Interior: dashboard illumination -1950 Champion

[James Caspi]

I have been struggling to get my speedo illuminated more brightly than it now comes up. The bulb is perfect but perhaps there is some other trick you can suggest. The car is original 6 volt positive ground and the bulb is 6 Volts. I think there are three bulbs, according to my mechanic.

I cannot see the speed when driving at night. Some years ago, I could reasonably. Is the problem the deteriorated paint on the numbers?

Thanks
Jim

[RadioRoy]

Is the problem the deteriorated paint on the numbers?

Yes. That is exactly the problem. Some folks have used LEDs, but they have to be reworked for positive ground. Some folks, like me, repainted the needle and some of the numbers, but the paint is so heavy that the needle does not read as accurately as it used to.

[Commander Eddie]

I have the same problem on my '50 Commander. There have been several threads on the forum addressing this issue. I thought rewiring my car would help. It did not. The bulbs burn brightly enough. The problem seems to be that the purple tinted masks that surround the bulbs to help make the florescent paint on the dials "fluoresce" gets dirty and dark and won't let sufficient light pass through. I plan to remove them from my instrument panel and try to clean the dirt off. There may be nothing else I can do to them if the tint has darkened over time. The other option would be to leave these off entirely but then you would not get the beautiful fluorescent effect. I have been looking for replacement masks but they seem to be unavailable.

[Carl Purdy]

There is dark purple lens in side that the bulbs shine through I just took them out and put some color finger nail polish on the bulbs.

[Commander Eddie]

There is dark purple lens in side that the bulbs shine through I just took them out and put some color finger nail polish on the bulbs.

Caution. Fingernail polish may shorten the life of the bulbs by trapping heat. Use sparingly.

[starlightchamp]

I had the same problem on my 1950 starlight. The instrument numerals were nearly
unreadable,even in pitch dark. The messages above are right on in that the "brightness
of the numerals decreases with age. I bought six volt krypton flash light bulbs and silver soldered small bosses on their bases to adapt to the twist in socket. I now have ample brightness. One caution-the krypton bulbs are hotter than the usual 55's but so far haven't
affected the instruments. There may be other, brighter, bayonet base, 6 volt bulbs available
but I couldn't find any small enough to fit.

...Dick Curtis

[bezhawk]

The glass filters are just that,...in that they only let the non visible ultra-violet light through. The radium painted pointer and numerals loose their lumenescence over the years. There are now ultra violet LEDs that could be used (watch polarity), and the glass filters eliminated.

[BobPalma]

Hang on, you guys. This is addressed in the December 2013 Turning Wheels Co-Operator coming up. Stay Tuned. BP

[rockne10]

This is addressed in the December 2013 Turning Wheels Co-Operator coming up. Stay Tuned. BP

Have been waiting with bated breath for the cure; looking forward to this.

Bob, when will the Co-Operator address the installation procedure on the stainless molding on the '47-'52 windshield?

[BobPalma]

Bob, when will The Co-Operator address the installation procedure on the stainless molding on the '47-'52 windshield?

Probably when I get around to bugging Howe Clark into telling me how he did it on his 1950 Champion. BP

[James Caspi]

Ed, Thanks for the very helpful advise. I will try removing the purple glass defusers and see what the result it, and then perhaps use some purple nail polish 'sparingly'.

Best,
Jim

[Greenstude]

The phosphorescent paint has faded with age. There is a huge contrast in visibility between the clock installed in our '47 Champion about 20 years ago, and the original speedometer and instruments. The originals can be read when it is really dark outside, but not at dusk, dawn or in areas with street lights. I carry a small pocket flashlight to check the instruments from time to time when driving at night.

Be careful if you are working directly with the original phosphorescent numbers -- the paint is a carcinogen, which is why it is no longer used for watches, as well as Stude instruments.

[southbend]

Greenstude wrote: "I carry a small pocket flashlight to check the instruments from time to time when driving at night." For what it's worth, years ago I recall a SDC member who told me he strapped a small flashlight to the steering column so that it pointed at the dash. Said it worked pretty well.

[DWBookout]

I have been struggling to get my speedo illuminated more brightly than it now comes up. The bulb is perfect but perhaps there is some other trick you can suggest. The car is original 6 volt positive ground and the bulb is 6 Volts. I think there are three bulbs, according to my mechanic.

I cannot see the speed when driving at night. Some years ago, I could reasonably. Is the problem the deteriorated paint on the numbers?

Thanks
Jim

Same for my 1950 Champion. I was able to find NOS temp, pressure, amp and fuel gauges that do somewhat better but the speedometer is especially faded and hard to see. Changing over to a 6VDC alternator helped some. At least all of the lights don't go dim at low rpm and the system keeps charging right up until shutdown, a benefit if restarting a cold engine. I experimented with 6VDC LEDs on a spare instrument cluster, reversing the polarity. But found the at list the LEDs used are very directional and the light did not illuminate the gauges. Works extremely well straight ahead as in a turn signal or high beam indicator. I'd still have to do something about the polarity short of changing over to 12VDC. Right now I'm experimenting with 6VDC Krypton flashlight bulbs and not having much luck so far keeping them in the sockets. Otherwise, they do illuminate quite well. Looking forward to anything coming in the Co-Operator.

[bezhawk]

It's not a matter of lighting the numerals....it's a matter of getting the painted numerals to flouresce! They respond to ultra violet well. Get a black light, and hold it in front of the instruments and see if it is visible. That's what you are trying to replicate.