No.
After 30-35 years, electrical components/connections can deteriorate, lens get cloudy, and paint can fade, all of which contribute to a dimming of the dash lights.
Here are some of the things you can do to brighten them up, from a discussion on the Vintage Mustang Forum:
1. Disassemble the instrument panel and repaint the inside of the housing with white paint. Flat or semi-glossy is said to work better---hot-spots may develope with glossy paint, resulting in uneven lighting. While painting, you can also take the opportunity to repaint gauge needles with model paint, but be careful, needles are fragile.
2. The lamps are covered with blue lenses that can become discolored with age. Unfortunately, there is no replacement. You'll have to rig your own. Reported methods include using a Sharpie permanent marker to color the bulbs. You may be able to find replacements in a junk yard, but they will be just as old as yours.
3. Use slightly more powerful bulbs---1816s instead of 1895s. But be careful, the 1816s are a bit longer and you may melt the blue lenses.
4. There is a resistor in the panel that drops the voltage. Check it with a meter and replace if not within about 10 percent of its stated value.
submitted by a65ragtop
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