M37 Instruments and switches

[Travlr]

I have a bunch of questions about the cluster and switches on the dash of my '58 M37. I'm doing a restomod, switching the body onto a newer chassis, but maybe this can be a place where we can all share information on the dashboard of our trucks.

So my first question is, what are the three tiny lights for between the gauges? They look like they have tabs to turn them but I don't see any reason for them to turn. See pic... the three gold colored, small fixtures with red lenses that are only an 1/8 of an inch wide?

 

[Joe Bertram]

Gauge backlighting and high beams indicator??

 

[Travlr]

Gauge backlighting and high beams indicator??

I don't see how it would be backlighting as they are separate from the gauges. I suppose one could be an indicator for high beams, but somehow I doubt that would be useful when they were building M37s.

 

[Joe Bertram]

I'm not 100% on the m37 as mines not quite there yet but I know the 5 ton m-62 and m-816 I have use something similar as backlighting in the gauge as the military gauge has an opening on the sides between the face and glass that lets the light in

 

[cjcottrill]

I think You should have one high beam indicator and two panel lights. You rotate the little window toward the instrument you need to illuminate. They are not much but do produce a little illumination.


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[cjcottrill]

Your instruments appear to not be original and may have illumination built in. The indicator lights appear to have been changed as well. I’ll see if I can get a picture of an original panel for you.


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[Black Ops]

I don't see how it would be backlighting as they are separate from the gauges. I suppose one could be an indicator for high beams, but somehow I doubt that would be useful when they were building M37s.

The original gauges have glass openings behind the panel for light to shine in and illuminate the gauge faces. The 2 upper lights would light up behind the panel and not show through on the front. The middle light is the high beam indicator and would light up with the small red dot.

 

[murf]

You have a dash panel from a Mutt / M151. It is different from the M37. But yes, the two outer lights are for gauges illumination, and the bottom is your high beam indicator. So, if you had original gauges (to m37) each gauge would have glass windows around the circumference just under the panel. The two dash lights have solid red glass lenses that would illuminate 360 degrees. They are completely mounted behind the panel. Red light would filter through the windows and hit the gauge markings. This style is characterized by the 2 solid painted "domes" seen from the cab. The high beam light was simply a hole in the panel and dark until you hit the foot pedal. The 151 lights are similar except the external cover can be turned like it was stated above.
All of this is useless if your new (pictured) gauges are internally illuminated and set up for whatever voltage your truck is OR they have separate illumination wires and aren't connected.

 

[Black Ops]

You have a dash panel from a Mutt / M151. It is different from the M37.

The panel pictured is from an m37b1 and would be correct for his truck since it’s a 1958 model, they had the smaller dash lights.

 

[Travlr]

Yup, I went out and checked the original gauges and all of you are correct. The gauges have little, narrow windows where a light would shine through to illuminate them. What a funky design, eh? And high beam indicator? That seems a little weird too, but hey, it's government design.
So now I have to figure out what to do with them. I might just wire them up to shine whenever the lights are on, or maybe if I have something running. Might also be a place to put a rheostat for a heater control or something similar.
I also checked images of the dash for the M151/M37 and some of the images of the M37 instrument clusters show my configuration.
Thanks for all the feedback.

 

[Travlr]

Okay, so the next question is about this monster...



I don't know anything about it except I believe the lever on the left has to be positioned properly to engage the batteries. The rest is a mystery. I'd appreciate an education in the original purpose of each function and how to position the levers for each. Anyone care to provide a tutorial? Thanks in advance.

 

[John Mc]

This PDF file should help.
As you may already have discovered, you can't turn the upper lever on unless you are holding the lower right lever in the unlock position. (You can turn the lights back off without holding the lock lever.)

 

[Travlr]

This PDF file should help.
As you may already have discovered, you can't turn the upper lever on unless you are holding the lower right lever in the unlock position. (You can turn the lights back off without holding the lock lever.)

Thanks, that tells me something. Do you know what blackout "drive", "marker", and "stoplight" means, and which lights are involved, etc.? What does "service drive" mean? And all the other descriptions on down the list? Is the switch meant to run lights or shift things or supply juice to the starter? #10/11 seem pretty self explanatory but the rest is Greek to me. Lever on the right is just a lock mechanism so the top lever can't be switched without the right lever in the proper position?

