Brighter bulbs for instrument cluster?

[indiana dave]

Has anyone installed any of the bright bulbs for their guages? I'm tired of not being able to read mine at night... I see all of the fancy "ricer" bulbs at the parts store, but wonder if their any better than regular replacements.

[DON86SVO]

Bulbs

Dave,

Try the halogen bulbs that fit '85 & later T-bird electronic clusters. They are brighter and burn cooler. The Ford part # is E5SZ-13B765-C. These are expensive at $9.75 retail but they also come with the socket. My parts catalog also gives an industry # 2033 halogen.

[indiana dave]

Suggestion from Lou Medina

Here's an email he sent me... Hope you don't mind if I post it for everyone Lou.

Quote
"The stock instrument cluster lights are a 194 bulb.
Look for a 168 bulb. They are the exact same size but are 50% brighter for
about $1 or less each.
Its one of the first mods I do in all my cars.
You will notice the difference"

Thanks, l'll post the results.

[kiwi]

Any hotter????

Dave, Would they burn any hotter lets say?........Because I have those little red covers on them to give it a diff night appearance. Don't want the little guys to catch on "fire" or anything......

[KevinK]

Usually the cause to dim dash lights is one or two things. The first is a few bulbs being out. The second is the headlight switch. The dimmer for the dash lights is a simple rheostat (variable resistor load) that causes less voltage to go to the bulbs. Replacing the whole headlight switch will often fix the problem.