During my dash swap i bought 2 or 3 clusters all with the same problem, no odometer light. I asked on here how to repair it and did all kinds of searches and came up with the same answers: new cluster, better luck next time, deal with it. I even got so desperate at one point i almost bought a gauge just so i had some way of tracking miles, oil changes, etc.
Till one day i started looking at the cluster and noticed it was nothing more that a bulb and socket that lit it up. so without further to do here the how to:
Materials:
*some wire for wiring the bulb
*12v source (switched)
*super glue (optional)
*new bulb
heres the bulb i picked up at radio shack for i think around $2.50
now its times for the steps...
first and for most remove negative battery cable.
Step 1: First remove dash pad, and access/remove the cluster.
Step 2: Now with the cluster out turn it around to the back side, and remove the metal shroud. I think theres like 6 torx bolts if i remember correctly.
Step 3: You should be looking at something like this now.
With the metal shroud removed you should be able (common sense) to locate the socket that hold dead bulb behind the odometer.
heres a picture of the socket for a sunfire cluster.
I inserted a small straight screwdriver and broke the soldered points and removed the bulb.
Step 4: Now with the socket removed there should be a hole where the socket use to be. heres a picture of the open hole on a cavalier cluster
now what i did was remove the green circuit board and installed the light through the hole. for those who are worried about this part, dont worry your not going to mess anything up, cause your not actually messing with the motors or anything, it just unplugs from the pins on the back)
before i installed the bulb thought i should mention that i attached 2 wires to the 2 tabs on the bottom of the bulb. i didnt solder or anything just wired and wrapped bottom with electrical tape.
i then put some super glue around the hole just to help keep the bulb in place.
i then ran the wires through the metal shroud hole and reinstalled the back metal shroud.
Step 5: Next I reinstalled the cluster (hook up the 2 connections) and ran one of the wires from the bulb to the fuse box on the drivers side. and the other i connected to one of the huge dash frame bolts. (doesnt matter which one goes where with the bulb i used)
Screw cluster to dash, reinstall dash pad, reconnect negative wire to battery, insert key,crank engine, and enjoy.
heres a picture of the cluster before:
and after:
overall i am very pleased with it, looks stock, i spent $2.50, about 1 hour,and saved myself another $50 bucks for another junkyard cluster.
hope this help alot of you all. enjoy.
Drake
you do know, you can just buy some 194 bulbs, cut the wire at the end of the light (on the out side) and solder it to little prongs inside the light tabs right?
in the how-to on changing your gauge cluster light color, it'll explain more.
...
i did this for those who dont know how to solder, or fear pining something wrong.... this is just another way i guess...
Im gonna do this....
But I vote this be made a sticky.
thanks i was hoping that this would be appreciated
did any of you know you can buy just the socket from napa?? and use a 194 bulb. Part number is LS6500 and if you want to just replace the bulb and arentl looking for anything special its a PC194 and thats a direct replacement so
Socket with no bulb : LS6500
OEM replacement with bulb: PC194
and to clarify: thats a 98+ cluster. process will be different for those of us with the mechanical odo, as it's light is supplied from the gauge bulbs.
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Wojo wrote:did any of you know you can buy just the socket from napa?? and use a 194 bulb. Part number is LS6500 and if you want to just replace the bulb and arentl looking for anything special its a PC194 and thats a direct replacement so
Socket with no bulb : LS6500
OEM replacement with bulb: PC194
PC194 is for the main part of the gauges. There are 4 of them on my cluster. I used a 74 bulb to replace the one on the odometer.
Jason
99 Z24 Supercharged
157hp/171tq - NA
LD9 for Life
Rich Grayo Jr. wrote:and to clarify: thats a 98+ cluster. process will be different for those of us with the mechanical odo, as it's light is supplied from the gauge bulbs.
It's easier since all we have to do is replace a 194 bulb but those don't go out that much.
Ok. then in that case. the part number is PC74. either way. there is a direct replacement that you do not have to solder. just twist the old one out. and twist the new one in.
Wojo wrote:Ok. then in that case. the part number is PC74. either way. there is a direct replacement that you do not have to solder. just twist the old one out. and twist the new one in.
Must be just my cluster then. Mine had 3 other places that the PC74 socket would fit, but the odometer portion wasn't one of them
Jason
99 Z24 Supercharged
157hp/171tq - NA
LD9 for Life
Rich Grayo Jr. wrote:and to clarify: thats a 98+ cluster. process will be different for those of us with the mechanical odo, as it's light is supplied from the gauge bulbs.
Actually I believe that it's for a 99 cluster, I used to own a 98 and it didn't have a LCD odometer display, it had the mechanical...
And as for the 00+ they are completely different as far as I know...
I have a 98 cav and it has the lcd display
Interesting because my 98 didn't have one, the 97 doesn't either...
My 01 does...
Could it have been swapped from a 99 to the 98?
