Rockie51 Posted March 13, 2019 Report Share Posted March 13, 2019 My 4A has the walnut dashboard. The warning lights for ignition and indicators have never lined up properly. The holes in the steel dash panel are not lined up with the timber facing. I am going to take the dash apart and redrill the steel. My query is whether the lights should mount through both the timber and the metal, or only the metal, which is where they are now. Rockie Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ctc77965o Posted March 13, 2019 Report Share Posted March 13, 2019 Only to the metal, it would be nice to mount them into the wood, but materials are too thick and its not possible. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John Morrison Posted March 13, 2019 Report Share Posted March 13, 2019 When I bought my TR 4, a long time ago now, it had an extra market wooden dash fitted, and no, the holes for the Green/Red Warning Lights did not line up. What someone had done, was obtain two extra warning lights, and cut the lens/chrome bezel off and let them into the wooden part of the dash locted with some, mastic. None of this could be seen and the light shone well enough through both to be OK in use. John. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tim hunt Posted March 13, 2019 Report Share Posted March 13, 2019 The May 1965 Autocar Road Test of the 4A stated --- "The new walnut veneer dashboard is very well fitted and stands up admirably to Californian sunshine, we are told. It is slightly marred by two clumsily cut holes for warning lights between the main instruments, but otherwise gives a nice touch of luxury." I reckon it was rather too soon to comment on West Coast longevity of the veneered dash but that's another story. The warning lights on my car were not central in their apertures when the car was built and this always annoyed me. Some years ago, when I fitted a replacement dashboard and matching door cappings I took the opportunity of judiciously modifying the holes in the panel with a rat tail file thus allowing the warning lights to be repositioned exactly centrally. I also arranged for the cut outs on the bezels to be at 3 and 9 o'clock - what an anorak! Tim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stillp Posted March 13, 2019 Report Share Posted March 13, 2019 Very neatly done Tim. Why the tape over the trip counter? Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tim hunt Posted March 13, 2019 Report Share Posted March 13, 2019 I have LED instrument panel bulbs Pete, to reduce current draw on my dynamo equipped car, and the existing rheostat has zero effect. The lights are a bit too bright for my taste, the tape is just to dim the light to a more acceptable level. I have a small circular piece of blue insulating tape on the speedometer glass covering the main beam warning light for the same reason. Tim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lebro Posted March 13, 2019 Report Share Posted March 13, 2019 Replacement rheostat for led operation. Bob. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tim hunt Posted March 13, 2019 Report Share Posted March 13, 2019 Bob, If this is available as a direct replacement for the existing rheostat could you please advise source. Many thanks. Tim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lebro Posted March 13, 2019 Report Share Posted March 13, 2019 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5W-100R-wirewound-potentiometer/391584895037?hash=item5b2c47503d:g:IQQAAOSwLF1X9WZQ&frcectupt=true But you will need to do some machining to the shaft in order to fit the knob retaining spring & plunger. Bob. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tim hunt Posted March 15, 2019 Report Share Posted March 15, 2019 Thanks Bob. the required modification is beyond my skill level so will stick with my current bodge. The brighter panel lights have accentuated the reflection from the chrome speedo and tacho bezels, which create unwanted virtual images on the screen. To eliminate this issue for night driving I have a removeable piece of PVC leathercloth which attaches by Velcro to the heater vent, it can just be seen in the attached. Tim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PaulAnderson Posted March 16, 2019 Report Share Posted March 16, 2019 Interesting, I get reflections in the windscreen as well from the LED instrument lights. I have not tried to do anything about it yet but it is slightly annoying. I put the effect down to the angle of reflection and me being tall so catching it just wrong. That digital dimmer would also be appealing but I also don't have machining skills of facilities. Paul Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lebro Posted March 16, 2019 Report Share Posted March 16, 2019 Dimmer not "digital" ! just a different value to the original, also smaller. the machining is only necessary if you wish to exactly replicate the original method of mounting the control knob. You could probably get away with just shortening the spindle, & pressing the knob on, perhaps with some thin packing to stop it slipping. Bob Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tim hunt Posted March 16, 2019 Report Share Posted March 16, 2019 Good thought Bob, might try this. After all it's not as if the knob has to be pulled out and I guess very little force is required to rotate it. Paul, I used small pieces of self adhesive hook and loop tape as shown. When not in use the PVC sheet stows in the door pocket taking up hardly any of the limited space therein. Tim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lebro Posted March 16, 2019 Report Share Posted March 16, 2019 Good luck. BTW the fixed resistor (mounted on the back of the pot) is there so that the LED bulbs do not go out altogether when the pot (dimmer) is only half way down. with the fixed resistor there should be a smooth transition from off to full on over the travel of the pot. Here are some pics I took of a setup I did recently for Pogo: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted March 16, 2019 Report Share Posted March 16, 2019 On 3/15/2019 at 11:02 AM, tim hunt said: which create unwanted virtual images on the screen. Tim Hi Tim, some people pay good money for substances to do that Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Pogo Posted March 18, 2019 Report Share Posted March 18, 2019 On 3/16/2019 at 11:15 AM, Lebro said: Here are some pics I took of a setup I did recently for Pogo: Hi Bob Nearly ready to install these now. Looking forward to seeing it all done. Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ricky30dk Posted March 19, 2019 Report Share Posted March 19, 2019 Hi Tim, did you have trouble fitting the LED bulbs to the larger instruments? I bought a set of green ones on Ebay - they fit nicely on the smaller gauges but hit the back of the gauge face when I try to fit them to the larger ones. Just wondering if you found a workaround .... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tim hunt Posted March 19, 2019 Report Share Posted March 19, 2019 Hi Ricky, I ended up using two types of LED bulb for the panel. Type 1 give a concentrated light in one direction and these were ideal for the main beam, ignition and indicator warning functions. However, I found them poor as instrument bulbs, for those I used Type 2 bubs which give the required spread of light. In both cases the overall length of the bulbs was quite close to the original filament bulbs and I had no clearance issue on the speedo or tacho. Tim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ricky30dk Posted March 24, 2019 Report Share Posted March 24, 2019 Thanks Tim. Having opted for the green LEDs, I was limited in my choice, but I did find a short version available from the same supplier. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JohnC Posted July 17, 2021 Report Share Posted July 17, 2021 On 3/14/2019 at 12:11 AM, tim hunt said: I have a small circular piece of blue insulating tape on the speedometer glass covering the main beam warning light for the same reason You could always revert to the original bulb for that application. They were never too bright! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BlueTR3A-5EKT Posted September 8, 2021 Report Share Posted September 8, 2021 (edited) Wrong thread. Edited September 9, 2021 by BlueTR3A-5EKT Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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