06 Silverado instrument lights

Somebody please tell me that I don't have to replace the entire instrument cluster because of a few burnt out bulbs!? Is it possible to solder in replacement bulbs or is that more trouble than it's worth?

Somebody please tell me that I don't have to replace the entire instrument cluster because of a few burnt out bulbs!? Is it possible to solder in replacement bulbs or is that more trouble than it's worth?

why did this occur ? the last time I had a dash lamp fail the vehicle was over 10years old and well over 200,ooomi....
I WOULD check the voltage of the alternator output ...should be 13.5-14.75 volts dc.....if its too high your lamps and other componets will get damaged....

Are you talking about the HVAC/radio backlighting? Same thing happened to me and is very common in these vehicles - my HVAC recirculating lights went out. You can get new bulbs from radio shack and solder them in pretty easily, even if you are not too handy with a soldering iron (which I am not). Be very careful if bulbs go out on the radio and you solder on it. If any of the solder touches any of the other electrical contacts, it will not be good for the radio (I found this out the hard way).

Hey thanks for the info on the light bulbs, I just did some soldering on my cluster to get the odometer and drive selector working!!!

Heck if I know... 2 out in the dash instruments, 2 out in the HVAC controls and all the lamps in the cargo/fog light switches. Factory stereo came out long ago after it was replaced twice under warranty for eating CD's

Heck if I know... 2 out in the dash instruments, 2 out in the HVAC controls and all the lamps in the cargo/fog light switches. Factory stereo came out long ago after it was replaced twice under warranty for eating CD's

the alternator needs checking...too many bulb failures..

You can easily soldier them.

What about the bulbs in the steering wheel for radio conrlols? Does anybody know how to replace these? How do you, or can you, get to these?
Thanks.

Link to RadioShack bulbs: http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2104023

You can also use a Radio Shack 272-1092
Two to a pack. These will work in the steering wheel controls and the climate for sure and I hear the radio. When doing the steering wheel, it's best to pull the wheel off completely as the wiring harness is very short. Some say you need a puller to remove the wheel but I have not had a problem pushing/pulling, side to side in a rocking motion once the nut is removed. I then used an allen wrench to reach around the back of the switch in the wiring hole to help push it out. This keeps the face of the switch damage free. The air bag needs to be removed first of course and you can use one of those allen wrenches to release it by pushing in the two small holes on the left and right of the steering wheel.