Photo of Dash with Factory Dimmer

[Phil Gevertz]

Here is a photo of my dash with the factory dimmer. If anyone else has one that is working, I'd be interested in a reply.

[Barry Wolk]

I have the schematic for the system around somewhere. Was it dealer of factory installed?

Cool feature to have. Very futuristic looking.

[Mark_II_Mark]

Do you have to remember to set the "phaser on stun" before you start the car? Kinda reminds me of my Granny's early 60's Caddy. It had a smaller factory auto-dimmer mounted more towards the center of the dash.

Probably oughta be standard on all cars nowadays as most a!#$%^&* on the roads today don't seem to know that there is any other light level than the "brights" & for sure they aren't familiar with the turn signal lever.

That's where an air horn & the single-finger salute come in real handy in getting their attention...

[Phil Gevertz]

Yes, it is factory installed, . I had one working in a 1960 Imperial LeBaron. Stayed on high beam until a car approached, would switch to low beam then back to high beam.

[linmk2]

I have owned the following cars equipped with that device. 1976 Thunderbird, 1977 Mark V, 1978 Mark V, and 1988 Continental. I always found it useful. On a very dark road the lights would switch to high beams, when a car approached, the lights would go to low beams, until the approaching car passed, then back to high beams. However, some roadside signs reflecting back to the car, caused the lights to flash. On my 1988, I was never able to get the unit adjusted properly. The unit operated very erratically. To the point, I simply turned it off. Did Guide make the unit on the Mark II? I noticed on my Mark II, on the left inner fender shield, there are holes already drilled for the dimmer's control box.

[Roger Zimmermann]

The look of that "bad eye" is very similar to the ones I have on my '56 Biarritz and '57 Brougham. The systems are functionning well if you are alone on the road and another car is coming towards you. However, when following a car, the rear lamps are not bright enough to dim the lights.
One night, when coming back to the place where my cars are stored, there are some reflective panels on the side of the road. The light began to play "dim, high, dim, high", until there was no light any more! Since that night, the system on both cars is disactivated.
Years ago, I had via e-mail an interesting discussion with a man living in California dealing mostly with Corvairs. I don't remember exacly what he wrote, just the conclusion: even back in the fifties that system was not reliable in all circumstancies.