QuestionQUESTION: I have a 65 t bird and my gauges dont light up.. I have replace all the light bulbs? any suggestions??
ANSWER: This is a very common problem with cars that don't get driven at night much. The problem is very likely a build-up of a coating on the surface of the nichrome resistance wire in the rheostat that controls your dash light intensity. To clear this up, you need to exercise the headlight knob by turning it through it's whole range of motion many, many times. If you do this at night, with the parking lights on so you can see what you are doing, you will see the dash lights begin to flicker as you rotate the knob back and forth - just keep it up until you get the full range of operation of the knob cleaned off. Then, remember to use the adjustment frequently when you are driving the car at night - this keeps the wire clean so the the intensity adjuster will work right.
If this does not cure the problem, you may have a bad fuse in the dash light circuit, or a failed headlight switch.
Dick
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: I will do what you recommend.. If i did have a failed headlight switch, would my headlights work? They both work fine.. High and low beams. All other light(turning, reverse, etc) work fine...
AnswerYes, this problem is not related to the headlights, tail lights, or any other lights. The headlight switch is actually multiple switches in one unit, with totally separate switch sections all controlled by the one knob. There is a separate circuit in the headlight switch for the parking lights, the tail lights, the headlights, the interior lights, and the dash lighting - these are all independent circuits.
The turn signals and the back-up lights and the brake lights are controlled by different switches.
Your dash light symptom is very common - I think there is a very high probability that the cause is as I described.
Dick
