How to wire a dash light

A prior owner of my '75 CJ5 installed an interior light on the dash. The bulb is a fairly hefty GE65. The light is wired to a very basic switch installed on the dash to turn it on and off. The hot wire leading from the switch goes through a hole in the firewall and is just hanging in the engine compartment. That wire, which is a significantly heavier gauge than the from-the-factory wired lights, has a circular connector on the end which, given its size and location, seem to me to have been connected direct to the positive terminal on the battery at one time.

This seem odd to me, but it is direct and simple enough for me to put it back precisely as I suspect it was. The question for me, though, is is this okay? I know the coil increases the voltage so the car will crank, but is the battery by itself putting out too much power to power a bulb? Is there a better way for me to re-wire this interior light?

I appreciate your advice.

 

why not just wire it to the fuse block

 

Your use of the word power in this application is in reference to amps. The bulb in question will only draw the required amps the filament is designed for, maybe only 1 amp or so. As said above, it might be best to connect it to the fuse block.

 

I appreciate the advice to connect it to the fuse block. As a greenhorn (I'm a lawyer, not an engineer or mechanic), could someone tell me the basics of how I should do that?

Again, I REALLY appreciate the advice.

 

I am not familiar with the fuse block on your 75 but it may have a flat spade lug (maybe labeled acc or spare) that you can connect your wire to for powering the added dash light. You would probably want this terminal to have power when the switch is in the "ON" or "ACC" position.