I purchased a new rallye pack from the parts place. Installation went fine. Disappointed with lighting. Cant see clock at night and everything seems very dim in comparison to the original speedo. I have seen in this or other forums that there is bulbs that need changing and painting that needs to be done. Can someone give me a step by step on how to do this? What is really invovled?

 

Have a look at this thread Brightening the repro Rallye Pac (and RP stuff!)

 

What a darn shame that this problem has still not been fixed...
All in the name of reproduction parts I guess. At least no drilling or grinding is involved...

 

I had the opportunity to take several dash pods apart this year at the boneyard and was surprised that even the OEM interiors were only painted white. Also found out it's not as intimidating doing this stuff if you work carefully and document your progress.

My OEM rallye pac is not bad for lighting, but I think I'll still do the freshening on all 3 gages. I also plan to paint the inside of the optional dash lighting pods with a sky blue paint so it comes through the diffuser just a little brighter on the lower dash insert.

 

Allan I have done this. I took them apart and sprayed them white on the inside. They where originally black, go figure. They put off A LOT of light now. Makes a huge difference.

I can only upload 1 pic on my iPad at a time, but I'll start a thread showing the difference sometime on my pc. You really need the blue diffuser, otherwise it's too bright.

 

That really looks like it would put out a lot of light. I haven't looked closely at mine yet, were they easy to take apart and re-assemble? Looks like it might be just a rolled over metal tab? I have the blue diffusers so that's covered no problem.

re iPad: I have a heck of a time working with that too. I much prefer my standard old fashioned tower puter and keyboard/mouse.

 

I wouldn't say it was easy, but it was doable. Yes it's just rolled over metal tabs that you pry up. It took a bit of working at it with a small screwdriver and a pair of pliers, but they bend up. Then I took a pair of pliers and a hammer to bend them back. Just be carfull of the louver part so they stay straight. It doesn't have to be pretty because no one is going to see it, but it came out ok.

I didn't even think about painting them blue, I guess it would make more sence since the filters are blue.

re ipad: I prefer my pc too, but the iPad is just way to convenient.

 

71sx455, follow Robs (lady72nRob71) thread. I recently installed the rally pack set and it was easy using this thread. It's a bit unnerving taking apart something you just spent a lot of money on, but its not that hard. The only annoying part is that the dial for the clock doesn't come off, so you have to work around it.

I am still having a little problem with the tac lighting though. I've had it apart a dozen time experimenting with different colors, but its still not as bright as Robs. I ended up putting a LED bulb in there (only one since they are $9.99 each ) and I think it made it too bright compared to the other gauges. I used the 168 bulbs I believe, so I guess I'll just keep messing with it till I get it right. The fuel/water/oil gauge looks really good though.

I don't remember who did the post, but I also painted the tac needle to make it stand out more. I used a neon orange paint on it and it looks great. Lol I took the oil fuel gauge to the model store and painstakingly matched up the color of the end of the needle so it looked good. Only to find out that the new gauge needles are painted like a hot neon pink! I don't know why they didn't use the same color, but I painted it anyway and it shows up really nice.

 

Try pure white (make sure it is gloss) and use it in the tach case. then use sky blue and some white if needed to paint the back of the reflector ring to give the bluish tint.

 

Yep, I did all that Rob. The clock face doesn't shine that bright though.

 

This is with the LED bulb, on only the right side.

 

Are you sure you painted the back side of the black metal outer ring that is at the front of the gauge?
Sure the bulbs are 168?
Do you have a good 12V reaching the gauges with the rheostat all the way up?
This is strange...

 

Yes...
Yes...
I think I have 12 volts, no reason why I shouldn't. Where is the rheostat and how do I turn it up?

 

On the headlight switch - turn it to brighten or dim the lights. Put a volt meter on it to make sure you have 12V or close. It is possible it is not allowing full 12V...\
You can even try painting the unpopulated sections of the brown PCB in the tach in front of the light bulbs with white. I might have done that...

 

Ok, that's what I thought you where talking about. I'll check it to see if I'm getting the full 12V.

I painted this blue when I painted the inside housing blue. I have since painted the housing white again.

 

Thats what I was referring to - good.
So it was not white the first time? Let me know how this does...

 

Spoke to soon!! Temp guage quit working! any suggestions?

 

Check the wire at the gauge connector to see if it popped out. It could if the little retainer pin was not bent back up. Ground that pin and see if it pegs hot. If it does, ground the wire at the sender and see if it still pegs hot.

 

Also check the connector behind the gauge itself. You moved some wires around on the connector, so maybe the green one popped out.