perhaps if I did a lot of night driving I might (though I don't like night driving for long distance anymore)...
 
I put LEDs in the TF and what a difference! Now the instruments are actually readable. :encouragement: PJ
 
Hey Mick, on a road trip to DC.
I found the dimmers in my Ody!
 
On the LBC's the dimmer has always been cranked up to max, even that makes the panel minimally visible. In "modern" cars, I'll dial the lights down for less distraction. Are "dimmable" LED's available yet as replacement bulbs to fit our LBC's? I haven't looked.
 
LED's
slippery road started hear
But it is nice have them on several cars now.for brake and turn and park
bulb prices are peanuts on amazon but you will need a appropriate flasher or load resistor
have not seen any dimming yet but really I don't drive my Bugeye or ElCo in the dark .
 
DrEntropy said:
On the LBC's the dimmer has always been cranked up to max, even that makes the panel minimally visible. In "modern" cars, I'll dial the lights down for less distraction. Are "dimmable" LED's available yet as replacement bulbs to fit our LBC's? I haven't looked.
Click to expand...

You need special dimmer switches for the LEDS
 
I use the rheostat all the time. I keep the dash lights down to maybe one notch over the bare minimum. You'll find that your night vision is better because there is less glare coming from the dash. As a musician who spends a LOT of time driving at night, I find keeping the cabin lights low makes it easier to pick things out at a distance, like deer crossing the road at the very edge of your headlight throw.

My Nissan Rogue also has a rheostat for the daylight display. Glare is less of an issue during the day, but I still prefer keeping the dash only about 50% illuminated...any brighter seems distracting.

My '69 Sprite has no rheostat, just an on/off toggle on the steering wheel. I converted to LED dash lights, which are brighter, but still nowhere in the league of a modern automobile. Still, there are nights when I'll be driving with the top down on an unlit road where I'll toggle the dash lights off. I can pretty much tell by the engine speed where I am on the tach and how fast I'm going. That is a pretty wild experience, with only your headlights providing any kind of lighting. Great for watching fireflies zipping overhead -- they look like shooting stars.
 
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