Just Completed the Dashboard Light Fix

[aj951]

Yep, they work with the dimmer just like the original bulbs.

[75ohm]

Nice!

[shick12]

Spent a couple hours this weekend chasing rattles under the dash and decided while I had it apart I would fix the dim dash lights. I took some pictures for you but have yet to try the repair it opting instead to replace the dash frame that holds the plastic (Plexiglas) that has turned color and crazed somewhat. I will also replace the bulbs since I have them out.

[Dougster]

My new 89 944 na had had some sort of Glow bulbs put in that seem to work well. I actually had to turn them down on a long road (night) trip back from Michigan yesterday.

[steveu812]

Acetone to remove the old crap, then kitchen foil held in place with Duco cemet from Wal-mart ($0.94 a tube). That would have probably held fine, but my Type A whispered that I should add some duct tape over that. It wasn't the prettiest, but it worked great and the lights are much much brighter.

As far as the bulbs listed on Clarks site, I chose to use the 3.7watt, 194's he recommends. But BEWARE the Sylvania 194LL (Long Life) bulbs appear to be halogen and rated at 4.7 watts! Advance AP has the non halogen and they appear to be the 3.7 watts.

If you do this light mod, and plan to do the ODO fix, you might want to get a tooth count from your ODO gear while you have the gauge pod apart.

[cb951]

I recently did the dash light routine when I replaced my odometer gear. I used some nail polish remover to remove the old silver paint from the lenses. Then I polished them with Novus plastic polish, which I used for the cluster cover. Came out better than I had anticipated. Very clear. Then I covered all sides of the individual lenses with silver foil duct tape (not the usual grey plastic duct tape), with the exception of the areas which receive and radiate the light. I installed #158 bulbs (3.3W), and put it all back together. Couldn't be happier. Now I'm back to using the dimmer to turn down the light slightly, since I don't like overly bright dashlights, especially if they reflect in the windshield. I find the light too bright now if the dimmer is turned all the way up. They also now match the lights in my AutoMeter gauges which are mounted below the radio. They all dim together as needed. I think that polishing the outer lens (cluster cover) really helped, since it's now easier to see the gauges even in the dark.

[emoore924]

For posterity...

194 = the bulb type
IIRC = "If I Recall Correctly", not part of the bulb type...

[trailpimp33]

So just to clarify, the 194 bulb IS the correct bulb for the early cars??
Has anyone tried a "black light" led bulb to glow the gauges at night??

[pinball_0]

I used "PILOT AUTOMOTIVE" 15" flexible light strip ($19.00) white from auto zone.... connected to the dash light wiring, able to trim to exact length as ever 3 segments are 12 V

attached are pictures

[pinball_0]

then reassemble and connect AWESOME!!!

[jerbear951]

Just restored mine today! What a difference. Used the silver foil tape and the Sylvania 194 bulbs. So much nicer, and easy to do.

[jess2suityou]

Pinball_0 I took the process that you used and applied it to my dash lights. However, I used a 12 inch L.E.D. Strip from Autozone. The results were perfect! While doing the dash lights I decided to do the tail light upgrade as well. Now I can see my dash at night and be seen by others from the rear. Both are easy upgrades for 944 owners.

[flash968]

i performed the single best dash light upgrade possible - it resulted in much better night vision and a dramatic increase in peripheral acuity, and facilitated the ability of the rods to discern shapes and movements

i turned the dash lights all but off, leaving only enough light to see the readings of the gauges at a glance

dim red light good - bright white or blue light bad

[Dave L]

Originally Posted by flash968

i performed the single best dash light upgrade possible - it resulted in much better night vision and a dramatic increase in peripheral acuity, and facilitated the ability of the rods to discern shapes and movements

i turned the dash lights all but off, leaving only enough light to see the readings of the gauges at a glance

dim red light good - bright white or blue light bad

+1. I thought I was the only one who turns the interior lighting way down at night. While the 944 lighting isnt perfect I cant imagine driving around with high powered LED lighting at night. Red is good for night vision but it is harder to read as you get older. Green is acutally a little better

[flash968]

yup - there are extensive studies on this

i am continually demonstrating this to people - i have them turn off their dash lights, drive around, notice things in their peripheral vision, and then have them turn their dash lights on - they are ALWAYS amazed at how much they lose the instant they turn them on

bright dash lights bad - dim ones good

i'm fairly confident that porsche knew what they were doing when they designed the lights - they work very well for night vision

[cvriv.charles]

I did mine a bit ago. My way. Enjoy.




I have two more late housings I am going to revamp as such. Plug and play. I have RED, WHITE, and BLUE leds. Let me know if any is interested.

[cvriv.charles]

[pinball_0]

jess: awesome!!! yep too easy!!

cvric.charles: yours look great tooo!!!

[pinball_0]

i figure with the led strip method... you could always hide a toggle switch to go back to factory dim bulbs, as I left them in.... and they are still on -though they are covered up by led light power