patrickr90 · 2025-05-18T17:19:57+0100

Hi all

In the process of overhauling the instrument panel which was all bust up. Defender 1987. The backs of all the instruments are missing the part that the bulb inserts into - just a hole - except the fuel gauge still has part of the green lense stuck inside. The wired bulb holders that are supposed to slide into the gauges are all still intact and lights working (except the clock which seems to be missing a cable. Is it possible to get the lenses and the holders that the bulbs slide into? Previous owner had stuck them in with silicone..

Thanks

tottot · 2025-05-18T18:12:55+0100

In the class of "hen's teeth" I recon.

meego · 2025-05-18T18:29:55+0100

The part the bulb holder slides into is not replaceable as it’s part of the instrument. I repaired mine recently with the tube of a felt pen and glued it in. I then used heat proof tape round the bulb holder so it was a nice fit. I’ve got LED bulbs in mine so there’s no worry about the tube melting.

patrickr90 · 2025-05-18T20:16:41+0100

tottot said:
In the class of "hen's teeth" I recon.

I feared as much :-(

patrickr90 · 2025-05-18T20:21:01+0100

meego said:
The part the bulb holder slides into is not replaceable as it’s part of the instrument. I repaired mine recently with the tube of a felt pen and glued it in. I then used heat proof tape round the bulb holder so it was a nice fit. I’ve got LED bulbs in mine so there’s no worry about the tube melting.

View attachment 341333

Nice plan! I'll hunt around for something similar diameter or raid the family felt-tip store. What glue did you use and which LED's did you use? There's a massive choice out there it seems....

meego · 2025-05-18T20:50:41+0100

patrickr90 said:
Nice plan! I'll hunt around for something similar diameter or raid the family felt-tip store. What glue did you use and which LED's did you use? There's a massive choice out there it seems....

I used Gorilla Glue. The one where you wet the surface and the glue reacts with the moisture. It’s good stuff but I needed to clamp it while the glue set, as it expands and creeps into any tiny gaps. I can’t remember where I got the bulbs sorry, but would have a guess they were from eBay. The felt pen was all I had to hand, but theres bound to be something better about.

dag019 · 2025-05-19T15:50:24+0100

meego said:
The part the bulb holder slides into is not replaceable as it’s part of the instrument. I repaired mine recently with the tube of a felt pen and glued it in. I then used heat proof tape round the bulb holder so it was a nice fit. I’ve got LED bulbs in mine so there’s no worry about the tube melting.

You can replace them, but they are part of the instrument so you have to carefully uncrimp the front bezel, remove the bezel being careful the glass doesn't fall and break, then remove the instrument itself so you are just left with the metal casing. you can then remove the broken bulb holder and fit a "new" one. the black plastic tube screws onto a green plastic lens with the instrument casing between them. I don't think you can buy the lenses themselves so when I replaced the one in my original volt metre (very expensive to replace) i bought an old temp gauge form a spares day (very cheap) and cannibalised that for parts. you then refit everything and carefully crimp the bezel back onto the gauge.

It is certainly not an easy process, but with some care and patience it is doable. of course it depends on the gauge you are trying to repair. other than the speedo, or an expensive/rare gauge, i would just get a second hand replacement. there are boxes full of them at the spares day!

meego · 2025-05-19T15:59:13+0100

dag019 said:
You can replace them, but they are part of the instrument so you have to carefully uncrimp the front bezel, remove the bezel being careful the glass doesn't fall and break, then remove the instrument itself so you are just left with the metal casing. you can then remove the broken bulb holder and fit a "new" one. the black plastic tube screws onto a green plastic lens with the instrument casing between them. I don't think you can buy the lenses themselves so when I replaced the one in my original volt metre (very expensive to replace) i bought an old temp gauge form a spares day (very cheap) and cannibalised that for parts. you then refit everything and carefully crimp the bezel back onto the gauge.

It is certainly not an easy process, but with some care and patience it is doable. of course it depends on the gauge you are trying to repair. other than the speedo, or an expensive/rare gauge, i would just get a second hand replacement. there are boxes full of them at the spares day!

I looked at and considered removing the glass, but decided against it. My thoughts were if it was designed to be replaceable, you could readily buy them and it would be easier to get to it. Chopped up inky done it for me

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