Anyone know what I need to buy to add a dimmer to my instrument lights?
I want to be able to control the intensity of my instrument lights. They are
not shielded and reflect on the windshield, making it impossible to sit and
look through the windshield. We have to stand while at the wheel at night.
I've changed to red light bulbs, but the instrument panel is tilted so much
there's no way to shield the windshield from the reflected light.
I went to a Radio Shack today and all they could come up with was to offer a
volume control knob mounted on a wall switch plate. Since I'm not a techie,
I need to know exactly what to ask for, since they seem to know even less
than me.

William Andersen wrote:
Anyone know what I need to buy to add a dimmer to my instrument
lights?
I want to be able to control the intensity of my instrument lights.
They are not shielded and reflect on the windshield, making it
impossible to sit and look through the windshield. We have to stand
while at the wheel at night. I've changed to red light bulbs, but the
instrument panel is tilted so much there's no way to shield the
windshield from the reflected light.
I went to a Radio Shack today and all they could come up with was to
offer a volume control knob mounted on a wall switch plate. Since I'm
not a techie, I need to know exactly what to ask for, since they seem
to know even less than me.

You need a voltage controller. I think you may get one at a car accessory
shop.

Here's a DC dimmer control, but it may not be suitable for weather
exposu http://www.newenglandsolar.com/catal.../catalog84.htm
A good tip... when you're looking at stuff for 12V electrical systems,
look at the solar power suppliers. They have tons of stuff since most
of their power is DC.

Hello William,

Must be frustrating.

I was unable to locate any "generic" dash light dimmers in a quick
Internet search but a more thorough search might turn up something.

We could specify a precise and cheap solution for you with resistances
if we knew the ratings of the bulbs in your dash. But we would still not
know just how dim you need the lights to be.

Here's a simple and cheap alternative:

Get a 12 volt bulb (assuming you have a 12 volt system) with wires or
with a holder that has wires you can connect to. Simply place this bulb
in series with your dash lights. The smaller the bulb is, the dimmer
your lights will be. Of course, you now have this new source of (dim)
light to contend with. I leave it to your ingenuity to conceal it
somewhere where it will not interfere with night vision and maybe even
perform some useful function. Say, one of those auto cigarette lighter
map lights might do the trick. Anyway, you may have to experiment with
different bulbs to get the brightness where you want it. Do you still
have the clear lamps you took out when you put the red ones in? One of
them might do the trick. Anyway, this will make your dash lights last
almost forever. If it works to your satisfaction, consider putting a
switch (spst) across the bulb so that you can restore full brightness
should you ever feel the need. Almost any switch you find in Radio Shack
or an auto parts store would do.

CAUTION:

You need to make sure that only the dash lights are in the circuit you
are modifying, and I assume your dash lights are not LEDs.

Good luck!

Chuck


William Andersen wrote:
Anyone know what I need to buy to add a dimmer to my instrument lights?
I want to be able to control the intensity of my instrument lights. They are
not shielded and reflect on the windshield, making it impossible to sit and
look through the windshield. We have to stand while at the wheel at night.
I've changed to red light bulbs, but the instrument panel is tilted so much
there's no way to shield the windshield from the reflected light.
I went to a Radio Shack today and all they could come up with was to offer a
volume control knob mounted on a wall switch plate. Since I'm not a techie,
I need to know exactly what to ask for, since they seem to know even less
than me.

Thanks for the link - more expensive than I expected, but something to look
into.

"Keith" wrote in message
oups.com...
Here's a DC dimmer control, but it may not be suitable for weather
exposu http://www.newenglandsolar.com/catal.../catalog84.htm
A good tip... when you're looking at stuff for 12V electrical systems,
look at the solar power suppliers. They have tons of stuff since most
of their power is DC.

Thanks for the reply - I'd rather have a dimmer switch with continuous
range, so that I could turn the lights up or down to any intensity. They are
not LEDs. They are controlled by the ignition switch. Whenever the key is in
the on position, the instrument lights are illuminated. I've added two other
lights to that circuit because it was easy to access; I'll wire them
differently when I add a dimmer so that they won't be affected. It's just
the instrument panel lights that are reflected on the windshield.

"chuck" wrote in message
nk.net...
Hello William,

Must be frustrating.

I was unable to locate any "generic" dash light dimmers in a quick
Internet search but a more thorough search might turn up something.

