Possible to change color of steering wheel lights?

[ndhaon91]

when i get up the nerve, i want to change the lighting of my gauges from green to blue. it doesn't sound overly complicated, and its cheap! problem is, my steering wheel has the cruise control functions mounted to the left and right of the airbag, which also light up when my lights are on. anyone know if its possible to get in there and change those colors? if so, how difficult is it?

 

[jimbo74]

its part of the switches internal colors... they actually use a clear light i believe

 

[ndhaon91]

so is there a way to 1) access the back of the cruise control buttons and 2) scratch of the green backing like some have done with their speedometers?

 

[witchdoctor]

i'm not too familiar with the '02, but on my '98 i swapped out the bulb covers.....mine were the little rubber covers.

 

[ndhaon91]

Originally posted by witchdoctor
i'm not too familiar with the '02, but on my '98 i swapped out the bulb covers.....mine were the little rubber covers.

can i ask where you got the new covers? also how difficult was it getting into the steering wheel? i'm worried about screwing up the airbag or something.

 

[agallant]

Have you thought about cutting out the light cover and just putting blue bulbs in?

 

[witchdoctor]

i got the covers when i ordered replacement bulbs from fordpartsnetwork.com

i was unsure which bulb it was between the two listed under the "cruise control lights" search in this forum, so i ordered both.

one of the pair came with blue covers, and if i remember correctly, i had to switch the cover to the other bulb type.

the wheel is easy to take apart....one screw on each side to remove the horn/airbag, then disconnect the airbag wire harness. (if you're worried about the bag, unhook both battery cables and let everything sit for 5 minutes, then disconnect)

after the cover is off you will see the screws to remove the cruise switches. remember to be careful when prying off the switch covers; these weren't made to be opened, and will split if you force the issue. i used a jeweler's screwdriver to pry the covers off.

after that just remove the bulb, put on the cover, and put it all back together.

 

[witchdoctor]

oh i forgot to mention....when you get around to changing out your gauges, you can remove the shift indicator and scrape off the back to change it to blue.

transparent blue paint that i found in a hobby store is an exact match to my indiglo gauges.

 

[ndhaon91]

great info, witchdoctor. thanks!

 

[xltv82003]

In the 05 Mustang you can change the color with the turn of a dial. I hope they do that on everything else in the next few years.