Jsd454 Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 Hello all, Most of my dashboard instrument lights are so faded I can hardly see anything at night without cranking up the light switch till just before the dome light comes on. My question is, does the whole dash need to come out of the car in order to replace bulbs? Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbolt Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 You can access some of the bulbs from the top with the padded part of the dash removed but the lower bulbs are more than difficult to reach even if you remove the plastic cover under the steering column. I recommend dropping the steering column, removing the 6 7/16" bolts holding the dash in place and moving the whole assembly forward on the drivers side only just far enough to access the light bulb sockets. Trust me, it isnt as daunting a task as it may seem. I usually place a jack stand on the floor under the column to support it and another with a pad or rag on the passenger side floor to support the glove box side of the dash assembly in the event it comes fully free of the brackets once the bolts are removed.  You will also need to pop the center vent out, which consists of 3 fasteners... i want to say they are 1/4" but i changed mine to screws long ago. Finally, there should be two plastic push clip things holding the wire harness to the dash assembly right on top under the windshield. Pop those loose as well and you should have plenty of room to replace all the bulbs.  I have mine all apart right now so if you need a pic of anything just let me know and ill post some.  Its easy. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jsd454 Posted January 31, 2021 Author Share Posted January 31, 2021 Thank James for your detailed description of the process. I also would love to have a working clock again. Is that something that could also be changed with this process? Photos would be very helpful if you have some to share!! Thanks again for your time and advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1970mcss Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 Dennis (mcfan) has a nice write up on how to remove and repair the clock. I have rebuilt my original clock and an extra one. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbolt Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 Yes, you can remove the entire gauge pod by moving the dash forward on the steering column and jackstand at the glove box area. There are 3 1/4" screws along the top, two on either side of the steering column, and one on either side near the headlight switch and inboard idiot light/gauges. You will need to remove the headlight switch and unplug the wiring harness from the back of the gauge pod and pretty much lift the whole assembly out the top. I almost forgot, the clock has a single blade connector on the back that you will also have to remove. It is a simple process but if you lack experience the thought of the task can be daunting. I find the hardest part to be those two small screws adjacent to the steering column because you pretty much have to use a small 1/4" open end on them as there isnt a lot of room to get a small socket on them.  Almost forgot you have to unclip the speedometer cable too. Just press the clip and the cable should pop off pretty easily.   Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbolt Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 Looks like you are only about 3 hours away, give or take. Drive it up and I'll knock it out for you. It will only take about an hour to pull the dash, change the bulbs, and slap it all back together. Ill even show you how to clean the clock contacts while we are in there. Plus, once you see it done and how simple it is you wont hesitate to do any behind the dash repairs yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCfan Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 Hi, Jeff, Since you are motivated to improve your dash/instrument cluster lighting, I would like to encourage you to make the snowball big enough to be worth the time, effort and aggravation of such a project.  Since I have never been able to trace my ancestry back to Harry Houdini, messing with the dash of a first gen Monte Carlo has never been a project I have relished but, like James, you may find it easier and more pleasant. Like many other members, I did it once to upgrade from idiot lights to a full factory gauge setup and another time just to fix the dash clock and upgrade to LEDs. I suggest you consider doing all of those in one project (unless you already have a full gauge dash, of course). I cannot imagine even replacing the standard 1445 or 196 instrument cluster bulbs without at least loosening the dash and pulling it forward. And, if you are upgrading to full gauges, you will need to remove the instrument cluster anyway and that will make it super easy to change the "bulbs". But .... why replace the original bulbs with new incandescent bulbs when you can directly plug in LED replacements instead? Sure, not all LED bulb replacements are "dimmable", but you want brighter lighting anyway, right? I can almost assure you that the LEDs will cost you far less than the new 1445/196 bulbs, they will be brighter, last longer and draw less current. It's been several years now since I converted my two '70 dashes without a single LED "bulb" failure. Both times, I bought a package of 20 white 5 SMD LED bulbs, installed 15 and kept 5 spares. They cost less than $1 apiece that way and you can get them in various colors if you want. An online search will yield literally dozens of possible sizes, intensities, sources and prices of LED replacements. I got mine cheap on eBay, but you can order from SuperBright and pay $3-$5 per "bulb" if you'd rather. Yes, you should definitely try to repair your non-working dash clock or replace it with a quartz movement reproduction if you can't. I replaced the one in my first '70 with a quartz repop but kept the original clock. One day I was bored and decided to see if I could repair the original. Turned out it was tedious but not such a big deal to fix it. It had a broken a hand setting spring plus three terminal defects: a balance wheel out of its jewels, corroded electrical contacts and an electrical