Warning lights and indicator clicks

Warning lights and indicator clicks was created by billcoleman

Posted 1 year 5 months ago #202417
Does anybody have suggestions on how to:
Increase the volume of the indicator clicks.
Increase the brightness of the warning lights in the dash pod.

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Replied by Airportable on topic Warning lights and indicator clicks

Posted 1 year 5 months ago #202418
The lamps in the instrument binnacle are 509t I think & if the expression “dim bulb” was coined after looking at these with the sun on your back I wouldn’t be surprised . If you root around eBay you’ll find these with white LED cob inserts & these are a great improvement. *
On the indicator problem, this is exasperated by advancing years & again eBay is your friend. If you are a farter about as I am you can fit a sounder to enhance the indicating experience. Miniature sounders off the aforementioned mass emporium coupled to a bridge rectifier can easily be linked into the system.
Pop out the middle vent then pop out the emergency indicator switch, pick up the green/red wire & the green/ white wire & connect those to the A/C on the bridge. Take the positive terminal on the bridge to the positive on the sounder & run the negative to ground. Attenuate the racket from the sounder to taste (several layers of gaffa if are young, may be required, fewer as you age) & reassemble.
As usual when a quiz question like this comes in I’m miles away from my diagrams so check the colour combinations by visiting the circuit diagrams found in the Community section.
* these are polarity conscious so expect a couple of tries.
M
Last Edit:1 year 5 months ago by Airportable
Last edit: 1 year 5 months ago by Airportable.
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Replied by billcoleman on topic Warning lights and indicator clicks

Posted 1 year 5 months ago #202419
Great information thanks.
For the indicator clicks, today I should be receiving a pack of 5 from Amazon. One was needed for the reverse sensor sounder, so I'll have some left over for the indicator.

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Replied by deepfat on topic Warning lights and indicator clicks

Posted 1 year 5 months ago #202420
If your changing the instrument cluster bulbs you could also consider changing the sickly orange filter for something lighter and more cheerful.
by deepfat
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Replied by Cobber on topic Warning lights and indicator clicks

Posted 1 year 5 months ago #202424
Whilst it’s fine to change the most of the warning lights for LEDs, don’t change the ignition/ battery charge light, this needs to be an incandescent bulb, the reason is that it excites the fields in the alternator causing it to charge

"Keep calm, relax, focus on the problem & PULL THE BLOODY TRIGGER"

by Cobber

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Replied by billcoleman on topic Warning lights and indicator clicks

Posted 1 year 5 months ago #202427
That's interesting. I did'nt know about that.
Last Edit:1 year 5 months ago by billcoleman
Last edit: 1 year 5 months ago by billcoleman.

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Replied by Airportable on topic Warning lights and indicator clicks

Posted 1 year 5 months ago #202428
Can I add a bit to my early post. I didn’t make it clear when discussing the indicator sounder, having said connect the bridge positive to the sounder positive & the negative to ground. It’s the sounder negative that goes to ground. Sorry.
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Replied by billcoleman on topic Warning lights and indicator clicks

Posted 1 year 5 months ago #202694
Last night I took the instrument cluster out to see how to replace the lights. But it looks like I need to pull the cluster apart to get to the lamps.

Is this the same on all TF's or is this because mine is an LE500?

I don't really want to go that deep into the electronics in case I damage something. All the plastic parts (trim etc) on the LE500 are very lightweight and feeble. In my opinion, these parts are all low quality - basically white plastic spray painted black. Are earlier TF's like this?

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Replied by Airportable on topic Warning lights and indicator clicks

Posted 1 year 5 months ago #202696
There's a photograph of a chap on the production line at BL, as it was at the time, armed with a fat hammer to "align" the front bulkhead of an unspecified car, if he was involved in the manufacture of the instruments they would need by necessity to be resilient. They certainly are in my f & in my lamented tf, in fact apart from the digital odometer, a few extra symbols & the curvature of the "glass" everything was the same. The lamp holders are bayonet fit through cut outs on the board...........
I've a sacrificial set of instruments tucked away, I'll root it out & post pictures later.
M

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Replied by Airportable on topic Warning lights and indicator clicks

Posted 1 year 5 months ago #202697
These are pictures of the back of the instruments, holders & lamps, including the larger incandescent charge lamp with the yellow Johnny on, alluded to by Cobber. I should have put a known object adjacent to give scale but I reckon you’re bright enough to work it out.
The lamp has wire terminals folded back over the moulded part of the envelope & these make contact with the copper contacts which also form the wiping terminals on the board.
The yellow lamp is a led, used during a failed experiment, the white ones I used were little more than the bayonet base with a square chip mounted on top.
M

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Replied by billcoleman on topic Warning lights and indicator clicks

Posted 1 year 5 months ago #202700
Thanks, this is great information.

I assume that I need to remove all the little socket head screws and split open the cluster to get to these lamps.

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Replied by Airportable on topic Warning lights and indicator clicks

Posted 1 year 5 months ago #202704
To get to the lamp holders away, as illustrated, you grip the black wedge lamp base & twist through 45 degrees, the lamp & base simply pops out. If you were replacing a failed lamp you would grasp the glass envelope & pull, the lamp would come away, a new one inserted & the base replaced & with the 45 degree reverse twist. You are then good for the next 10,000 miles.
This is modus operandi for the f as illustrated, I can't see SEAC changing that system for 500 cars.
M

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