Instrument Pod

Dashboard Lights too Dim

I have a 79 automatic and naturally it came with dim dashboard lights. Lived with it for a while
since I don't drive much at night. The bugs, the bugs, the bugs, .. Eventually it got to me and I
took the pod apart and looked for a most likely cause. In the end, I have determined that to be
the three plastic strips riveted to the prisms that bring the light to the front of the dash. They
were meant to act as diffusers but with age changed density or color so that they were
effectively blocking most of the light coming through. I think they were beige in color, it's been
a while. I simply pulled them off and said, "let there be light" and there was light !!! Much
brighter than before but still not as bright as you would perhaps want. I don't think it was any
brighter when new. Try it, you got nothing to loose. You could even look for some translucent
Mylar strip and replace the existing ones with something more translucent, though I didn't find
it worth the effort.
Hope it works for you,

Jan Svec, Ottawa, Ontario
79-auto, Guards Red