My gauges are outrageous

[Pr124spider]

Have a 1975 124 restomod with extra gauges across the dash to the glovebox. At night one is well lit (the clock) and others are dim to dark. Is the fix a matter of replacing bulbs or is it more complicated than that?

Also, I’m new to this forum and don’t see how to attach photos?? Thanks for any advice or tips to shorten my (long) learning curve.

[18Fiatsandcounting]

It could be a bulb issue, but it could also be a wiring issue. There is a dash light dimmer rheostat (at least in the original version), so perhaps that is still somewhere in the circuit but turned all the way down? And the clock bulb wasn't wired to this circuit? Or maybe the wrong bulbs were used? The other possibility is that the dash lights were wired in series (electrically) when they should be wired in parallel. Measure the voltage across one of the dim dash lights to see what you have. It should be the nominal 12 volts or so.

This site doesn't post pictures directly. To do that, you have to upload your photos to another photo-hosting site and then provide the link in your post on this site.

-Bryan

[Pr124spider]

Thank you very much Bryan. I will pass this along to my mechanic who tries but really is t sure what to do on my car. Hoping someone will suggest a fiat savant in the San Diego area as I don’t speak Italian.

[TheBender]

Always a fun challenge when things are unknown with previous owners. Here’s a snippet from a 76 owners manual (not sure how different than 75) with the dimmer control Bryan mentioned. #15

[Pr124spider]

Thanks very much. Since I do t have an owners manual, I love seeing pictures from the original car.

My dash has been reconfigured and I don’t have the middle section shown. I have 7 gauges inserted in one piece of wood that extends to the glovebox. My dimmer switch is in between speedometer and tach — and doesn’t work.

[18Fiatsandcounting]

This is going to be a hard one to solve via an online forum. Your best bet is to measure the illumination voltages at one of the "dim" gauges (not the clock) and, if it's not the nominal 12 volts, work backward in the wiring until the problem is identified.

One thought, though. Fiat dash lighting was always dim for cars in that era, so if you are used to modern cars with their well-illuminated dashes, well, the Fiat illumination will seem dim by comparison. It's the reason many folks install LED illumination bulbs.

-Bryan

[Pr124spider]

Thank you Bryan, much appreciated. I’ll go led.

[Pr124spider]

Update: so had my instrument panel gauges cleaned and installed led bulbs. Much better! I’m now certified to drive after 5pm. My Speedo tach was crooked so that’s straightened out now. Spent about $800 if anyone is thinking about paying someone to do a similar job. My place is $190 an hour fyi. (Which means in one day of labor I’ve spent what my car is worth.)