Thought I would document my endeavor to improve the instrument lighting on my TCS. Now mind you, Joe Lucas never had reading a book by interior lighting in mind and my expectation was quite low. I seem to remember the instrument lighting to be, to the best of my memory, better than what I was seeing. Also, I didn't want to resort to LEDs as the color temperature puts me off. That was 42 years ago. 26 at the time. My eyes can't be that bad, could they? BTW, the Europa was dormant for 32 years. Back on the road late 2017.
Started out with the grounds (earths). Cleaned and checked. No improvement. Must be something on the other side of the equation. Cleaned and applied contact cleaner to both the Lighting Switch and Rheostat. Again, no real improvement. Did improve measured resistance to a very small amount. What could it be?
On checking the wiring diagram, the headlights, which seemed bright as the should be, don't go through any fuse. Hummm. On checking the voltage at the fuse block, only around 11.9V no load (bottom fuse removed, this circuit always on with key off). Checked lighting circuit: only 11.4V with running lights on! Smoking gun!? So I removed the fuse block and reset all the rivets using a suitable sized drill upside down in a vise and a small ball-peen hammer. I also noted the Amp Gauge might be suspect and removed it to check. The hex nuts securing the spade tabs were tight. Don't ask me why but I decided to check the hex nuts below the spade tabs; not quite tight! Well, I tightened them and decided to remove the glass to tweak the needle back to zero (was reading a bit positive with no load). Now with everything back in place, checked voltages: no load 12.74V, 12.10V with running lights on. I couldn't believe the results once back in the darkened garage! I tried mimicking the before brightness with the Rheostat but was still brighter a the lowest level. I might have to carry a supply of spare bulbs on hand now. I can almost see 'paradise by the dashboard lights'!
A side benefit is that when I flash the high beams, I can see 'BEAMS' indicator in the binnacle quite clearly. BTW, I've been using LEDs for the directional indicators. I'm going back to the incandescent bulbs, if only I could remember were I stashed them.
