Instument Lights

[^*^BATMAN^*^]

The left side of my panel is out. At night I cant see the coolent temp, or gas gauge. Kinda annoying when I am doing long drives, as I cant see the gas gauge.

Is there a how to on how to take apart this to change out the bulb?

 

[NOTSPCY]

its easy . just unbolt all the screws holding in the cluster i think there is 2 holding on the plastic black pc that covers the guages , then 3 more that hold the cluster in place. once your done un plug the 3 sets of cables on top of the cluster to pull it out completely . your almost done now .just flip the cluster over and there are several little bulbs . just pull the bad ones out and replace them . it is sooo simple .

 

[NOTSPCY]

dont worry you dont have to do all the crap i did with mine . lol i took 2 sets completely apart so i could have the msp guage cluster and keep my correct mileage

no i dont have long nails my g/f was working on it with me . lol those are her hands just FYI

 

[MP5_Joe]

But thats your pink towel isn't it? lol

It's pretty simple, you could even go to a local hobby store an pick up some led's and wire them in instead, thats my plan.

 

[NCZ13]

is there a way to get brighter bulbs? because id love to replace all of them with brighter bulbs...

 

[^*^BATMAN^*^]

Where would i find the bulbs?

 

[Tasty]

superbrightleds.com has direct plug in replacement led lamps, or if you just want to stay stock they are quite common sizes to replace. Any o'reilly or autozone or even wal-mart will carry them.

 

[gsmooth]

when my panel dimmed/went out I just hit the top of the dash a lil and everything went back to normal =)

amazing what car violence can do sometimes

 

[^*^BATMAN^*^]

Can someone linke me to a site that I can get these? The actual bulbs that is. I have yet to call the stealership, but I was told at a parts store here in canada that it is a dealer only part.

The bulbs that come out of the back of the instrument panel. They twist like a 1/4 turn then they will come out. No one seems to have these.

Also, I was wondering, the bulbs have like an orange cover over them, i assume to make the instruments redish orange coloured. If I could get bulbs in a different colour, would it make the instrument panel a different colour?


Oh, and just cus its funny, here is a monkey.(piss)

 

[^*^BATMAN^*^]

Ok, I have been doing some reasearching on the net. Found that Honda and Nissan use simular bulbs. Some forums have people pulling the bulb out of the base and putting a new one on. Is this what you guys were refering to as the bulbs you could get? If so what is the two sizes I would need?

 

[MazdaSpeeder]

If you're not looking for LEDs, you can get replacements at any auto parts store...I believe the sizes are 94 and 174, though it could be 194 and 74...if it's either of the gauges on the sides (Tach or temp/fuel) you need the smaller bulb. Speedos are the larger ones. Hope that helps.

PS- There's a colored "bulb condom" on the bulbs that you need to remove and put on the new bulbs for the light color to match. And yes, the bulbs come out of the twist-out base.

 

[^*^BATMAN^*^]

If you're not looking for LEDs, you can get replacements at any auto parts store...I believe the sizes are 94 and 174, though it could be 194 and 74...if it's either of the gauges on the sides (Tach or temp/fuel) you need the smaller bulb. Speedos are the larger ones. Hope that helps.

PS- There's a colored "bulb condom" on the bulbs that you need to remove and put on the new bulbs for the light color to match. And yes, the bulbs come out of the twist-out base.

Ya, i was looking at what I needed, tried to take one of the orange rubber things off. It was partially melted on, so it tore to s*** comming off. Meh, I will live. Might pull the other one to match.

Does anyone have the size for the smaller bulb? or a way to get it out of the brown plastic peice, the big bulbs come out really easy, the small ones i cant get out.

 

[MazdaSpeeder]

Small ones are 74, big ones are 194 (I just checked)...don't know what to tell you about the torn color cover...I know they make big bulbs (194) colored, but I don't know about the small ones...my guess is that you may have to go with LEDs to get the color. As far as bulb extraction, pull and wiggle over and over...they're tough but they will come out.

 

[^*^BATMAN^*^]

Ok, I am just afraid of breaking the bulb by squeezing too hard.

 

[MazdaSpeeder]

I think one time I wrapped the bulb in gaffers tape (Duct tape would work) and then used a needlenose to get it out, and it didn't break...that might work...

 

[^*^BATMAN^*^]

I think one time I wrapped the bulb in gaffers tape (Duct tape would work) and then used a needlenose to get it out, and it didn't break...that might work...

I ended up getting Blue coloured bulbs for the two big ones. I am trying to find blue ones for the two smaller ones. Right now I just have plain white in. The blue bulbs in the center look pretty cool. I will post pics when I get a picture of them later tonight hopefully.

 

[jdirty4life]

how do you break down the entire thing, im not much of a car guy so all this is pretty new to me, i bought new blue bulbs, all the right sizes but they dont fit through the slots in the back, makes me think i have to take the entire thing apart but i dont want to screw anything up, like the needles......any help, or step by step so this newb can do this????????? thx

 

[MazdaSpeeder]

You should be able to replace all the bulbs without disassembling the cluster...simply twist the bulb sockets out, remove the bulbs, and insert again and twist...I'm not sure i understand your problem when you say they won't fit...

 

[Clarkbug]

I recently had to replace one of the bulbs in the cluster. I went to several stores, and bought what I thought looked like the right bulbs for it.

I still have those packs of bulbs since none of them fit right in the base or in the cluster.

I ended up going to the dealer. The new bulb comes with a new base, and I just decided it was easier than dealing with the parts store to find the right one.

 

[MazdaSpeeder]

I did find that some of the small bulbs require some work to get them in the base...how much were they from the dealer?