short from the coil to the inside of the case. After cleaning, lubing and fixing those four issues, it ran and kept good time so I installed in my other '70 to replace its non-working clock. I made a photo journal of that whole project (that Tom referred to above) and put it out on Photobucket. Unfortunately, Photobucket has blocked all public access to it (and all of my other photo journals) because I refuse to pay their ridiculous hosting fees. I still have the individual photos, of course, but all of the step by step instructions were in the captions and are now inaccessible. Let me know if you want to try repairing you clock and I can send you some individual photos via email. Finally, I will attach a photo of a set of dash removal tips that was posted years ago by a long-time member, Tony. Pay careful attention to every step and you should be able to remove your dash without damage to it or yourself. I have some photos of that process, also, and will include a few here, but there are more I can send you via email if you want/need them. Whatever you decide to do to improve your dash, I'm sure you will enjoy the results. Good luck!  1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grant MacPherson Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 Has anyone done an amp to volt gauge conversion? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jft69z Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 3 hours ago, Grant MacPherson said: Has anyone done an amp to volt gauge conversion? I tried to, but the voltmeter from Shift Works wasn't available any more. Though it was advertised everywhere, it would be shipped direct from them. Talked to the owner, said they weren't being manufactured any more. He had a perspective supplier, but nothing solid, with no time frame at all. There are other places that will take your stuff and modify it, Redline being the place that the owner of Shift Works suggested. I called, spoke to Shannon there, and ended ordering a Dakota Digital from him instead after pricing that plus a Speedometer upgrade. Might be worth calling Shift Works again to see if there is any progress though. EDIT: Checked real quick, looks like ShiftWorks and Summit show them, but Summit said that before. I'd still call first. https://www.word-works.com/shiftworks/gauges-70-72-chevelle-voltmeter.htm White is for 71-72, if you need a 70, get S535-G (green), though Summit says that's not available. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/siw-s535-w/make/chevrolet/model/chevelle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallaby Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 it seems to me the last time I was checking voltage at the fuse box, I didn't get full voltage for the instrument lights. Even at full power, they were not 12v. Anybody else with this situation? Seems the dim dash lights are a common problem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jsd454 Posted February 1, 2021 Author Share Posted February 1, 2021 Wow James, Thank you for the generous offer of help. I may just take you up on your offer!! Perhaps we can coordinate a day to make that happen. Would it be smarter to buy a new clock or do they come back to life pretty easy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbolt Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 7 hours ago, Jsd454 said: Wow James, Thank you for the generous offer of help. I may just take you up on your offer!! Perhaps we can coordinate a day to make that happen. Would it be smarter to buy a new clock or do they come back to life pretty easy? I followed Dennis' instructions on how to get the clock running again and it worked pretty well but was still intermittent so i just went ahead and bought a new one. It keeps time really well which i am pleasantly surprised about. Come to think of it i may still have my original clock around somewhere. Ill see if i can dig it out and if i can find it Ill give it to you. I guess you can try to clean yours and get it working again first before pulling the trigger on a new one. Any day is good for me. Im retired. If you are a working stiff Saturday or Sunday would be good. Just give me a heads up which day so i dont plan anything else. We got superbowl weekend coming up and the following weekend i am busy the whole time. What i am saying is this weekend works or the weekend after which is the last weekend of the month i think. Let me know. Im almost always home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jsd454 Posted February 1, 2021 Author Share Posted February 1, 2021 James, I really appreciate your kind offer. I too am excited for the Super Bowl and being a Bucs fan. Let’s plan after the Super Bowl. I do work M-F but I maybe able to take a weekday off or we can plan a weekend day. I want to work around what is good for you. Perhaps I should pull the trigger and order a new quarts clock and know it will be a one time thing. Thank you again and I’ll will be in touch. Hope you have a great week!! Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jsd454 Posted February 1, 2021 Author Share Posted February 1, 2021 Hello again James, Would February 19th (Friday) be a possibility? If so, I can request that day off and come over if it is not raining. Let me know and I’ll request the day off. Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbolt Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 Works for me. C'mon up. Shoot me a pm and ill send you my px and address so you can get an idea of drive time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jsd454 Posted February 2, 2021 Author Share Posted February 2, 2021 I will put in a request for time off. I will also need to find the light bulbs and hopefully get the correct ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbolt Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 I have LED bulbs in mine. They are great but not all LED's are created equal and mine do not dim as advertised. I do recommend the dimmable ones as i dont like the big old bright lights in my face while driving at night. There is a website... superbrightled.com that has an interactive site map where you can put the vehicle and location of bulb in and it will recommend replacements. Otherwise a quick internet search should give you the correct replacements. Either 168 or 194 i think off the top of my head. Hopefully a member will chime in with the proper bulbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jft69z Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 194's for all the instrument panel lights, at least according to a 72 owner's manual. 