sspeedometer light extremely dim April 11, 2010, 10:42:52 AM Hey everyone, sorry i havent been around, busy with college and what not. but, recently my 1987 ls' dash display light went out.everything is still lit up but the dead center where my speed is displayed is extremely dim, i can still read it but barely. the in dash lights on the left and right are fine but the center seems to be out. the back light on the speedometer used to stay on like normal, but about a month ago it would come and go, now its just out, being only readable due to the surrounding dash back lights for everything else.would this be a bulb or anything that i need to have someone with some wiring knowledge look at? Quote Selected
sspeedometer light extremely dim Reply #1 – April 11, 2010, 10:50:55 AM yes,, bulbs are out on the speedo module itself.if you've never done this before, it will take a while to figure out how to get the dash cluster out.not fun but is easy. Quote Selected
sspeedometer light extremely dim Reply #2 – April 11, 2010, 11:07:55 AM may sound like an ignorant question, but would a step by step process to replace the speedometer bulb be in a regular repair book? if anyones already done this before, what bulb may i need?thanks for the info. Quote Selected
sspeedometer light extremely dim Reply #3 – April 13, 2010, 06:12:14 PM If you have the typical cluster with the digital speedometer, here's what you have to do. You will need a phillips screwdriver and a 7 or 8 mm socket (I can't remember exactly which, I changed my screws a long time ago to all phillips) and a super long extension. You will also need a set of 194 bulbs (the book calls for a different kind, but these work just fine, and they're at just about every auto parts store known to man, and I've used them for about a year now, no prob). The speedo light takes 2, but it wont hurt to get a 10 light set and replace a few others just so you dont have to do this again too soon.1. Use the screwdriver and take out the screws holding your lower dash panels on either side of your steering column, and pry the panels off. They are clipped into the main panel, a little pulling and prying gets em right off.2. Take out all the screws on the main panel. Look closely, some of them evade you the first time. If you have a column shift, pull it down into 1st, it will make it much easier to remove the panel, and just pull it out.3. You might want to grab a flashlight so you can see the 4 bolts holding your instrument cluster onto your dash. They are really just hex head screws and will come right out, this is where the super long extension comes in handy. Just be careful not to drop them on the way out. One of those little magnet tools comes in real handy.4. Pull your instrument cluster out, and again, if you have column shift, be careful not to pull to hard on the wire that controls your gear display, simply unhook it from the cluster as soon as you can see it. Mines been gone forever cause I was a RETARD and CUT IT IN HALF because I didn't know what it was. Also, you have two wire harnesses plugged into the back of it, those are kinda hard to get to, but just squeeze the sides on the long ends of each one and pull them out to remove them. You will have to do that while the cluster is still somewhat in the dash.5. Now pull it on out, and flip it over, you will see a million little light sockets, the ones you are concerned with are on the top center, over your speedometer. twist and pull both sockets out. Pull the lights straight out of the socket, and put your new ones in. You will see they don't look the same, but they do the same thing. Feel free to replace any others that you might feel important too if ya wanna...and they are the actual 194 bulbs.6. Put everything back together the same way you took it apart. But, before you screw everything down, once you get your wiring harnesses plugged back in, put the car in ACC and make sure everything works and lights up that worked and lighted up before, and make sure BOTH of your speedo lights come on, or it will still be dim, especially in daytime. If they do not, it helps to pull the sockets back out and pull the pr0ngs down just a little bit, because sometimes they do not make good contact on the board.7. Be very CAREFUL about OVER TIGHTENING the screws that hold your panels to your dash. That plastic is very brittle and breaks way too easily. (I'm on my third set).There you go, step by overdescribed step.:D Good luck Quote Selected
sspeedometer light extremely dim Reply #4 – April 14, 2010, 01:52:52 AM I'll contribute ,, from the archive:Ddash removalI am sure by now you have the outter dash cover dressing off.you should have the clear face plate off to.you should now have 4 torx head scews out that hold the dash assy in place.The white chord thing is the column shifter indicator cable.you can either ...a. turn the dash face cover sideways and out of the way***put the col shifter all the way down.***your tilt wheel should be tilted down.b. remove the very small screw on the back that holds it.you will have to manage to unhook the cable loop attached to the selector on the rear,*watch out anddont loose that little spring.once the above is done you can reach in the back of the dash assy and squeeze the both ends of the conn which will release the conn keepers and let them pull out. I found it easier to bust a couple of factory zip ties / tape to allow the harness assy to pull further out. After all of the above,, the dash will come out and you can get to both bulbs on the top of the speedo. you can also take the time to test the rest of the bulbs. the sockets insert from the rear and are twist lock. If a bulb is intermittant, remove the socket,, pry up on each contact that you see looking into the the socket hole. If you just want to verify bulbs,, turn your head lights on and the dash will light up. some of the bulbs are hard to get to cause they are just that way. Use a rubber hose to slip over the bulb, pull straight out and insert bulb in an easy to get to location. Re-insert bulb into the old socket --if its good-- and twist your rubber hose CCW to get the hose off the bulb.good luck,, the hardest part is getting the dash cover off and to the side. Quote Selected
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