I won't take the credit for this idea....as Tommy knows, I got the idea from Randy Watson.
I purchased my rheostat at Heavy Vehicle Parts (that's the actual name of the place)here in Midland. I also bought a heavy-duty switch to replace the one that comes on the Brinkmann lights. I've had problems with switches burning up in the past so I decided to end that problem once and for all. The rheostat and new switch cost me $58.00. No small potatoes for just a couple of small parts, but they seem to have done the trick. I don't know diddly when it comes to the fundamentals of electricity, but we're only dealing with 12v battery so it's nothing to worry about. I just took the hood off of my spotlight to expose all of the "guts" of the light, then I just thought the process through. I'll unscrew the hood again tonight and take notes on how it is all connected. Regarding the rheostat and the on/off function....no, it won't turn the light off. It would be nice if it did, though. I never thought of that but it would be handy to be able to do-away with the switch all together. The rheostat that I bought is attached to the switch and the switch controls the actual on/off of the light. I can then turn intensity of the light down (your actually turning the rheostat "up") and the actual bulb inside the hood will emit only a faint glow. I drilled a hole in the back of my light and installed it next to my new switch. You need to pay attention when doing that...the rheostat takes up quite a bit of room and needs to be positioned as far to the side of the spotlight housing as possible due to the bulb which is convex and points toward the back of the spotlight housing. Be sure to hook everything up first to make sure you've got everything in working order.....then go ahead with mounting the new switch and rheostat. If y'all have any questions, feel free to give me a call tomorrow night (Wednesday) after 8:30 @ (915) 620-9182. I'm gonna be welding tonight after work so I won't be around. Hope this wasn't too confusing....like I said, I don't know squat about electrical components but if I can hook it up and make it work...anybody can.
Take it easy!
Rusty