2 candle power. Heater- A/C control panel lamp is a 1445 - 1 candle power, as well as the floor mounted console lamps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Bell Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 Dennis, James, is there a properly dimming LED replacement on the market for these lamps? The 194 lamp has a T-3 1/4 wedge base. As stated, it's 2 candle power. The 168 & 192 version is 3 candle power and the 175 is 5 candle power. I cleaned up the dash removal sheet from above and made it a PDF: dash.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCfan Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 2 hours ago, Paul Bell said: Dennis, James, is there a properly dimming LED replacement on the market for these lamps? Paul, it was just over 8 years ago that I first upgraded to LEDs and dimmable versions were basically unheard of as I recall. I've since heard that dimmable LEDs are available, but I have not had a need for them or shopped for them. I did a quick Google search with the word "dimmable" in it and got a lot of hits but have yet to find one that claims it is actually "dimmable" in the specs. Back then, the size of LEDs made the T5 (Tower shape with 5 LEDs) the predominate 194 replacement (as shown in my prior photos), Now, with the smaller sizes, the T10s seem to be the most popular 194 replacement. Some T10s are as cheap as the T5s eight years ago. You can get a set of 20 (15 needed plus 5 spares) for $15.99 from Amazon shipped free with Prime: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VCRX1PW/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B07VCRX1PW&pd_rd_w=qJcEs&pf_rd_p=b34bfa80-68f6-4e86-a996-32f7afe08deb&pd_rd_wg=V0ai3&pf_rd_r=MHYS283C1KP1MNZ4SH9T&pd_rd_r=f1d78300-e249-4029-9ec7-3753b33f293d&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyTTEzTEFSWFZMMTk5JmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMzE2MTg1M0VYR05EUTFJREhJUSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMjkwNTA2MzlERlhMMlY1SDZaRyZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2RldGFpbCZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU= I was completely satisfied with the T5s and used them in both of my '70s but the T10s seem to be somewhat brighter so being dimmable may be a desirable feature.  Other members who have converted to LEDs more recently may be able to give a specific recommendation based on experience but I cannot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jsd454 Posted February 3, 2021 Author Share Posted February 3, 2021 I just wanted to THANK everyone for the advice and support. I had a 1978 Monte during college but this is my first "FirstGen" Monte. Learning as I go. Its not perfect but I am trying to make it as well as I can!! Entered two car shows and took home "Best In Class" trophies each time. So that has been fun and worth while. Thanks again and I'm sure I will be reaching out for more of your knowledge!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbolt Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 i looked it up and these claim to be dimmable LED's in the 194 layout... blade type  https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/miniature-and-subminiature-bulbs/194-led-bulb-cob-led-t325-miniature-wedge-base-135-lumens/6325/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JP_AstroMan Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 Hey folks. I am really looking forward to swapping my clock out for the tachometer...but I quickly got turned off when the job was WAY more involved than I thought it would be. In your opinion, how many hours would it take to upgrade all the dash lights and swap the clock? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JP_AstroMan Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 MCfan- where did you get the awesome green lights for your dash?? I am really looking forward to swapping my clock out for the tachometer...but I quickly got turned off when the job was WAY more involved than I thought it would be. In your opinion, how many hours would it take to upgrade all the dash lights and swap the clock? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCfan Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 3 hours ago, JP_AstroMan said: MCfan- where did you get the awesome green lights for your dash?? I am really looking forward to swapping my clock out for the tachometer...but I quickly got turned off when the job was WAY more involved than I thought it would be. In your opinion, how many hours would it take to upgrade all the dash lights and swap the clock? The dash lights are actually white LEDs. For '70 only, Chevy used green iridescent numerals and markings on the Monte Carlo dash instruments. The combination of white lite and green markings creates the green glow. '71 and '72 Montes have white numerals and markings but you could go with colored LEDs if you want a certain effect. If you are going to add gauges (like a tach, water temp, ammeter) to a '70 instrument cluster and want them to match, you need to specify gauges with the green tinted markings and numerals. I did the full gauge dash conversion so I don't know about just swapping a tach for the clock. I would think you would need a new printed circuit board but maybe someone has a slick conversion that is more of a direct replacement. The biggest part of the job (IMO) is removing the dash or at least pulling it out far enough to remove the instrument cluster. If you have never done that, I suggest you take your time and try not to damage it. Some folks are fast mechanics but I'd rather take things slow and try to do it right the first time (not that I always do, of course). I also tend to spread a project out over several days rather than trying to get it done in one session.  Of all the projects I have done on my three '70s over the years, messing with the dash and fuse panel is my least favorite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.