Instrument cluster drive bulb

Hi, I need to replace the “drive” bulb. I watched a couple of videos and it looks fairly simple. One question I have is does battery need to be disconnected when doing this and also how exactly does the bulb come out and go in. If anyone can provide input I would appreciate it. Also, is there anything I should be cautious of while doing this as I don’t want to mess anything up. It’s 2003 AC stepside. Thanks in advance.

 

Won’t hurt to disconnect battery. I don’t remember disconnection mine when doing the job, but if you want to play it safe then disconnect.

Nice little project. Might as well do the P Bulb, as well. They usually go out right after the D.

 

Anytime you work on something electrical it's a good practice to disconnect the battery as a safety/damage reduction measure. I personally didn't when I did my cluster as I was installing LED. You'll see why below.

Are you replacing with LED, or OEM replacement?

Oem lights (halogen) are non-polarity sensitive which means they work either way they are installed.

Leds are polarity sensitive which means they only work one way. Positive led side to positive power side. Only way to tell is to install, and test. If it doesn't work, remove the led, and rotate it 180 degrees. Reinstall.

The bulbs "twist" into their socket on the instrument cluster. Righty tightly, lefty loosey.

I'll dig up pictures when I have more time.

 

Thanks for the input. I’m going with OEM bulbs and will do the “P” (good advice ) while I have it apart.

 

The blue circles are your 194/T10 (turn sockets bulb base) backlights. I replaced all with Sylvania cool white LEDs from wally wurld.

Pink highlights are 74/T5 that are all your indicator lights like check engine light, seat belt, battery, etc. I replaced most of these EXCEPT the Check engine light, low fuel light, battery light, and SRS air bag light. They have to be incandescent/halogen due to the circuitry of those systems. (Bulbs act as a resistor)

Green highlights are your PRNDL2 O/D lights. These turn in/out with a screw driver. All the others can be removed by hand with a right hand turn. I recommend a small flathead screw driver, and potentially a small set of needle nose pliers if you don't have finger nails like me.

Here is the final outcome of all my work.


This picture is after I pulled the instrument cluster out four or five times to get everything "right" as I had made mistakes in earlier attempts. I'll be happy to elaborate more on this later on if you're curious.

The following pictures are ones I stole from a long time ago, and used for my own nefarious investigations before diving into this job. I have circled the lights you will be replacing in the smaller picture.

 

Thanks Tundra2, I appreciate all your help. Will contact you if I run into problems.

 

Where can I find bulbs for the PRNDL2 lights? I'm looking at doing an LED swap and these are the ones I am having trouble finding and the ones I need most.

 

Hey man. Welcome. I think you were the one messaging me today. Those lights are 4mm. According to another post, this may be the part # 9001111032 if you want to stick with OEM otherwise you could order LED's. A lot of us ordered from https://www.superbrightleds.com/

 

@steejans this appears to be what people used if they went LED. You just have to select 4mm and pick the color you want.

https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...led-bulb-high-power-instrument-panel-led/221/

 

@BubbaW and @FirstGenVol THank you guys so much!!!

 

My drive light went out too. I gave the top of the dash a good ol’ Fonzie magic touch and it came back on. That was 4-5 months ago and still going strong.

 

AAAAAAAAYYYYYY

 

Mine has been out for about 5 years at this point lol

 

Try it… lol.

 

Are those incandescent or LED part numbers? Thanks. Great info

 

Those are LED numbers when I bought from Superbright

LED Lights, Bulbs & LED Lighting Accessories | superbrightleds.com

 

Thanks! But next time can you reply a little quicker?

 

Slow in age