improving cluster lighting 64 cuda.

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slantsixdan said:
Inside is per socket and bulb links already provided.



Directly. Remove/replace, no mods needed.

Exterior is trickier, because you're dealing with safety lights that have to work right (not just light up), and there are optical complications. Start reading at post № 80 of this thread. That situation is in flux; one of the world's reputable light source makers (Tungsram, long affiliated with GE) is gearing up to launch a new line of LED signal bulbs that stand a good chance of working well in old-car lights. As soon as they're released and I've tested them, if they're as good as it looks like they might be, I'll shout about it on here.

Headlamps also require very choosy and informed shopping; see here.
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Well dan, I’ve read through all of what you’ve said on headlamps. Let’s say I were to order the fancy (not super fancy) JW speaker lights. They have DRL’s. How do those hookup? I like that feature for safety reason, but curious how it wires in. Would It be wired through a fuse that gets power when the ignition is turned on?
 
Three factors influence whether the DRLs are illuminated or not:

Parking brake status
Ignition switch status
Headlamp switch status

Relay A (NC or changeover) hooked up like this:

#85 tap into parking brake warning lamp switch wire
#86 to #87a of Relay B
#87a to left & right DRL wire
#30 via fuse to ignition-switched +12v

Relay B (NC or changeover) hooked up like this:

#85 grounded
#86 to parking lamp feed
#87a to 86 of Relay A
#30 via fuse to ignition-switched +12v

Result: with the ignition on, the parking lamps or headlamps off, and the parking brake released, the DRLs are on. Any other case (park brake applied,
parking or headlamps on, ignition off) the DRLs are off.
 
…Oh, and one other thing needed to make this work: On (most) pre-1968 vehicles, the parking lamps do not remain lit when you turn on the headlamps. For 1968, this was changed so the parkers stay lit with the headlamps for safety (in case of a headlight burnout you still have at least some visible light on the burned out side of the car). This is easy to retrofit: remove the headlamp switch and unplug its multi-wire connector. Put a short piece of 18ga wire between from the "P" to the "R" terminals on the headlamp switch body, right down at the base of those terminals. Make sure the ends of the jumper are neatly tucked so they won't touch any adjacent terminals. Solder if you like. Then push the connector back onto the switch, on top of your new jumper wire which won't get in the way, and reinstall the headlamp switch.

Or, if you prefer, find the two wires corresponding to those terminals and put a jumper across the wires themselves. It's best not to use the fold-over-and-crunch "Scotchlok" type taps. Much better, more durably trouble-free result if you use Posi-Taps (get this assortment and you'll quickly find uses for every piece).

Either way, this will emulate the wiring setup of '68 and later cars that keep the parking lamps lit with the headlamps on, and allow the DRL switching logic to work correctly.
 
I haven't added anything extra to mine and I am slap happy with it. All I did was add the two super bright Zevo LEDs to the two dash lights and that made them very bright. Thanks @slantsixdan for all the advice.

This is just from swapping TWO sockets to the 168/194 type and installing only TWO led bulbs. That's ALL I did. Why you need to do anything else, I don't know.

This picture is actually with the first LEDs installed which were yellow. The camera picked up glare which was not there. I decided I didn't like the yellow and changed them to white. The white looks much better. I'll try to remember to post a picture tonight.

DASH LIGHTS!.jpg
 
RustyRatRod said:
I haven't added anything extra to mine and I am slap happy with it. All I did was add the two super bright Zevo LEDs to the two dash lights and that made them very bright. Thanks @slantsixdan for all the advice.

This is just from swapping TWO sockets to the 168/194 type and installing only TWO led bulbs. That's ALL I did. Why you need to do anything else, I don't know.

This picture is actually with the first LEDs installed which were yellow. The camera picked up glare which was not there. I decided I didn't like the yellow and changed them to white. The white looks much better. I'll try to remember to post a picture tonight.

View attachment 1715592562
Click to expand...

It's very interesting to me that the barracuda had only 2 illumination lights in 64. the dart of the same year has a similar layout and size, and has 7 total lights in the dash. 3 for illumination, one for oil, one for high beams, and two for turn signals
 
chinze57 said:
It's very interesting to me that the barracuda had only 2 illumination lights in 64. the dart of the same year has a similar layout and size, and has 7 total lights in the dash. 3 for illumination, one for oil, one for high beams, and two for turn signals
Click to expand...

"I guess" they figured it was enough.....and it is with modern LEDs, but with the crappy little bulbs they came with, no way.
 
So, you just lightly sand the printed circuit so you can solder a wire to it to pick up the power?

Also... I'm new to the A body. You have the hi beam light as a red LED. Mine is out....never seen it work. Most hi-beams I've seen are blue. Are they red on the A body?
 
Yes, most of them are red. Blue became the standardised colour for the high beam indicator per Federal +Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 101 (Controls & Displays) for 1976. Prior to that, red ones and amber ones were common.
 
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