Dash Light Question

123c · Post by **123c** » Thu May 20, 2004 1:05 am

Does anyone know how many bulbs there are in the instrument panel, I know what bulbs they take, I just don't know how many I need.

Also does anyone know what type of bulbs the climate control unit takes, and how many are needed. And are there any other bulbs I should replace while I have the dash apart, other than the harard flasher swith, which is another one I will be fixing...I don't really want to take the dash apart too many times to replace bulbs as they start going out...

BAC5.2 · Post by **BAC5.2** » Thu May 20, 2004 1:17 am

The HVAC unit takes special bulbs only available from Subaru. They are like LED's, but not quite. I believe they are around $3 each, and I think you need 3 of them.

Pretty soon, I will be replacing my dash lights as well, so the info about the number of bulbs would be helpful.

What bulbs do they take?

Also, does anyone know if the green film is a bulb condom or is it on the back of the gauge cluster?

123c · Post by **123c** » Thu May 20, 2004 1:27 am

They take a W3W I Believe, I am guessing that there are 4 bulbs, but I want to make sure before I start tearing things apart, so I will have all parts ready to go.

BAC5.2 · Post by **BAC5.2** » Thu May 20, 2004 2:40 am

Any idea about the backing? Are they condoms or a film?

THAWA · Post by **THAWA** » Thu May 20, 2004 4:02 am

you guys are in luck

I've got a spare cluster sitting here. There's two big bulbs and four smaller bulbs plus the bulbs for all the warning lights. The backlighting bulbs are all condom, and the warning lights are all filmed I was thinking about converting to either red or white. Personally I think red would match the car better and look "cooler" but I think that white looks more classy.

evolutionmovement · Post by **evolutionmovement** » Thu May 20, 2004 4:50 am

I didn't know they were condoms! Where could you get different colored condoms? Painting isn't that effective from what I've heard and using red taillight repair tape doesn't last long when used on the bulb. I'd like to go blue to match the car and because I don't care for the green anyway.

Steve

THAWA · Post by **THAWA** » Thu May 20, 2004 5:00 am

www.partsexpress.com

BAC5.2 · Post by **BAC5.2** » Thu May 20, 2004 5:23 am

Hardy - Go red. Red is pimp. Easier on the eyes, and better for the night vision.

On that note, where on partsexpress.com did you find the condoms? I couldn't find them (albeit I didn't look very hard).

Would Pep-boys have the bulbs I'd need?

THAWA · Post by **THAWA** » Thu May 20, 2004 5:28 am

I dunno, I'll figure something out

cant get a link to work, just do a search for "blub cover"

BAC5.2 · Post by **BAC5.2** » Thu May 20, 2004 5:40 am

Now all I need to know are the sizes.

I bet good ole' Radio Shack has the condoms.

123c · Post by **123c** » Thu May 20, 2004 11:57 pm

Wal-Mart was selling assorted packs of the Condoms for a while, but I havn't seen them in a few months. As for the bulbs, they should all be at Wal-Mart...

123c · Post by **123c** » Mon May 24, 2004 7:02 pm

The small bulbs are a 73, and the bigger ones are a 158. I couldn'tf find a 158 when I was at wal-mart, so i think i will use a W3W because I have a bunch of them laying around, and I think they will probally be the correct wattage, if it ends up being darker, I will just get a 158 somewhere...

123c · Post by **123c** » Wed May 26, 2004 4:34 am

BAC5.2 wrote:The HVAC unit takes special bulbs only available from Subaru. They are like LED's, but not quite. I believe they are around $3 each, and I think you need 3 of them.

I am thinking that these bulbs are the 7219 bulbs that I got at Radio Shack. Do these bulbs use the condoms for the green color? The only reason why I am asking about this is because mine aren't as green as my brothers car, but I want to fix this problem if I can...

BAC5.2 · Post by **BAC5.2** » Wed May 26, 2004 4:51 am

Did you end up finding condoms? How did the blubs work out?

I've got to rip the dash apart some time.

123c · Post by **123c** » Wed May 26, 2004 4:55 am

I don't have everything back together yet, I just tore everything apart tonight. I will probally have it all back together tommorow or sometime later this week... Right now I am debating on whether I should replace a few other things while I have everything apart...

123c · Post by **123c** » Thu May 27, 2004 4:47 am

The 74's don't fit that well, they fit very loose in the sockets, i've got most of them to fit tight, but one I have spent a few hours with, and still can't get it tight... I hope it won't hurt anything to have it a little loose in the socket...

