Reply to "interior lights"

Stock instrument panel rheostats are indeed rebuildable if they are branded 'Benedetto'. With Panteras, odd parts abound in many cars. My '72 rheostat is a very well-built device with an unaccountably hair-fine (0.006"OD) connector wire inside maybe 1/2" long that can break from vibration or otherwise malfunction over 40+ years of service, cutting all current flow. Note the rheostat power wire only is ON if the parking or headlights are also ON. The rheostat affects all dash lights (except the speedo & tach bulbs), the light inside the e-flasher and the 'fasten seatbelts' warning light- 8 lights total.

On the back of the device are a couple of copper lugs (marked 'C' and 'D') that barely penetrate the case. These very short contacts are opposite the power-in and power-out spade-lugs and were apparently intended only as test points. A large soldering iron will be needed to put enough heat into them to hold solder. A short (1/2") 16-gauge u-shaped jumper wire soldered between the lugs restores power and one need not even disassemble the switch, only remove it from the dash for access.

An alternative is to simply connect the power-in and power-out wires with a double-female spade connector and completely bypass the rheostat function. This is one of my few successful almost-no-cost electrical mods, illustrated in the May 2006 POCA Newsletter.