I have a 67 coupe and want to know if it is normal for the radio backlight to only turn on with the headlights. In other words when the radio is on during the day their is no backlight. I like the backlight on when the radio is on.
It is the original Philco Push Button AM radio.
When the weather breaks here in the Northeast I'm going to experiment with different leads under the dash. I'm wondering if I have the radio hooked up to the wrong lead.

 

Are you sure it isn't on during the day? I don't remember there being a separate lead for the light and it could just be dim as hell. Those old lights aren't exactly blinding.

 

Seems to me, if I remember, the radio light worked with the rest of the dash lights. That way you could brighten it and dim it along with everything else. Since the radio goes off with the ignition, there was no reason to turn on the radio light to let you know it was on. Remember they were incandescent bulbs which burn out, so you want them on as little as possible. Opening the radio to replace a bulb was a nightmare.

 

67V8.....I'll check the one I have and see if it comes on when powered up. It's in the back floor borad. Nephew changed it out. Put in a new one with a CD player.

Hump.

 

Couldn't do much last nite.....the bulb is bad. But as you can tell by the wiring, one only has the speaker and power plugs. Now a wiring dirgram might help. It should show where the power is coming from. And Yes, it would be a bear to change out the back-light. You just about to have to pull the radio.

Hump.

 

I think the radio illumination is tied to the rest of the dash illumination. This is how most older cars I've seen were done.

 

Thanks everyone for your replies. I had the entire dash out for reconstruction and while the radio was out I replaced the bulbs. I just think it's cool to have the radio backlight on without the rest of the dash lights when you're sitting in your car at night and listening to the radio. It just seems dumb that you have to have all of the dash lights on in order to see the radio display. I guess it's a Ford thing.... Yeah, I never want to go back into that radio again especially since mine has a full console. A royal PIA to get to the radio.