When I bought my 71 Grabber a few months back the Instrument Panel lights were dim at best turning the light switch nob had no effect. Now they're just plain dead I thought at first it could be a fuse but if it were a fuse it would have just gone dead straight off out of the blue. Was wondering if it could be a short in the wires or just a bad bulb. Also my Heater controls are busted the on/off one is the only one that isn't. 71 Grabber (Project Car) 85 Club Wagon 94 Taurus GL Sedan FFV
There is a small voltage regulator on the printed circuit board that could have gone out. The lamps get a dark coating from age that cause lower brightness. The whole panel would need to come out to service everything. Not that hard but you will need some paitence as there are some 'girations' to get into, to get it out. Even when everything is right, the lamps are still not as bright as we would like.
I had the same problem before, and what I found was a bad light switch. My head & tail lights worked fine but the dash lights wouldn't. I could turn the adj. to the left all the way and my inside light would work, but no dash light. A new switch fixed my problem, not to say that is yours just one more thing you may need to check.
see the light Bad light switch probably. Heater controls? fuse or switch itself is history. Rust, corrision and use will take their toll on switches
When I got the car there were numerous spare parts inside it already and some old ones replaced but the old parts left in there, the light switch was one of those looks like the original factory one too. Faulty light switch I suppose would make sense cause it also doesn't operate my dome light, the light works and all just can't turn it on/off with the switch have to open the door. My headlights are also quite dim if I drive the car at night I have to have the brights on to even see down the street otherwise it's like driving with two candles on the hood. I know old Fords had a problem with the lights not being too bright I thought maybe I just need to install some relays to fix that but now i'm wondering if the headlight switch could be causing that too. Anyways thanks for the assistance i'll probably snag another switch next time i'm in the junk yard buying them new around here isn't easy. 71 Grabber (Project Car) 85 Club Wagon 94 Taurus GL Sedan FFV:confused
You need to get a new one, and a pair of Halogen headlights. Any used switch you buy is going to have problems soon down the road, they are just wear items. They are easy to buy new. Your local parts store might even stock them, its the same part for many many Fords.
I have to agree that the switch seems like the culprit. I replaced mine and it was in stock at Auto Zone and not expensive, either. The easiest way to get at it is to remove the chrome knobbies on your heater controls and remove the plate and move the controls in and toward the speedometer. That's how I had to do it. My lights are bright and work OK. You may want to also check your fuse block for corrosion as I had a problem with mine. The corrosion shows as a white deposit on the blades. A little sanding with a very small file or a Dremel attachment and some contact cleaner does the trick.
