ambient temperature gauge illumination

  • Thread starter Thread starter James Sweet
  • Start date Start date
J

James Sweet

The bulb that illuminates the ambient temperature gauge in my 240 burned
out a little while ago. As I recall, the bulb is a bit unusual with an
odd sized bayonet base unlike any of the others used in the car. Anyone
know where to find one of these? I suppose I could modify the socket to
use a more standard bulb but I'd prefer to just find one.
 
James said:
The bulb that illuminates the ambient temperature gauge in my 240 burned
out a little while ago. As I recall, the bulb is a bit unusual with an
odd sized bayonet base unlike any of the others used in the car. Anyone
know where to find one of these? I suppose I could modify the socket to
use a more standard bulb but I'd prefer to just find one.
Click to expand...

Is this the same James Sweet that advocates rummaging through the local
pick-a-part to find the odd part? *g*

While I was pulling seats out of the nearly intact '87 I found at our
local 'Pick Your Part', I pillaged the dash for all the bulbs, relays,
etc., I could find.
 
clay said:
Is this the same James Sweet that advocates rummaging through the local
pick-a-part to find the odd part? *g*

While I was pulling seats out of the nearly intact '87 I found at our
local 'Pick Your Part', I pillaged the dash for all the bulbs, relays,
etc., I could find.
Click to expand...


This gauge is a very rare option in the US, I've never actually seen one
down here. Found mine in a salvage yard up in Canada several years ago,
but I'm not about to go all the way up there to find a used lightbulb!
As I said, the bulb is unlike anything used anywhere else in the car
despite it being an OEM VDO gauge.
 
James said:
This gauge is a very rare option in the US, I've never actually seen one
down here. Found mine in a salvage yard up in Canada several years ago,
but I'm not about to go all the way up there to find a used lightbulb!
As I said, the bulb is unlike anything used anywhere else in the car
despite it being an OEM VDO gauge.
Click to expand...

oops, I missed the rare part in your original post. That would make it
tougher to find.
In the old days, junkyards had a network. You walk in, ask about a part,
they pick up a radio and call all their junkyard buddies. Don't s'pose
it's that way anymore though.
 
oops, I missed the rare part in your original post. That would make it
tougher to find.
In the old days, junkyards had a network. You walk in, ask about a part,
they pick up a radio and call all their junkyard buddies. Don't s'pose
it's that way anymore though.
Click to expand...

Well it appears to be a VDO type A, commonly available, I just haven't
seen them locally. I'll just order some.

http://www.egauges.com/vdo_indA.asp?PN=600-802
 
James, thanks for that link. I need to get some new bulbs for all the
gauges in my 242 turbo. I also have the ambient temp gauge, and I bought
my boost gauge at egauges. Now when I drive at night, the boost gauge is
so much brighter than all the others it looks like the sun is rising
inside my car. If I dim the instrument lighting to the point where the
boost gauge doesn't burn its image into my retinas, the rest of them are
completely dark. I hope it's as simple as needing new bulbs in the rest.
 
tom said:
James, thanks for that link. I need to get some new bulbs for all the
gauges in my 242 turbo. I also have the ambient temp gauge, and I bought
my boost gauge at egauges. Now when I drive at night, the boost gauge is
so much brighter than all the others it looks like the sun is rising
inside my car. If I dim the instrument lighting to the point where the
boost gauge doesn't burn its image into my retinas, the rest of them are
completely dark. I hope it's as simple as needing new bulbs in the rest.
Click to expand...

It could be, or you might have the wrong bulb in the boost gauge, or it
might just be a different design that is brighter. What color is the
illumination in the boost gauge? If it's white, you might pick up a blue
sleeve for the bulb to make it match the others which have an internal
blue filter.
 
James said:
It could be, or you might have the wrong bulb in the boost gauge, or it
might just be a different design that is brighter. What color is the
illumination in the boost gauge? If it's white, you might pick up a blue
sleeve for the bulb to make it match the others which have an internal
blue filter.
Click to expand...

I really don't notice any color difference. The bulb in the boost gauge
is what came in it. It's a VDO cockpit series, I believe. One of these
days I'll tear into it and see for sure what's going on. I think it may
be a combination of the old ones being weak and/or dirty and the new one
being a higher wattage bulb.
 
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