New Owner/ New to Firebirds

[porschegonzo]

Ive been mainly been into porsches, with a side hobby of jaguars, and know very little about firebirds. i took possession of a 1997 firebird tonight with the 3.8 v6. great car and alot of fun to drive. i noticed one of the bulbs on the instument cluster has failed (gas guage light) . any idea how hard that is to fix? thank you for you help and i will get a signature setup soon. thank you


Jeff

[poormillionaire2]

You will have to pull the dash to get to the backlights for the gauge cluster.

[porschegonzo]

the ENTIRE dash has to come out or just the area around the cluster itself

[poormillionaire2]

Actually, I never have had to do that before, so I honestly don't know. I wouldn't think that the whole thing would have to come out. I'm sure its at least a 2-piece console. So, just work the on the driver's side and see if the cluster side comes out.

[porschegonzo]

i agree there has to be a way to get to just the bulbs without taking the car half way apart literally. the area aroune the cluster is seperate and im sure it comes out. i have to finish a cv joint on my volvo and then i will work on the firefird's bulbs, take some pics for those who are thinking of doing the same thing

[Morley]

Just pull the bezel around the instrument cluster then look for fasteners holding the cluster in. Pull them and remove the cluster. Bulbs are on the back in little 1/4 turn holders.

[Cgroh89]

Last time I did them was in a 92 but all you needed to do was the trim around it and the retainer.

[porschegonzo]

well it wasnt hard to do it was just a few screws and then slide the cluster forward. then destroy the top part of your hand as you squeeze your hand behind it to remove the bad bulb. the local GM dealer actually gave me the bulb for free saying it was the only thing i needed. whole thing took about 20 mins

[directcraig]

I am trying to replace the high beam indicator light in my cluster. I removed the 4 bolts holding the instrument cluster in and tried to slide it out but it won't come out. Seems like the wiring is plugged into the back and has no extra for it to come out. It is loose I can move it around a bit but it is being held in the back. Now what?

1995 trans am


thanks

Craig

[izzydjinn]

Sup PG. I have the same problem on my 00 firebird. All I can see is the revs and the speed am going, and the voltage gauge. Could you somewhat instruct me on how to actually take it apart (cluster). Do you just pull the outer edge out? If you say is an easy fix, I would like to fix them as well, seriously I thought that there was no way of fixing those bulds. Thanks bro, for shining some light on the issue..... get it, shining some light....... blown out bulbs in my clust.... aaah nevermind.

[izzydjinn]

Jeff, one thing....... bro thank you for saying that it was easy because I finally fix my dashboard cluster after 5 or 6 years. I always thought it was a very hard job, I even created a thread on the issue but no one answered, so I gave up. But again thanks, and I the kinda guy that feel proud after fixing stuff like that (sorry, I'm drunk already) so, it fixed, I have illumination again, sweet. Again, ther job was sooooooooo easy, 30 to 45 min, tops. It took me about 2 hrs though cuz ofcourse, I'm drinking and play guitar hero metallica. But seriously, 30 to 45 min.

[izzydjinn]

Direct craig, just pull it off. Its being held by a 36 pin connector. I had the same issue, it loose from the bottom, but not the top.... yeah, just hold it from were you took the top screws and wiggle it softly, and it should come off. Fyi, once its off, tilt your steering wheel all the way down and you should be able to pull it.if not, try to work it through the left.

[directcraig]

thanks for the reply. so if I do get it out. Am I going to have a problem lining up the pins on the back when I go to put it back in, since you can't see anything?

[izzydjinn]

Just align the two top screws and it should go in

[directcraig]

thanks. will give it a try