AC Dash Panel light change help

ok i'm in the middle of changing out my interior lights (instrument, ac controls,etc....) on my 02 i got the instrument panel done, but how in the hell do i get rid of that orange thats on the back side of the ac panel? and what bulbs should i use in it because 2 are blown and they are very small and they are the screw in type, but the bulb doesn't pull out.

 

i just did this in mine. you will only be able to find these at toyota and they are like $8 a piece. pull the knobs off the climate control and pull the face off. there are 2 screws that hold the climate control into the dash. once that is out there will be 2 plugs in the back that you will take off and it should come all the way out. on the back is a while panel that i believe had 4 tiny screws. take those out and you will be able to remove them from the back. reverse the process and your done. its a huge PITA! but thats the only way

 

This is what you need. Sad thing is I tried to find a way to get rid of the orange because it drives me nuts as well, and couldn't find a way to do it. I found some led bulbs that should work, may give you a slightly different color, but you probably won't get a blue/green/white without a lot of work.

 

These led's should work. Never tried them, but from the looks of the base, and what I replaced they should twist right in. Someone else may have experience with that.

LED Twist Lock Bulbs

 

OK, So I need to replace these too. I have the knobs off and everything with access to the bulbs, BUT, my fat fingers can't twist them out!

Anyone have a good suggestion for twisting these out with something besides your finger?

I already broke the bad one with a set of needle nose pliers

 

you have to remove them from the back. take the white assembly out of the dash and there are about 4 screws if i remember correctly. take those off and the backplate on teh white assembly will come off and you can take the bulbs out from the backside.

 

Wow, what a HUGE PITA, but it was exactly as you had said. 3 screws to remove the white panel, then twist the white panel in order to take the wiring connectors off and slide it out. Then the black panel had to be unsnapped from the backside of the white panel!

All of this just to take the bad one out to find a LED replacement to match from the parts store.

Thanks, for the help!

Peter

 

glad you were able to get it fixed! i was doing the same thing you had done and decided that it would be easier to do it on the work bench so i pulled it out and thats when i found out that they were removed from the back side.

 

Have either of you done anything with your main instrument panel (speedometer, odometer and all). I have seen tons of 2nd Gens that have modded them, but not alot of 1st gens. I am getting ready to start swapping out lights (again - orange is not my thing) and if I am going to do it, wanna do it all at once.

 

i havent personally but i cant imagine it being very hard. just time consuming learning what has to come apart to access what. just start with one thing at a time and keep track of how it goes back together and take your time

 

There are a couple of threads on it:
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/1s...o-has-changed-color-their-cluster-lights.html

And a thread from CustomTacos.com on how to remove your dash:
http://www.customtacos.com/tech/index.php?article=110

 

^^ thanks - I search but guess I didnt use the right keywords

 

Does anyone know where I could find the panelboard that all the bulbs go into. The previous owner of my truck tried to change out the bulb and snapped the panel on the left side so there is no place to put a bulb and sometimes the middle doesnt work. I have looked for one but cant seem to find any without going to a dealer and paying more than I would like to, any info would be appreciated.

 

salvage yard for ebay

 

searched for tacoma ac control and found this....http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/01-0...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item19b971aabe

 

Yup, major PITA. I have pics in my gallery of the whole process. Was intending to do a writeup, but the pix pretty much exlpain it. If anyone else is interested, see files named CDashRem_#
http://www.tacomaworld.com/gallery/.../3/ppuser/25814/sortby/f/sorttime/365/way/asc

and TempCtrl_#
http://www.tacomaworld.com/gallery/.../7/ppuser/25814/sortby/f/sorttime/365/way/asc

 

Thx for the post this was helpful