[Stevo2]

Originally Posted by Eddie45

I also have a ’99 villager and I’m in the process of replacing all the cluster bulbs since most of them are burned out anyway. I don’t know exactly what bulbs are out in your instrument panel, but I’ll bet they’re not the ones at the bottom (door ajar, service engine, high beam indicator, etc.). I removed the instrument panel 2 days ago and the bulbs I need to replace are: gear indicator bulb and a few others that allow you to see the dials, all of which are type 194. These bulbs are very common and cheap, but the local wal-mart and pepboys were all out as of yesterday. When you go out to buy them, I suggest you buy the 194LL (LL for long life). They’re around $3 per 2 pack.

To replace them:
1. Remove the negative battery terminal and wait at least 10 minutes before moving to the next step
2. Put the gear on 1 and tilt the steering wheel to lowest position possible.
3. Remove the 2 screws above/infront of the panel.
4. Pull out the light switch knob on the left and then pull out the defrost, rear wiper, etc. switches on the right. Use a small flat-head screwdriver and put the piece of tape on it to prevent cosmetic damage to the buttons.
5. Slightly pull out the plastic casing holding the switches (not the buttons –you already removed those) so you can reach in the back of them and disconnect the switches from the casing. Then, pull the casing out slightly and you can see 4 screws holding the cluster in place. They will be right in front of you
6. Remove the 4 screws holding the cluster in place.
7. The gear indicator cable is attached to this cluster; remove it by unclamping it from two points. They are back (about 2” apart) and look slightly like a hook. Don’t try to force it out. It comes out easily once you figure out those hooks
8. Now the cluster is ready to come out except it’s attached by 3 connectors in the back (2 black and 1 white). Make sure you write done where each one was attached so you don’t get them mixed up when you put everything back together.
9. Remove those connectors and the cluster comes right out. All the bulbs can be accessed from the back turning counter clockwise to open each bulb socket.

One mistake I made was in step 8 by not making a note of exactly where each connector goes. So I’m not sure where the white ones goes back in. Once you open your and find out, please write back and let me know. I haven’t put my cluster back in yet.

Good Luck

Nice post! One other suggestion, if you can, try testing the lights before you bolt it all back together. Sometimes the wire leads on the bulbs bend and don't make good contact.