Is very dim with the rheostat turned all the way up. Is this a common problem, like maybe a bad ground?
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You could have a bad ground or a bad rheostat. The speedo and tach lights are poor at best, even with a good ground and a good (or no) rheostat.
John
John
Ok David, it's just wrong to post that shot without part numbers and vendor info. Your gauges look amazing! Details please! 
Mark
Mark
Veglia is the Italian equivalent of the British brand "Lucas". Both are known as "The Prince of Darkness". 
Here is my solution stolen from Space Cities Panteras web site. Go to Pep Boys and get some generic bulb holders from the electrical aisle, and bore two holes in your gauge bodies to accept the new lighting.
Here is my solution stolen from Space Cities Panteras web site. Go to Pep Boys and get some generic bulb holders from the electrical aisle, and bore two holes in your gauge bodies to accept the new lighting.
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I bypassed the rheostat, basically removed it from the circuit, by landing one set of wires on the same terminal as the other. Its not as attractive as the other options presented here, but it helped.
The rheostat is still there, but its non-functional.
-G
The rheostat is still there, but its non-functional.
-G
Mark,
I began my conversion to LED bulbs in my gauges by adding two extra bulb holders to my tach and speedo, as per John Taphorn's instructions. The only difference being, I added OEM style wedge base bulb holders. The bulbs I used were from SuperbrightLEDs.com and the part number is: WLED-GHP. These have a 120 degree beam pattern. For whatever reason, they worked very well in my speedo but not as well in the tach, which wasn't nearly as well illuminated by the LEDs. So, in an effort to increase the brightness of the tach, I added two more bulb holders but it still wasn't as bright as the speedo. Naturally, I then added two more bulb holders! I now have seven LED bulbs in my tach and three in my speedo. The results were amazing but it was tough getting there!
Since then, I've found a brighter, 360 degree beam pattern, LED bulb that fits the OEM bulb holder. It's from superlumination.com and the part number is: T10 Wedge - SMT Tower - Green - 194 Lens. SuperbrightLEDs.com has an almost identical bulb (part #: WLED-GHP5) but it needs to be filed down a bit to fit in the OEM bulb holders. I think if I had used these bulbs in the tach, it would have been equal in illumination to the speedo (with the WLED-GHP bulbs), without adding four more bulb holders and LEDs.
Hey, you asked !
I began my conversion to LED bulbs in my gauges by adding two extra bulb holders to my tach and speedo, as per John Taphorn's instructions. The only difference being, I added OEM style wedge base bulb holders. The bulbs I used were from SuperbrightLEDs.com and the part number is: WLED-GHP. These have a 120 degree beam pattern. For whatever reason, they worked very well in my speedo but not as well in the tach, which wasn't nearly as well illuminated by the LEDs. So, in an effort to increase the brightness of the tach, I added two more bulb holders but it still wasn't as bright as the speedo. Naturally, I then added two more bulb holders! I now have seven LED bulbs in my tach and three in my speedo. The results were amazing but it was tough getting there!
Since then, I've found a brighter, 360 degree beam pattern, LED bulb that fits the OEM bulb holder. It's from superlumination.com and the part number is: T10 Wedge - SMT Tower - Green - 194 Lens. SuperbrightLEDs.com has an almost identical bulb (part #: WLED-GHP5) but it needs to be filed down a bit to fit in the OEM bulb holders. I think if I had used these bulbs in the tach, it would have been equal in illumination to the speedo (with the WLED-GHP bulbs), without adding four more bulb holders and LEDs.
Hey, you asked !
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Awesome work and results! Thanks for sharing the details!
Mark
Mark
Yes, much improvement, but I think I'll take George's suggested, the other options are too good!
RRS1,
You can very easily find out if your rheostat is causing your dim gauge illumination problem. Just remove the two contacts from the rear of the rheostat and hold them tightly together while you turn your lights on. If the gauges are brighter than before, the rheostat's your problem. If they aren't brighter than before, your problem is either poor grounds or it's just the normal (bad) illumination.
If you determine your rheostat and grounds are OK, you can improve illumination by replacing the stock 3W bulbs with 5W bulbs.
You can very easily find out if your rheostat is causing your dim gauge illumination problem. Just remove the two contacts from the rear of the rheostat and hold them tightly together while you turn your lights on. If the gauges are brighter than before, the rheostat's your problem. If they aren't brighter than before, your problem is either poor grounds or it's just the normal (bad) illumination.
If you determine your rheostat and grounds are OK, you can improve illumination by replacing the stock 3W bulbs with 5W bulbs.
Okay thanks, will do.
The way to get more light from all the gauges is to trim 1/16" off the edge of the face plate. On some of my gauges the face was so tight to the cup that light couldn't get thru, no matter how many bulbs were in there. A search should find my post on this.
Mike
Mike