Let there be light
 

I purchased a 1997 Baja 273. Batteries are charged turned on gauge lights and they were Amber and very dull. What can I do?

Being a boat of that age, I would make sure the batteries are actually fully charged & there isn't a bad cell causing an issue. If that's good, check your connections to the gauge lights. Most likely they share a common ground. Weak grounds can do all kinds of strange things.

Have you pulled the bulbs out? They may be amber glass. If so you can probably find clear bulbs to replace with.

Be advised,, bright gauges are bad for night vision. If you run on dark nights, you need all the night vision you can get.
Another fun fact, red light does not effect your night vision. Guess what color mine are.

I do understand about the amount of light for the night, but I should be able to see the numbers in the needles which are hard to read. I did not pull the bulbs but I assume That since ALL the gauges are very poorly lit there has to be something in common. I’ve had boats all my life and never had this problem unless it had a dimmer switch which it does not seem to have. That’s what it’s like. If you dim the lights in your car to where you can barely read them. I’m sure they’re not meant to be this Dim after all your car gauges are not dim.How do I test for a bad ground? I guess I could start there

Have you checked voltage at the light socket? I also see sometimes people will put 24v bulbs in a 12v system and it will be dim.

I will try that first and go from there slowly but surely. If I can’t find it and I’m sure other people will. I also have no trim indicator or depth finder numbers on the gauge. Any further ideas?

What position is the perko switch in ?

To be honest with you I really don’t remember but they are new batteries. Maybe I should check to see if it could be a bad switch or corroded. Good idea. I will check it tomorrow

To be honest with you I really don’t remember but they are new batteries. Maybe I should check to see if it could be a bad switch or corroded. Good idea. I will check it tomorrow

Does the engine turn over?