 

[John Mc]

All these switches do is control the lights, nothing else. The starter is operated by a foot pedal.

Yes, the lower right lever is just a lock to keep the upper lever from accidentally being bumped and turning on the lights. (You can imagine that if they were running at night with the lights off, accidentally turning them on could be a disaster.) You can turn them back OFF again without the use of the lock lever.

With the upper lever in the off position, no lights will be on. This includes the brake lights, so it's not s position you want to use in normal driving. Turning the upper lever to the "Stop Light" position enables the brake lights. "Service Drive" turns on the head lights and running lights.

I don't have the blackout lights wired up on my truck so can't describe exactly what happens in "BO Drive" or "BO Marker" positions. THese lights were used for night operations where stealth was required. I'm sure there are many on here who are more familiar with these lights than I am.

I had my brake lights wired to always be operational, regardless of the switch position. I did not want to take the chance that I or someone else would forget to turn them on during normal operation.

 

[Travlr]

All these switches do is control the lights, nothing else. The starter is operated by a foot pedal.

Yes, the lower right lever is just a lock to keep the upper lever from accidentally being bumped and turning on the lights. (You can imagine that if they were running at night with the lights off, accidentally turning them on could be a disaster.) You can turn them back OFF again without the use of the lock lever.

With the upper lever in the off position, no lights will be on. This includes the brake lights, so it's not s position you want to use in normal driving. Turning the upper lever to the "Stop Light" position enables the brake lights. "Service Drive" turns on the head lights and running lights.

I don't have the blackout lights wired up on my truck so can't describe exactly what happens in "BO Drive" or "BO Marker" positions. THese lights were used for night operations where stealth was required. I'm sure there are many on here who are more familiar with these lights than I am.

I had my brake lights wired to always be operational, regardless of the switch position. I did not want to take the chance that I or someone else would forget to turn them on during normal operation.

Fantastic... I don't know how I'm going to use the switch but wanted to know before going forward. So I still want to know what the positions are used for that you haven't described, but thanks for what you know.
I could have sworn there was a position for starting the truck, to allow the ignition to get juice before stepping on the starter solenoid lever. I'll have to go back and review that Youtube video on starting the truck.

So yeah, it looks like the ignition switch is underneath the light switch.

 

[John Mc]

Yes, the ignition switch sends power to the ignition. Unlike a modern car, however, it does not have a "start" position. You use the foot pedal for that.

 

[cjcottrill]

If you can download a copy of TM 9-8030, page 24-27 has a really good explanation of lighting & switch operation. It includes black & white photos of the black out lights as mounted on the truck. You should be able to get a good idea of where the lights would have been originally located on your truck. That might help to figure out if the lighting is still original or if it has been altered over time.


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[John Mc]

If you can download a copy of TM 9-8030

And he can find TM 9-8030 in the technical manuals section. HEre is a page with links to some manuals for the M37:

TM's for the M37

Listed below are a number of the TM's for the M37 series trucks. To save them to your computer, right click, select "save as". TM 9-2320-212-20 TM 9-1840A (TO 19-75B-15) TM 9-2520-232-35 TB 9-2855-45 (TO 36Y17-5-1-7) TM 9-8031-2 M37 Power Train-Body-Frame.pdf TM...

www.steelsoldiers.com

 

[Travlr]

If you can download a copy of TM 9-8030, page 24-27 has a really good explanation of lighting & switch operation. It includes black & white photos of the black out lights as mounted on the truck. You should be able to get a good idea of where the lights would have been originally located on your truck. That might help to figure out if the lighting is still original or if it has been altered over time.


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I found a place that sells the manual for $40. I'd do that in a heartbeat if the truck was going to remain stock. But it's a little pricey for a single read just to learn. Where do I find a place to download it?

Ah... I think I found it. Thanks...

 

[John Mc]

I found a place that sells the manual for $40. I'd do that in a heartbeat if the truck was going to remain stock. But it's a little pricey for a single read just to learn. Where do I find a place to download it?

Ah... I think I found it. Thanks...

See the post just above yours