Just how rubbish are your classic's panel lights?

[anonymous-user]

As rubbish as this?



Those eerie green lights are supposed to illuminate some switches. Yeah right.



Also, pop quiz. What is missing from this picture?

[nta16]

the focus on the camera

those dials look better illuminated that my Smith dials

and what are illuminated switches then(?)

ETA: I thought the question referred to the bottom photo

Edited by nta16 on Saturday 7th December 13:47

[gforceg]

Middle picture pop quiz answer.

The steering wheel.


I don't own a classic but I do like to turn the dashboard lights down for night driving on otherwise unlit roads. I find it makes it more relaxing and less of a difference when glancing from the outside to the dials and back again.

[anonymous-user]

The pop quiz relates to the third picture. You can see the steering wheel in the first picture. The switches are below the green lights, and at night work on the basis of point and stab or grope and count.

[v8250]

Breadvan72 said:

Also, pop quiz. What is missing from this picture?

breadvan72, someone's pinched your clock

[anonymous-user]

Close, very close!

[v8250]

...well surely she hasn't run away with your air vents??

[anonymous-user]

Whoever put those wheels on that car deserves to have permanent buttock-related bonnet damage.

[nta16]

that could be someone's grandmother or great-grandmother now

personally I've always preferred the more natural body shape and weight the ladies were allowed to have back then

[gforceg]

Would Sir care for the furry upholstery insert option? After all, this IS the 70s...

[nta16]

actually I would, I'm fed up with the plucked chicken and topiary looks

[v8250]

back on topic I do prefer the aged glow of our old car dashboards. Most modern dashboard lighting is bloody awful - far too many unnecessary dash widgets and glaring dials. A simple clean cut ergonomic design is much more pleasing; much like Nigel's request...

[a8hex]

Breadvan72 said:

As rubbish as this?

Yes
And I can turn them off completely too.

[shambollic]

I think you're just showing off with your new fangled panel lights. If I switch mine on the only difference is the ammeter drops into minus figures. Not that I can actually see it of course.....

[williredale]

a8hex said:

Breadvan72 said:

As rubbish as this?

Yes
And I can turn them off completely too.

Same, and for several years of ownership I didn't know you could turn them on! Driving in the dark was erm, dark...

[Crosswise]

The dash light rheostat only works in a couple of positions on my MGB, no doubt due to oxidation on the winding. As I didn't realise it had a rheostat it took me some time to figure out why my dash lights had stopped working after I accidentally knocked it. When they are working I like the warm glow even if the gauges are not that easy to read.

[nta16]

Crosswise said:

As I didn't realise it had a rheostat it took me some time to figure out why my dash lights had stopped working after I accidentally knocked it.

you would have done had you read (and bought if required) the very freely available Drivers Handbook

[Riley Blue]

I left the panel lights on in my Riley 1.5 and returned to a flat battery. Why I switched them on in the first place I've no idea as they're dimmer than a very dim thing on National Dim Day, neither do they illuminate the switches so I'm forever groping around in the dark hoping I won't switch off the lights when I need the wipers.

[rudecherub]

Breadvan72 said:

As rubbish as this?



Those eerie green lights are supposed to illuminate some switches. Yeah right.



Also, pop quiz. What is missing from this picture?

Don't they turn up somewhat with the dimmer switch?

I remember mine as being brighter than that, indeed a long time memory was my dad's interceptor in the 80's, and sitting low in the passenger seat the reflection of the instruements especially the aircon in the side window.

Failing that LEDs!

[anonymous-user]

That is the high setting they are on. I would have said that the dimmer setting makes the panel dimmer than a dim thing being quite dim on National Dim Day, but someone has already used that line. The lights on later Interceptors were a bit better, but this heap is from 1969 when most cars still used gaslight. The Interceptor was considered very modern at the time as it had stuff like door handles and brakes,then considered a novelty.