dash lights • The Dodge Challenger Message Board

by **gilbert** » 03 Jan 2009 19:35

74 challenger with ralley dash
winter project is to fix my dash light and assume the bottom hole should be for the dash light but I have no bulb or harness going to that hole. am i correct to assume that is the hole for the lamp ? I have left and right turn lights and top far right is break fail lamp i believe. Hi beam lamp goes to speedometer, thats it, also top dash i have 4 lamps in parallel, what turns these lamps on ?

by **dave-r** » 03 Jan 2009 22:03

The four lamps at the top are the dash lights. They throw a green light onto the instruments.

There is a round dimmer knob under the headlights switch on the left of the dash. This dimmer controls the brightness of the dash lights and also switches on the interior dome light.

There should also be one more light right above the heater/AC controls.

The dash lights are linked together with an orange wire.

Your workshop manual will show all the wiring in detail.

by **gilbert** » 04 Jan 2009 5:00

are the 4 lights on when the headlights are on ? and are they the only lights that lite up the guages, seams like the dimmer control should control a bulb in the instrument cluster, if so , that is the location i'm looking for because the hole at the bottom of panel has no lamp in it or spare wires

by **dave-r** » 04 Jan 2009 11:42

The 4 lights are the only lights that light the instuments. They come on as soon as you switch the park/side or headlights on.

I don't know what hole you are looking at. A photo or at least a better description would help.

I think you need a workshop manual.

by **gilbert** » 04 Jan 2009 14:06

i took off the woodgrain panel to expose the guages and in the aluminum casing there is 3 holes at the top for the correct lamps. at the bottom in the center, their is a lamp hole, they had the hi beam lamp stuck in there and whenever i put the hi beam on i could see a light behind the woodgrain, i moved that lamp to the speedometer and now the blue indicator is on which it should be, leaving this empty hole, i assumed it was to light up the instruments and would be controlled by the dimmer control. Are you telling me that the instruments are only lit up by those 4 green lamps, thanks for replying. also removed the dimmer control and i see that the plug is jumpered because one spade on the dimmer is burned and would explaned why the dimmer never did anything,now that i have this all apart now is the time to get it right.

by **dave-r** » 04 Jan 2009 14:29

gilbert wrote:i took off the woodgrain panel to expose the guages and in the aluminum casing there is 3 holes at the top for the correct lamps. at the bottom in the center, their is a lamp hole,

Forget about that hole. You have moved the high beam to the correct location.

Are you telling me that the instruments are only lit up by those 4 green lamps.

Well I have said it twice now? :roll:

I also said that there is another lamp right above the heater/air con controls.

by **gilbert** » 04 Jan 2009 15:27

are you saying that the dimmer controls the 4 or 5 green lamps at the top of the dash ? and the guages or not illuminated from behind?

by **Jon** » 04 Jan 2009 16:20

The headlamp switch is the master control over the light bar portion of the dimmer switch. By rotating the switch it controls the light bar on the panel. (ash tray and heater control lamp also I believe) There is an orange wire with three female sockets that they plug into. Not sure about the glove box light maybe someone here knows.

Sounds like someone jumped the dimmer spades, a common trick when the rheostat gets corroded or loose inside. If you have the time look it over and cleanup all of the contacts. Use a multimeter to check for continuity before reinstalling. If not they are available on eBay frequently.

by **Moparman1972** » 05 Jan 2009 4:05

gilbert wrote:are you saying that the dimmer controls the 4 or 5 green lamps at the top of the dash ? and the guages or not illuminated from behind?

The dash has no lights inside it. The light for the dash is provided by the completely separate upper light strip. This is controlled with the dimmer and comes on when the markers/headlights come on. Unless the electricals have been screwed with, like Jon said.

by **Goldenblack440** » 08 Feb 2009 13:29

Please read this carefully.

Yes, unlike most cars, these instruments have FLOOD lighting NOT back lighting, meaning there is no lighting from behind, it is all thrown onto the intruments from the upper LIGHT BAR. There is one blue coloured bulb just above the Heater Controls that Flood lights these. All these lights including the Trans selector (if auto) are controlled in brightness by the dimmer switch. They all come on whenever the Light switch is in the Parking or Driving position. Your high beam light inside the Speedo should be Red, all the ones i have seen are. Also, the far right warning light is combination of BRAKE FAIL and Park Brake light. So it should always work when the Park brake is applied, unless the Park Brake switch is faulty or in need of adjusting which often happens.

by **patrick** » 08 Feb 2009 17:08

My high beam light is, Blue.

Maybe, it's a 73', thing. :roll:

by **dave-r** » 08 Feb 2009 17:39

My '70 hi-beam indicator is red now I think of it.

by **Moparman1972** » 08 Feb 2009 17:51

How odd, I've never seen a red one......you guys are probably just colorblind!

by **Goldenblack440** » 11 Feb 2009 14:16

Strange- all the Aussie Chryslers have always been blue, so it was a first for me to see a red one. My 73 Rallye is red, and the 72-74 Rallye cluster is also red! Mybe they changed colours for different days of the week? Blue make more sense though, on those long dark night trips!

by **ianandjess** » 12 Feb 2009 10:27

the early vals were red steve my old vc is red
cheers ian

by **Dale1035** » 13 Feb 2009 2:43

Gilbert.
I know the lights that you are talking about. My 73 has 4 bulbs that plug into the back of the dash. The one on the far right is the parking brake.
The far left is for the bright lights. The 2 in the middle are for the turn signals. If you look closly at the back of the instrument cluster you will notice that each hole is labeled witth the color of the wire for the light that goes in that hole.

by **Goldenblack440** » 20 Feb 2009 13:05

ianandjess wrote:the early vals were red steve my old vc is red
cheers ian

didn't know that Ian- thanks (earliest Val i had was my first car, VG Safari- that had a blue high Beam). Dad had a VC V8 Regal when we were kids but can't remember the colour as i never drove it, except inside the garage!

by **dave-r** » 20 Feb 2009 13:09

I double checked the one on my 70 Challenger. It is red (or orange - I am a bit colour blind in the reds) for sure.

Every UK spec car I have ever owned has a blue hi-beam light.