Who has done aftermarket dash and cluster lights?

I may have already said it but remove the front circuit board from the white plastic housing to replace the bulbs. people who try to change the bulb without doing that, will often break the circuit board behind the fan speed selector and ruin the control. that bulb mounting spot is a very thin and weak spot on the board and you cant get to very well if you don't remove it so if you put pressure on it, it breaks off the board.

 

Yea I took off the front faceplate during my break from college, the bulbs are really small, so I will keep this in mind once I remove the whole unit. Thanks btw I guess I need the t4 not the t5?

 

yep, the #74 t5 wedges are for ash tray, shifter, and glove box lights

the heater controls are not wedge bulbs, they sit in a twist socket and most often you have to unbend the wire from the base and slide the bulb out and insert it in your oem base and bend the wire back as it was.

it sounds scary at first but its straight forward and nothing to it. my bulbs had a tight fit in the oem sockets so I had to scrape off the hot glue on them a little bit for them to fit into the sockets all the way but no need to glue them in, they just sit into the socket like those Christmas tree bulbs do. I don't know if you ever replaced your own bulbs in those Christmas tree lights but if you did you understand what im saying. often the sockets dont fit the same so you have to pull the bulbs out to swap sockets on them. its the same thing with these.

also LEDs are polarity sensitive which means they only work one way so test it before reinstalling the control and if its not lighting up take it out and turn it 180 degrees for it to work.

another great light mod is to use these to replace the map lights and dome light, its a tight fit to get them in so test touch them to be sure they light up before you snap them in place because its not easy to get them back out due to the tight fit but they will light up the truck interior at night like its daytime http://www.ebay.com/itm/4PCS-31mm-W...ash=item58a370acc9:g:YEIAAOSwu4BVifFp&vxp=mtr

 

Is there a bulb for the hazard light? i just noticed that mine is out.

 

hmmm, good question, I don't think they light up, I see no sign mine has any transparent "illumination" part to it

 

I already replaced my map/dome lights to LEDs. Love the cool white color in the cab.

 

I just did the same. I love the white light but I guess I need to add resistors. I thought I was getting CAN Bus circuit LEDs but now they don't come on unless the ignition is on.

 

Resistors? I never heard of putting resistors inside the cab. Don't do that, instead look up this link. I never had a problem with them, they come on like the stock bulbs did.

T10 LED Bulbs, YANF 921 912 194 168 LED Bulbs 12-24V White 20SMD 2835 LED Replacement for Plate Camper Boat Trunk Trailer Ceiling Dome Interior Light Bulbs (Xenon White)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HE6CI58?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage
Notice it says Error free, which is what you need.

 

i think those are the exact ones i got. i will double check.

 

I pulled the 4 main cluster lights, the 194s. One bulb holder is green. The other 3 are gray and the bulbs do NOT pull out without a ton of force, because they are soldered in and so, there are no middle contacts for a replacement bulb. I must have overlooked mention of that in the preceding 15 pages.

This is one of the stupidest things I've seen as an owner although props to Toyota for extra reliability?? Busted one of the OEM bulbs yanking on it before I knew what it was.

I will try to follow the instructions here, http://www.whitegauges.net/pages/LED-Installation-with-Soldered-bulbs.html "sometime later," when I get a few minutes. Until then, I have new lights and the cluster sitting in my damn kitchen. And no truck to drive. Not happy. What I really want are new sockets.

Yeah maybe I'll do just that, for $5 and 2 days' wait:

Partsam 6x 168/194 13mm hole Twist Lock Wedge Instrument Panel Gauge Cluster Dashboard Indicator Light Bulb Base Socket

http://www.amazon.com/Partsam-Twist-Wedge-instrument-Socket/dp/B00KVU6YRW I could have ordered 3 sockets from superbrightleds.com for $1.20 ea at the same time as my order, had I realized what I was getting into.

 

mine were all black and the bulbs came out without any issues so someone at some point was messing with your bulbs there and put things that didn't belong there. then 4 main lights are all black sockets from the factory.

all the sockets are black except there are 3 gray sockets used for the check engine and the two seat belt warning lights so those may be something made different that doesn't unplug. very strange what you found because this is how the stock cluster looks

 

My cluster otherwise looks like that. Could be due to manufacturing differences/supply chain changes. They were the pioneers in just-in-time parts delivery after all. The orange condoms can hardly be pulled off, like they've been on there from Day 1.

Two lights I don't have are on the far left of the display, circled here in red. Guessing the E-Locker or something I don't have.

 

yep I don't have those either, shine a light on your gauge and you can see them, one is the auto tranny temp and I think the other is for something else temp related. on the right side fuel gauge lights im missing the gas door open and something else on that side too. it all depends on what your truck is wired for.

my orange condoms were stuck on as well but a hot bulb after 15 years I would expect anything rubber to be stuck to the glass

 

Strange. But you have those two I circled, so they're just empty sockets? Or someone put bulbs in that can never light up on your truck?

 

I can see the 4 bulbs I need to replace in the future

 

So I finally dug into my dash and replaced the climate control lights with LEDs.



You need three of these bulbs (4mm) for the main dials which you access from the rear of the circuit board.







This bulb works for the PRNDL location and for the ash tray:


The lights behind the A/C and Recirc buttons can't be converted to white unless someone can source a clear plastic light conductor that mounts over the bulb. The OEM one is orange.

Edit: Actually it is still not possible since the lens in the button is also orange :'( I guess orange is the new orange.



Also the bulb for the lighter seems impossible to remove. It might be soldered in.

 

Was just gonna do white ac panel and cluster lights but now i think i want a really light blue or aqua color. But i just cant find any

 

Well the faceplate windows have a slight orange tint so even though I have white bulbs it still looks a bit orange.

 

Hate I missed that plate - too much going on right now. Probably never find another now - can dealer still get them ?

 

Yeah, I'll find one for a runner before I change those