Hi again.
I have my instrument cluster out and need to replace the bulbs, only one side lights up.
However, there are 10 places for bulbs. 1 above and 2 below the speedometer, 2 above the electrical connector, one just next to same connector(which is completely empty on mine) and 4(2 pairs of 2) on the far left side(assuming some of these 4 are for the warning lights there)
The left side is what is out when I turn the lights on. I will replace all of the ones for lighting, but I just don't know which ones they are. ???
I have a Hayne's manual, but it is of no help with this.
Oh yeah, what size bulb do I need? And is the empty one something I need to worry about?
And something rather strange. I am guessing that a previous owner had problems with these lights not working or coming loose, cause there is the strangest way of securing them. Looks like someone took some popsicle sticks, cut them in half, placed them over the backs of the bulb holders, and using either wood or sheet metal screws(not even all the same) screwed the sticks to the housing in between the bulbs, or in the case of the single bulb, used two screws, one on each side. ?????????
Thanks,
Russ
What year is your car? Mine's a 78, here's what my instrument cluster looks like, pics of yours would be most helpful. Be careful with the housing, they crumble with age and are getting harder to find.
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3036/2962570811_a2bb6212f1.jpg)
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3293/2963415924_40ea8ac5fe.jpg)
In the bottom photo (the back side) the bulbs are arranged as follows from left to right:
Upper left outer: dash light
Upper left inner: high beam indicator
Lower left: 'tailgate open' light
Center top: dash light
Center lower left: right turn indicator
Center lower right: left turn indicator
"Smily face" :) : idiot lights (Alt, Brake, Engine, Fasten belts)
Lower right: dash light
Hope that helps some!
Chuck
Thanks.
Mines a 79, completely different than yours.
I need to take some pics I suppose. Then I need to figure out how to post them.
Russ
If you continue to have problems with the bulbs not working, or going out randomly, check the contacts on the black bulb sockets. I have found that they crack on the bend where the contact tab is. If you need more bulb holders, just about every Ford at the junk yard from the mid to late 70s uses the same ones. Just make sure the contacts are still good. Usually it is a hairline crack and you can test it by pushing down on the contact (it should not split).
Well, here is a picture of the back side. I had to resize it, hope it is ok.
Russ
And here is one from the front.
And I think I need to do some more work on figuring out the picture posting here. The size on here says it is about 11K, my computer program (IRfanview) is saying it is almost 90K ???
Russ
Ok, I'm going to have to do a little research, been a while since I had a late model apart.
Here's a quick tutorial to post pics like I do.
1) Open an account on http://www.flickr.com/ (http://www.flickr.com/) (it's free!)
2) Upload your pictures to flickr
3) Open a second tab
4) In the second tab, go to fordpinto.com
5) Open a message in the topic of your choice
6) Type the text as you would like it to appear
7) Where you want a picture, place a cursor, then click on the button in the toolbar above that looks like a picture (second one from the left in the second row) That will give you something like this:
{img][/img}
8) Place the cursor between the brackets (i.e. {img]![/img})
9) Go back to your flickr tab. Select the picture you want to put in your message. Click "All Sizes" in the toolbar after the photo comes up on the left. Select 'medium', large is too big to fit here. Scroll down below the photo, there are two boxes, one with an html address and one with a URL. Select the URL by clicking on the box, the address will be highlighted. Right click and select 'copy'
10) Go back to the tab with your message, right click and select 'paste'. You will see something like this:
{img]http://www.farm4static/flickr/......jpg[/img}
That's an example, you'll get a few random numbers and letters.
11)Add more text if you like, you can put pic then text then pic, or text then pic then text, etc. You can also put pics in Personal Messages this way.
12) Use the 'Preview' button to see what your post will look like before you 'Post', you can change things if you need to after you preview, before you post.
If everything goes right, you'll get a picture like this:
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3658/3361148925_77574a601f.jpg)
It helps if you can handle switching back and forth between tabs, a lot of times I have 3-4 open at once.
Chuck
Good Q about the cluster lights..this is my 2nd car and the Pinto before had the same problem..r/s lights but l/s nothing..I replaced the bulbs on the previous car and put bulbs in the open cavities to no avail..So I`m wondering if thats just the way they are? ,,I`ve got an `80 but it looks similar to the `79.. I wonder if there`s brighter lights we could put in to shed some on the l/s?