We could specify a precise and cheap solution for you with resistances if
we knew the ratings of the bulbs in your dash. But we would still not know
just how dim you need the lights to be.

Here's a simple and cheap alternative:

Get a 12 volt bulb (assuming you have a 12 volt system) with wires or with
a holder that has wires you can connect to. Simply place this bulb in
series with your dash lights. The smaller the bulb is, the dimmer your
lights will be. Of course, you now have this new source of (dim) light to
contend with. I leave it to your ingenuity to conceal it somewhere where
it will not interfere with night vision and maybe even perform some useful
function. Say, one of those auto cigarette lighter map lights might do the
trick. Anyway, you may have to experiment with different bulbs to get the
brightness where you want it. Do you still have the clear lamps you took
out when you put the red ones in? One of them might do the trick. Anyway,
this will make your dash lights last almost forever. If it works to your
satisfaction, consider putting a switch (spst) across the bulb so that you
can restore full brightness should you ever feel the need. Almost any
switch you find in Radio Shack or an auto parts store would do.

CAUTION:

You need to make sure that only the dash lights are in the circuit you are
modifying, and I assume your dash lights are not LEDs.

Good luck!

Chuck


William Andersen wrote:
Anyone know what I need to buy to add a dimmer to my instrument lights?
I want to be able to control the intensity of my instrument lights. They
are not shielded and reflect on the windshield, making it impossible to
sit and look through the windshield. We have to stand while at the wheel
at night. I've changed to red light bulbs, but the instrument panel is
tilted so much there's no way to shield the windshield from the reflected
light.
I went to a Radio Shack today and all they could come up with was to
offer a volume control knob mounted on a wall switch plate. Since I'm not
a techie, I need to know exactly what to ask for, since they seem to know
even less than me.

Holy cow! $45: I might forget about this idea.
Thanks.

"WaIIy" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 15 Jul 2005 22:46:11 -0700, "William Andersen"
wrote:

Anyone know what I need to buy to add a dimmer to my instrument lights?
I want to be able to control the intensity of my instrument lights. They
are
not shielded and reflect on the windshield, making it impossible to sit
and
look through the windshield. We have to stand while at the wheel at night.
I've changed to red light bulbs, but the instrument panel is tilted so
much
there's no way to shield the windshield from the reflected light.
I went to a Radio Shack today and all they could come up with was to offer
a
volume control knob mounted on a wall switch plate. Since I'm not a
techie,
I need to know exactly what to ask for, since they seem to know even less
than me.


Four years ago I bought one from Searay for about $45.00.

The dimmer was pretty heavy duty and worked perfectly.

William Andersen wrote:

Anyone know what I need to buy to add a dimmer to my instrument lights?
snip

Just about every automobile has one, I'd visit a wrecking yard and
probably look for one of the newer ones that has the dimmer control
mounted separately from the light switch (like a dash mounted thumbwheel).

Jack

--
Jack Erbes in Ellsworth, Maine, USA - jackerbes at adelphia dot net
(also receiving email at jacker at midmaine.com)

Or go down to the hardware store and buy a light switch dimmer. It would
probably rust out in short order, but I'll bet the resistance would be close
enough to work.


"Jack Erbes" wrote in message
...
William Andersen wrote:

Anyone know what I need to buy to add a dimmer to my instrument lights?
snip

Just about every automobile has one, I'd visit a wrecking yard and
probably look for one of the newer ones that has the dimmer control
mounted separately from the light switch (like a dash mounted thumbwheel).

Jack

--
Jack Erbes in Ellsworth, Maine, USA - jackerbes at adelphia dot net
(also receiving email at jacker at midmaine.com)

No, that won't work at all.

Johnhh wrote:
Or go down to the hardware store and buy a light switch dimmer. It would
probably rust out in short order, but I'll bet the resistance would be close
enough to work.


"Jack Erbes" wrote in message
...

William Andersen wrote:


Anyone know what I need to buy to add a dimmer to my instrument lights?

snip

Just about every automobile has one, I'd visit a wrecking yard and
probably look for one of the newer ones that has the dimmer control
mounted separately from the light switch (like a dash mounted thumbwheel).

Jack

--
Jack Erbes in Ellsworth, Maine, USA - jackerbes at adelphia dot net
(also receiving email at jacker at midmaine.com)