ambient temperature gauge illumination

Is this the same James Sweet that advocates rummaging through the local pick-a-part to find the odd part? *g*

While I was pulling seats out of the nearly intact '87 I found at our local 'Pick Your Part', I pillaged the dash for all the bulbs, relays, etc., I could find.

This gauge is a very rare option in the US, I've never actually seen one down here. Found mine in a salvage yard up in Canada several years ago, but I'm not about to go all the way up there to find a used lightbulb! As I said, the bulb is unlike anything used anywhere else in the car despite it being an OEM VDO gauge.

Hmm, I think I just found them

oops, I missed the rare part in your original post. That would make it tougher to find. In the old days, junkyards had a network. You walk in, ask about a part, they pick up a radio and call all their junkyard buddies. Don't s'pose it's that way anymore though.

Well it appears to be a VDO type A, commonly available, I just haven't seen them locally. I'll just order some.

It could be, or you might have the wrong bulb in the boost gauge, or it might just be a different design that is brighter. What color is the illumination in the boost gauge? If it's white, you might pick up a blue sleeve for the bulb to make it match the others which have an internal blue filter.

I really don't notice any color difference. The bulb in the boost gauge is what came in it. It's a VDO cockpit series, I believe. One of these days I'll tear into it and see for sure what's going on. I think it may be a combination of the old ones being weak and/or dirty and the new one being a higher wattage bulb.