Hi, did not see a thread on this subject anywhere so here goes...
1978 Scout II terra
right now I'm in the process of sprucing up my dash illumination. I already have the gauges out and that work is proceeding nicely.
However, where I am running into problems is with the backlit control labels. These are the little plastic light-bar labels for the lights and wipers on the left, and the 4 wheel, lighter and fan on the right. These are devilish hard to see and even tougher to get at.
These labels are very dim. My ambition was to see what could be done to brighten them up. Sounds simple in principle, but I have not been able to figure this one out. The light bulbs that illuminate these are housed in sort of a 5-sided metal cube with the sides simply folded in, and the light bulb socket comes through the bottom side, the side towards the dash being the open side for the light to shine out. For the life of me, I cannot figure how these little cube housings are attached to the dash. I will say this, it's very solidly attached, no wiggle or jiggle at all. I bent one of the cubes back away from the dash to catch a peek, and the nearest I can figure the light socket itself is somehow joining the cube to a little tab that comes out of the back side of the dash. I've tried unscrewing the socket from the tab/cube assembly but it doesn't budge one iota. I don't want to get too forceful, not knowing what I'm doing, and damage something. It could be glued, welded, soldered or attached in some other manner, I can't tell. I haven't been able to see any fasteners (screws etc).
I can see the lightbulb and it is filthy with 30 years of accumulated dash dust, no wonder it's dim. I'd like to put in a fresh bulb (there will never be a better time while I have the instruments out) and spray the inside of the cube housings with chrome paint to help up the light reflection a bit. So I'm hoping to get the cube housing out to be cleaned and painted. If the socket is not removable the only option for changing the bulb would be to peel the cube open, and I don't see that being practical, which makes me think the socket does come out somehow.
I got one of those little round mirrors on a telescoping shaft... Really I still cannot see much of what I am looking for, which is how the cube housing and light socket attach to the inside of the dash. Has anyone disassembled these, or have a removed dash panel laying around to inspect? Also, if anyone happens to know what light bulb these take I would be grateful for the information.
Oh, also I noticed that the lightbar on the right has a melted part right over the cigarette lighter. It is milky and bubbly there, evidently heat from the lighter. The milky part keeps the fan label to it's right from receiving any light at all, so fan is always dark. I'm replacing that bar, and I want to ensure this never happens in the future. Any suggestions for a heat shield of some kind?
Thanks!!
1978 Scout II terra
right now I'm in the process of sprucing up my dash illumination. I already have the gauges out and that work is proceeding nicely.
However, where I am running into problems is with the backlit control labels. These are the little plastic light-bar labels for the lights and wipers on the left, and the 4 wheel, lighter and fan on the right. These are devilish hard to see and even tougher to get at.
These labels are very dim. My ambition was to see what could be done to brighten them up. Sounds simple in principle, but I have not been able to figure this one out. The light bulbs that illuminate these are housed in sort of a 5-sided metal cube with the sides simply folded in, and the light bulb socket comes through the bottom side, the side towards the dash being the open side for the light to shine out. For the life of me, I cannot figure how these little cube housings are attached to the dash. I will say this, it's very solidly attached, no wiggle or jiggle at all. I bent one of the cubes back away from the dash to catch a peek, and the nearest I can figure the light socket itself is somehow joining the cube to a little tab that comes out of the back side of the dash. I've tried unscrewing the socket from the tab/cube assembly but it doesn't budge one iota. I don't want to get too forceful, not knowing what I'm doing, and damage something. It could be glued, welded, soldered or attached in some other manner, I can't tell. I haven't been able to see any fasteners (screws etc).
I can see the lightbulb and it is filthy with 30 years of accumulated dash dust, no wonder it's dim. I'd like to put in a fresh bulb (there will never be a better time while I have the instruments out) and spray the inside of the cube housings with chrome paint to help up the light reflection a bit. So I'm hoping to get the cube housing out to be cleaned and painted. If the socket is not removable the only option for changing the bulb would be to peel the cube open, and I don't see that being practical, which makes me think the socket does come out somehow.
I got one of those little round mirrors on a telescoping shaft... Really I still cannot see much of what I am looking for, which is how the cube housing and light socket attach to the inside of the dash. Has anyone disassembled these, or have a removed dash panel laying around to inspect? Also, if anyone happens to know what light bulb these take I would be grateful for the information.
Oh, also I noticed that the lightbar on the right has a melted part right over the cigarette lighter. It is milky and bubbly there, evidently heat from the lighter. The milky part keeps the fan label to it's right from receiving any light at all, so fan is always dark. I'm replacing that bar, and I want to ensure this never happens in the future. Any suggestions for a heat shield of some kind?
Thanks!!
