Dash Lights......anyone?

[BTL]

Hi,
Thanks for viewing. I hope you can help., My dash lights are not fully illuminatd fully. Rpm side ifs out. MPH side ifs only visible 50%. That's the lower part.Everything else is good. I rip placed the fuse , Still no dice .
BTL
Seattle
#12
"It's All About That Action Boss"!!!!

 

[J_C]

Do they change intensity when you rotate the brightness dial? I'm wondering if it might have bad contacts from wear or hardened grease inside.

 

[Flash]

I think he's saying the bulbs are out on the tacho side and only the top half of the speedo is illuminated.

If so, you'll have to take the instrument panel out to replace the bulbs.

 

[J_C]

BUT what's the vehicle history? Did it come this way or did one bulb fail, then another and so on, or all of a sudden this problem? It would seem strange to have several fail at once so could be a connector, trace or wire??

 

[bobflood]

Most likely bulbs. Illumination bulbs are 197's, i believe. Not a bad job to pull the cluster and replace; go ahead and do all 6 of the bulbs if you go that route. Good luck.

 

[SoNic67]

I pulled the cluster and replaced all my bulbs - 194 bulb size (used Sylvania Long Life).
Used this video as go-by:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK4PZzjlwgY

 

[masospaghetti]

Yep, just standard mini-bulbs back there, need to pull the cluster to change it.

Figure a couple hours if you've never done it before. It's pretty simple procedurally. Hardest part is disconnecting the gear selector indicator.

 

[DjDom]

Yep, just standard mini-bulbs back there, need to pull the cluster to change it.

Figure a couple hours if you've never done it before. It's pretty simple procedurally. Hardest part is disconnecting the gear selector indicator.

You can get away without disconnecting the Gear Indicator. I've done mine with everything still connected, just twist the bulbs out..

 

[koda2000]

The black bulb holders are for the cluster illumination. They can be reached by just taking the cluster loose, but it's not easy to get at all of them and the can be hard to twist with just your fingers. I usually just unhook the wires and gear indicator and pull the whole cluster out. Not that hard to do, but time consuming.

 

[pcam13]

Ensure you change all of them at once. I had one blow out 2 weeks after I replaced one before. I just deal with the gas gauge being half visible now.

 

[koda2000]

Ensure you change all of them at once. I had one blow out 2 weeks after I replaced one before. I just deal with the gas gauge being half visible now.

I changed them all, even tested the new bulbs before installation and still had one go out a week later. It was the tach bulb. I managed to change it w/out removing the cluster again, but I had to squirt some WD40 on the bulb holder before it would twist out with just my fingers.

 

[LucSTR]

Which bulb would I need for the check engine light?

 

[96firephoenix]

Which bulb would I need for the check engine light?

If you pull the gauge cluster out, it says CE I think.. also, just turn on the truck and check if it blinks on like it's supposed to...

 

[koda2000]

Ford populates all the bulb sockets, whether your truck has that option or not. When my Check Engine Light burnt out on my 2WD 2000 Mountaineer, I swapped it with my 4x4 bulb. I'm guessing you have something you can swap it with. The sockets are all marked on the back of the cluster.

 

[beach]

I know on my 00' the 50-60 mph spot or so on my speedo isn't lit up, it just kept fading one day long ago, everything else is fine. So never bothered doing anything. Don't really drive it much, thought it would be a lot of work just to fix something like that, maybe I'll check again. Looks like some of you pull the cluster and just replace everything vs say whatever bulb caused the 50-60 mpg range on my speedo to go out.

Stereo works but theres no lights on it, just kept fading as well till nothing is lit up now, but still works. I know that was a common issue years and years ago.

 

[koda2000]

I know on my 00' the 50-60 mph spot or so on my speedo isn't lit up, it just kept fading one day long ago, everything else is fine. So never bothered doing anything. Don't really drive it much, thought it would be a lot of work just to fix something like that, maybe I'll check again. Looks like some of you pull the cluster and just replace everything vs say whatever bulb caused the 50-60 mpg range on my speedo to go out.

Stereo works but theres no lights on it, just kept fading as well till nothing is lit up now, but still works. I know that was a common issue years and years ago.

Changing the cluster illumination bulbs isn't really that difficult, but it is quite time consuming. Figure about 1.5-2 hours even when you know how to get the cluster out. Be sure to replace all 6 illumination bulbs and use 194LL (LL=Long Life) bulbs.

P.S.
I don't know where the "thumbs down" symbol came from at the top of this reply. I didn't put it there.

 

[LucSTR]

If you pull the gauge cluster out, it says CE I think.. also, just turn on the truck and check if it blinks on like it's supposed to...

I'm 99% positive that the bulb is out. Previous owner covered it up with electrical tape cuz it was throwing the cam sensor code. Now the light dosent come on at all.

 

[koda2000]

I'm 99% positive that the bulb is out. Previous owner covered it up with electrical tape cuz it was throwing the cam sensor code. Now the light dosent come on at all.

Most likely it's just the bulb. If you have the ability to test for continuity on the bulb terminals you'll know for sure before replacing it.

 

[beach]

Changing the cluster illumination bulbs isn't really that difficult, but it is quite time consuming. Figure about 1.5-2 hours even when you know how to get the cluster out. Be sure to replace all 6 illumination bulbs and use 194LL (LL=Long Life) bulbs.

P.S.
I don't know where the "thumbs down" symbol came from at the top of this reply. I didn't put it there.

lol no worries

 

[LucSTR]

Any one know the bulb number for the check engine light?