Dim dash lights

[Joeyv]

My 41 Mercury is stock, 6 volt positive ground. The dash lights are so dim I can’t read the gauges at night. The dimmer knob on the dash doesn’t work, when the dash lights’ wiring goes through the dimmer the dash lights do not function at all. I have the dimmer switch bypassed, connecting the input wire to the output wire. Does anyone have a suggestion on steps I could take to improve the dash lighting?