123c · Post by **123c** » Fri May 28, 2004 12:47 am

I went to the dealer, and I couldn't figure out which bulbs I needed based on their diagram, however they said that they might have a base and bulb from a jeep that might work, so I might give it a try. I also went to a Toyota dealer, and had no luck.

Does anyone know the part # for the smaller bulbs?

123c · Post by **123c** » Sat May 29, 2004 5:37 am

The part I got was Mopar # L000PC74, and the base and bulb seem to fit alright, now all I need to do is put it back together, and test it tomorrow...

123c · Post by **123c** » Sun May 30, 2004 7:15 pm

I got it back together, and it works great...

Soobster · Post by **Soobster** » Fri Apr 08, 2005 6:21 am

Digging up the old posts. yeah.

The light bulb that illuminates the little green box around "D" just went out on my Soob with the automatic transmission.

I don't want to have to pull the dash twice, so could anybody tell me what bulb i will need to replace the burt one? Is that even an incandescent blulb that lights the gear selector on the dash or are those LEDs?

nzKAOSnz · Post by **nzKAOSnz** » Mon Apr 18, 2005 10:49 am

www.durex.com

nzKAOSnz · Post by **nzKAOSnz** » Wed May 18, 2005 11:43 am

Ive just changed all bulbs to red. The green is a film - but its not that strong - and red will show through it. The film is just behind the front overlay -and has a 2mm sheet of plastic behind it that has a white layer on it. You cannot sand the green film off! You can sand the white off -but it makes no difference to it at all.

In nz - the bulbs that i got -

The two big ones are 10mm wedge bulbs - 5w. Slightly more than standard -but hey - they were getting condoms on them.

The 4 smaller ones are somewhat smaller - but not 5mm. had to ask the auto electritian supply store for those.

and getting condoms for those are difficult. So i just used the 10mm ones, and they fitted over the bulb and part of the holder. They were jammed in place when i put the holder back into the slot.

I replaced all the 5mm bulbs with red leds. The leds i used were not bright enough -so will be taking the dash back out to change those with brighter ones.

The gear selector thing is another sealed unit that has the door bits for it. That was red so i left it (manual)

Also noticed when playing with LEDs that when i superbright led is shone down the clear plastic light channel - the needle glows - even more than if jst using bulbs. so this is also going to get the LED treatment.

Fitting a LED and a resistor into the little bulb holders is interesting - but doable. the resistor is folded, and soldered down into the centre of the holder.

The fog and demister buttons were also changed to LEDs - they use a green film that easily sands off.

petterekman · Post by **petterekman** » Sun Mar 05, 2006 10:16 pm

Hi there guys!
First time poster here on the site, hopefully not the the last post!

I bought myself a Subaru Legacy Turbo 4WD -92 about 3 months ago, and I've really had a joyful experience since!
When I bought the car, I also got myself a Haynes Service Book for it, because I know how useful they can be.

Now, about a month ago , my instrument panel backlighting started mucking about. It wouldn't light up when you started the car, but a "well placed bump" on top of the dash would most often get it going. I knew that this had to be fixed, but at that time I just didn't have the time to do it.
Now the instrument lights have stopped totally. All the warningligts, indicatorlights and stuff works, it's just the backlighting of the speedometer, revcounter and fuel/temp-gauges that doesn't work. It is probably just a loose wire somewhere, but my guess is that I will have to get the instrument cluster out to see.

To my question: How the hell do I get the instrument cluster out? I've read the Haynes manual, but it seems to me that they have a very complicated way. They say you have to remove the steering wheel etc. etc. Also, the illustrations and pictures there don't help me much, I have no idea where to start!

So, if someone could type up a simple guide of getting the instruments out, perhaps with some pictures to help me along the way, I would GREATLY appreciate it! It would be very nice to see how fast I'm driving up here in the dark north...

Thanks!

/Petter from Sweden.

nzKAOSnz · Post by **nzKAOSnz** » Sun Mar 05, 2006 10:29 pm

This is going from memory.

Lower Steering wheel.
Remove instrument surround. (screws under top lip)
wrestle it out
Unscrew instruments
Tilt foward and undo all the big chunky plugs, then get speedo cable out

Now i think there was a funny thing with getting the speedo cable out - Something about a circlip.

Hope that helps
But yes - it is possible to get dash cluster out and back in without removing wheel. Just lower it down.

Splinter · Post by **Splinter** » Sun Mar 05, 2006 10:30 pm

There are, IIRC, 4 pop-out panels the hide the cluster screws. You SHOULD remove the steering wheel, because otherwise the back of the cluster can rip up your dash vinyl something fierce.

Getting the speedo cable back in after you take the cluster out is a real bitch.

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Dash Light Question

Dash Light Question

How do I get the instrument cluster out?