Recently a 1968 Starlite AE 182 model was donated to us. It has a electroluminescent dial ring that is powered by 110 VAC cord right into the phone. Guess you would not want to use this setup on the edge of your bathtub… The Starlite 182 model was Automatic Electric’s answer to Western Electric’s Princess telephone.
Is the light working in your Starlite phone? I have acquired a few of them and only one has a working light, which is very dim, but it does look good in the dark. I found a discussion about repairing the lights on one of the forums years ago but I can no longer find it.
Last time I checked the dial light was still working but very dimly and they are know to fail.
Is the the forum thread you were looking for:
http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=20138.msg205769
Please be careful when trying to fix these, you are dealing with 110AC.
Replacing the dial light with low voltage LEDs may be a better option.