Bulb behind gauges went out.. .PITA

[ChuckyD]

Freakin bulb went out behind my gauges... How hard is it to take the dash apart, havent done it yet.. looking for a heads up...
Thanks

 

[Explorer94GV]

which bulb went out? The dash is really easy to take apart. You have 2 screws to take out from under the ashtray holder. Than put your shifter all the way down and pull your dash off carefully there will be a plug for the wiper and defroster to unplug and another plug where the 4x4 switch is even if you dont have 4x4 (at least mine had a plug) once off take black piece off and clear cover. Thats it once you get clear cover off you can pull your gauges off and put bulbs in. If the speedo bulb went out i cant help you cause i still cant figure out how to get that piece out. hope this helps.

 

[MOUSIN]

Chucky,
It's easy, but it's time consuming. Here's my suggestions:

1. Don't in a rush, allow at least an hour.

2. Do this in a garage or in the shade.

3. If your on the healty side, grab a skinny person. The emergency brake part gets a little tight.

4. If your old enough, put some beer on ice and have a cold one waiting.

5. Lastly, and most important, print the stuff from this link and keep it handy. This is the "Dash Bulb Replacement Bible"!!! Have fun!!!!! Dead Link Removed

 

[ChuckyD]

Originally posted by MOUSIN


3. If your on the healty side, grab a skinny person. The emergency brake part gets a little tight.

Was that a FAT joke???

LOL jk

Thanks Guys...

Oh yeah, anyone know what kind of bulb it is, its the one behind the speedo on the very top.

I will get it first, this way i wont have to stop in the middle to go out and get it.

 

[MOUSIN]

Not a fat joke, just the truth. I'm BIG myself, the E brake part was the worst part of the entire process. My skinny help came late, I had to use a mirror to see the screws (backwards I might add), when I put them back in. My neck and back were killing me.

Anyway, so the bulbs should be 194's. I feel ya wanting to know what's back there first. I got mine before I started, however two of them were duds, so I still had to go to the store in the middle of the job!!!

 

[ChuckyD]

I just realized that your X is a different year then mine, i hope its somewhat similiar!

 

[MOUSIN]

Wowa!!! Duh, my bad man. I never even looked at your info. My fault for assuming.

I guess we'll have to give folks time to get home and check the site. There are tons of 93 - 94 X owners on the board. Surely someone will let us know how different it is.

I haven't been in one of those models in a while. I can't remember what the dash setup looks like.

 

[Explorer94GV]

just follow the way i told you chuckyD thats how you get the dash apart i just dont know how to get the speedo gauge out. Ya our years are pretty different we dont have as many things to unscrew. lmk if you figure out a way to get the speedo out.

 

[ChuckyD]

OK.. sounds good. Thanks guys.
I just have to get some time now!

 

[JDraper]

I did mine the lazy way in my '92. The '93 should be the same. Didn't have to pull the gauge pod out at all. Here's how I did it.

1. Get a piece of plastic tubing that fits on the bulb snugly.

2. Get a long thin flatblade screwdriver. Cut tubing to same length as screwdriver blade.

3. Remove dash bezel and clear plastic cover from gauges as mentioned above.

4. Slide screwdriver into bulb hole alongside of bulb and use the tip to rotate the bulb lock.

5. Push plastic tubing over bulb and remove bulb.

6. Put new bulb in end of plastic tubing.

7. Use tubing to slide bulb into place and seat. Use screwdriver to rotate the bulb lock back into place.

8. Put the screwdriver down inside the tube to hold bulb in place while removing tubing.

9. Reassemble.

 

[Explorer94GV]

Originally posted by JDraper

3. Remove dash bezel and clear plastic cover from gauges as mentioned above.

So did you even thake the gauges out? How did you get the speedo gauge out?

 

[JDraper]

Originally posted by Explorer94GV


So did you even thake the gauges out? How did you get the speedo gauge out?

Nope, didn't have to take the gauges out to change the bulbs that went in my truck. I did take the gauges out to sell them when the truck got wrecked. You have to reach around behind the gauge cluster once it's unbolted and release the clip that holds the speedo cable in. There's a flat on it you push on. It's a tight sqeeze and your arm might take some abuse doing it (lotsa sharp corners ) If you can't get enough slack in the speedo cable, you may have to unbolt it from the xfer case first so it can slide up.