I have a reostat light dimmer that is in need of repair. The light dimmer reostat wire is all bunched up and is over heating. It would seem very easy to repair. However I have never done one before. Is there some one out that that might know of some of a good repair person? Maybe and old radio repair shop might do it?
The dimmer is really not needed as even in its brightest setting the lights are too dim. An easy solution is to put a jumper across the dimmer. That way the switch is eliminated electrically from the circuit and the lights will be at their brightest .... which will still be very dim Ivan
Why not just buy a new one? Should be possible to get the knob to fit most std ones, or you can get it from Maserati if they have one. Tried MIE? I ordered from them last week, and they had everything. Takes 5 days, and they arrive at my door in Oslo!! And cheap too.
When I first got my Bora I was looking to do the same thing and could never get the dimmer out of the dash. I just bypassed with the same exact results as Ivan. Dash lighting sucks in these cars. I did look into getting some brighter bulbs to put in the gauges but never finished the investigation. With those you would need a working rheostat. I would think that today there are More options like LED? Now if I could just keep the condensation out of the gauges as well ... I've got two different marques of cars that do this on the same brand of gauges.
Hi, For older cars with poor dash lighting, I have often wondered about using Fiber Optics in place of the bulbs. I have little knowledge of this, but at first glance it would seem to be an option. The problem with larger output bulbs seems to be heat, and I don't think that would be so with fiber optics...........Suggestions?
Fiber optics would be tough to install - you'd be replacing wired sockets with a not-too-flexible fiber cable which you'd then have to hold in place. I suspect the light output would be pretty directional unless you can find a diffuser to terminate the cable. LEDs might be a better option and there's a chance that there's a direct bulb replacement available. Dialight and Chicago Miniature Lighting make a range of them. LEDs are more efficient that incandescent bulbs so greater light output is possible without generating more heat. There are lots of variants of "white" LEDs (really blue with a yellow re-emitting phosphor) including "warm white" that approximates incandescent appearance. If you want colors other than white, red, amber, green and blue are available. The last time I drove my Bora at night, the alternator couldn't keep up with the radiator fans and headlights, so I was more concerned about reaching home than the dash lights, but as I recall, they weren't great. Maybe that will be the next project.
I finally got my dimmer switch back in good running order with the help of my friend. The wire used on this vintage dimmer is quite unique. Here I tough I could used just any plain coper 30 gage wire! The wire that is used here is not something you can find at your local Radio Shack, it has a resistance of 13 owms end to end. I managed to rewind the thing back up the way it was made back in the 60's Word of advise if yours no longer works.... make sure you keep as much wire as you can... It's key to get this baby running again. My light are nice and bright again : ) Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Much Brighter The bulb are nice enough where I can read all the gauges. If you disconnect the wire going to the dimmer switch the voltage should read near 11 Volts If you test your dimmer on the owm meter the lowest resistance you will get at the beginning of your coil is 2 the other side of the coil should be near 13 or 14 If your lights are too dim I suspect that you your dimmer copper contact are touching at the low end and the high end at the same time causing a short. There should only be one contact touching from 1 - 6 the front contact should touch and 7 - 13 using the be touching.
That resistance wire is similar to that used in fuel level senders. It can be sourced new from places like http://jacobs-online.biz/nichrome_wire.htm
