Hi Clankford,

Nice to see another electronics guy on the site. First, if you have a good bulb and you have 12V then explain to me why it doesn't light up??? Well, either you have a high impedance path or a bad connection right? So check your 12V at the bulb with the bulb connected. My favorite saying as a bench tech was "if you prove that it must work then it will work". As far as the rheostat, the dash light brightness is controlled by the "+" "-" buttons which are above the "0" button (odometer reset) on the lower left edge of the inst panel surround. I assume it would control that bulbs brightness also but I don't see what that has to do with anything. Anybody with FR4 in their garage should be able to fix a light bulb!!

Mike

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1998 C230 330,000 miles (currently dead of second failed EIS, yours will fail too, turning you into the dealer's personal human cash machine)
1988 F150 144,000 miles (leaks all the colors of the rainbow)
Previous stars: 1981 Brava 210,000 miles, 1978 128 150,000 miles, 1977 B200 Van 175,000 miles, 1972 Vega (great, if rusty, car), 1972 Celica, 1986.5 Supra