Speedo illumination / rheostat

[fitz]

Hello all,

Just to tidy up the couple of minor niggles, the speedo is a bit dim and has uneven light so i think a bulb has gone, is this user replaceable? Also, is the rheostat control supposed to be backlit - i have a feeling it was then i turned it to play with it, and it went out?!!?!

has anyone replaced the standard bulbs with led replacements with good / bad results?

Tia

[amarshall]

Dash bulbs are easy - drop the steering wheel to its lowest position.

4 screws hold the veneer trim on
a further 4 under the trim hold the instrument panel in - ease it forward and you can unscrew the speedo cable, after that - it's a piece of cake!

[hodders]

I don't think the rheostat is backlit.

[amarshall]

I don't think the rheostat is backlit.

I think you're right - the parts manual shows the knob attached to the shaft of the rheostat with no bulb, nor space for one.

[Lotus-e-Clan]

It was probably glowing due to a short circuit somewhere!

I can vaguely remember this happening to mine 6 or 7 years ago...a twiddle of the rheostat to turn up dim backlights was accompanied by a slight whiff of warm electrics and then the instrument lights went out completely. I can't remember how I fixed it ? fuse or ?relay...such a long time ago...but it wasn't due to bulb failure so might be something completely different to your problem.

[kent_racer]

How to dismantle the centre console on a 83 model ?
I've no light on it and I'm suspecting the left rheostat to be faulty.

[kent_racer]

How to dismantle the centre console on a 83 model ?
I've no light on it and I'm suspecting the left rheostat to be faulty.

I found the method at the very end og the manual