Cheap and easy fix!
Okay, I took the advice of
budwich and went to Radio shack and found a 12V replacement.
This was an easy fix - it cost $1.39 for the bulb and it took about 1/2 hour total time. I disconnected my battery before I started because I'm always paranoid that I'll accidentally blow off the airbag.
First, pop the 2 plastic side plugs out of the steering wheel shroud and remove the screws under there with a 1/4" nutdriver.
Then pull the center airbag pack out of your way, turn it sideways and it will sit right in the wheel just fine while you work.
Remove the harness going to the cruise control switch you are working on and then remove the 2 screws that hold the assembly in place.
Getting the switch apart is a little tricky. Pull out the front rubber (buttons) piece on the edge that is normally towards the outside of the steering wheel. I used my fingernails for this but a screwdriver might work too. With a small screwdriver or other implement, you'll need to reach inside and release the two plastic clips that hold the circuit board in place. Once this is done the whole things comes apart. Just peel the rubber now to get at the board.
The light bulb socket is obvious, turn it until the two contact tabs align with the openings in the circuit board cutout and it will come out easily. Don't lose the little green slip on cover (that is what makes the light color look right and it's very easy to lose)
Next, you will need to break the bulb and then grab the innards with a pair of needle nose pliers. You may have to mess around a bit but it should come out in one piece. (There is a little blob of hot glue that you need to break free inside the socket base). Once the bulb is free, you will need to carefully snip off the two wires at the metal tabs of the socket.
Now take your replacement bulb and carefully remove the clear sheath of insulation around the wires. There was about 1/2" of hard hot glue at the base so I used a bic lighter to heat it up (just quickly) and then while it was warm I was able to pull each lead off to one side. again with the lighter, heat the glue on the new bulb and push it into the plastic socket. In my case it snugged right in nicely. Next I pulled back the insulation on each wire and wrapped the exposed copper strands around the silver connector tabs about 3 times per side, then clipped them neatly.
Now you can reinstall the new bulb into the circuit board and turn it to lock it in. it may be a tight squeeze with the new wire wrapped around but it will fit and the tension will hold the wires in place once it locks. Don't forget to put the little green piece over the new bulb. In this case the replacement was the same size so it fit on perfectly but for other sizes, you may need a dab of contact cement or something to hold it in place. Next, stretch the rubber button face around the circuit board and position it in the back shell. Once you have aligned all of the edges, it should push together and click back into place.
The rest is reverse of the first steps. I opted to plug the circuit board into the harness as a test before final assembly but all worked fine so it's probably not necessary. Use caution when prying the switch apart because that little circuit board is fairly flimsy and you don't want to crack it. I also don't need to tell anyone to
BE CAREFUL with the airbag.
Have fun and fix that annoying dark half of your steering wheel!
