Panel lights breaker pops

"Steve - KDMW" wrote in message
...
Has anyone seen this?...1974 Warrior panel lights don't come on, and
when I turn the rheostat past a certain point (almost full bright) the
panel lights breaker pops. I'm thinking it's the power transistor, at
least that's what I'm going to try first (along with cleaning the
rheostat) since it's the cheapest thing to do.

Before you start blindly changing parts, troubleshoot your problem by
measuring the current through that circuit with an ammeter. If you have too
much current for that circuit, then figure out why. If the breaker is
popping too soon, then replace the breaker.

Another possible cause is a bad connection near the breaker heating up,
conducting heat into the breaker, and causing it to trip.

Vaughn

I did have a bad transistor that controls various lights in the
cherokee. I think I paid $4.00 for the transistor, and $65 in labor.
But, I also bought a complete set of 4 extra transistors because
I know they'll die - afterall, they were original 1969 equipment.
I'm astonished they lasted this long.