1957 Fairlane 500 Cluster lights

[Bjaye12]

Tried searching, spent 2 hours sweating balls, bent over backwards with my head in the footwell trying to track wires and connections and replacing bulbs. Need some help, lost cluster lighting. Turn signals, oil light, gen light, radio/light, dome light, speedo all work, lighting in cluster does not.

[Ford Blue blood]

When you say the speedo works am I correct assuming you mean the speed indicator, not the lights?

All the dash lights are fed off one circuit.  The head light switch is the source for them.  There is a potentiometer on the switch that controls the brightness.  Rotate it fully bright (CW) until you feel a slight click.  If the dash lights are on it is a failed pot. If still no lights there is a broken wire off the switch to the dash lights.  The source for power to the pot is internal to the head light switch, no fuse for them.

[gasman826]

First thing, take the front seat out!

[Fabulous50s]

Check to see if you have 12volts at the headlight switch. Looking from the top it would be the right front terminal. I believe it's a yellow wire.

If you have 12volts at that terminal then your headlight switch is bad.

[Bjaye12]

Correct, speedometer works but no lights. And the front seat is a bitch!

[Ford Blue blood]

As Gary says, I joke that I mount my seats with wing nuts!  Us old buggers don't bend ant twist like we did when youngsters so having the seat out almost makes working under the dash fun.....

[lalessi1]

The rheostats on the front of the light switch are not very good for dimming the dash lights especially on "repopped" versions. I bypassed mine. Now I can't dim the dash lights but they are pretty dim to start with. The light switch isn't too bad to remove with the seat still in....

[Bjaye12]

How does it come out?

[djfordmanjack]

there is a little knob on top of the light switch ( inbetween the electric connectors) that you have to press to release the light switch knob/shaft assembly ( wiggle/pull). then you get access to back out the slotted screw.

[Bjaye12]

How did you bypass it?

[scottegibbs]

Hi, I also had cluster lights that didn't work. I found that the contact on the dash light dimmer (rheostat?) was dirty. After I took a little Emory cloth to the contacts I now have all my dash lights working. One more box checked off!!

[lalessi1]

How did you bypass it?

Icantrespondbecausemykeyboardwontspaceorpunctuate....Newonecomunginacoupleofdays

[CobraJoe]

     

[Bjaye12]

Bad rheostat and replacing it fixed issue. Had a bulb that wouldn?t light and found out it was not pushed into the cluster all the way.