I'd like to add my $0.02 here. Even at full brightness the dash lights
are lame. Rather than mess with a switch that was never going to be
positioned any where other than full, I disconnected the rheostat wires
and reconnected all of them into one junction. Now, when the lights are
on, the dash lights are on full bright. No more wiggling the switch or
wondering if the next bump will extinguish the lights.
I left the rheostat in the hole for originality sake, but I've also heard
of several creative uses for the open space.
Peter Macholdt
'68 TR250
>I just read Dan Detweiler's message about the dash light rheostat and the
>excellent suggestions for Dan to get the knob off. I offer this little
>piece
>of advice - be careful when re-installing the knob! In the summer of '99, I
>was hurriedly getting my car ready to drive across country to Pennsylvania
>(from the Seattle area!) for the 30th anniversary celebration of the TR6
>at the
>Summer Party and I installed a new wooden dash and all new knobs. The new
>rheostat knob was quite tight going on - and took quite a push to get to
>slide
>on the shaft even with some lube. As I continued to push, I felt the
>rheostat
>break apart, the shaft fell limp in the hole, and it rained little pieces
>from
>the back side of the dash! The back of the rheostat is only held on with
>some
>little tabs that bend around from the sides, and they can't take much force
>before they straighten up and the whole thing falls apart. I didn't have
>time
>to fix it before we left for the trip, so we had to drive 6,200 miles with
>only
>a flashlight to see the guages at night! When we were safely home, I
>loosened
>the dash to the "service position" and was able to remove the rheostat and
>put
>it all back together again. Unfortunately, I broke it a second time when I
>tried to get that darned knob back on, even though I was being extra
>careful!
>So the next time I just re-used the old knob which fit a lot more easily
>on the
>shaft, but by then I had lost a couple of the internal pieces which flew all
>over the place every time the rheostat came apart so I had to spend a few
>hours
>making new contacts, etc. before it was again operational. I also used some
>epoxy to help give it a little more strength as I believe that the little
>tabs
>probably fatigue after being bent a few times.
>
>Rex
>Townsend
>
>---------------------------------------------
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Peter Macholdt
609-466-2127 Phone
609-466-6459 FAX
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