My 71 Cutlass S seems to have dimly lit dash lights. I do not think it's a problem. I installed a 3 cluster of Oil/Temp/Water and they look nice and bright. I was also interested in getting color bulbs. Anyone have any suggestions, advice or a new product they know of?



John NY

 

Clean and maybe repaint the insides of your gauges first. THis reflects the lights inside.
I was amazed at what that did for mine! See details in the "rally pac stuff" link below...
Colored bulbs will change the color - severely! I tried it and unless you want deep blue, dont use em.

 

Welcome to old perimeter lit gauges.
Make sure all the bulbs are there and working. Try replacing with new bulbs. Make sure they're getting full voltage when the dimmer is all the way up.
Then pull the gauges, clean the insides, and re-paint. Check any of Rob's posts for a link to his tic-toc-tac resto thread with exceptional info.
The bulbs are very common GM gauge bulbs. Stock is probably 161's. You can replace with 194's for an extra watt or so of output. Make sure your wiring is OK.

 

I just replaced 2 bulbs in my fuel gauge. They worked but had that burnt look. It was blocking some light. I also noticed that one had some of the insulation on the inside sticking out too far and was blocking some light. The bulbs are easy to change.

 

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...storation.html