replacing burnt out bulbs behind cluster

[scitron]

my bulbs are starting to burn out one at a time behind the cluster. Can anyone help me as to what is the correct way of removing teh cluster and replacing all the bulbs at the same time. Also, what kind of bulbs would i have to buy and how many would I need?
Thank you,

[DRW1000]

I am curious. How many bulbs have burnt out - one at at time?

If it is more that say three and it is frequent I would ensure that your regulator is not putting out too high of a voltage.

Sorry I don't know how to get into the cluster.

The bulb types will be written in the owners manual.

[scitron]

Originally Posted by DRW1000

I am curious. How many bulbs have burnt out - one at at time?

If it is more that say three and it is frequent I would ensure that your regulator is not putting out too high of a voltage.

Sorry I don't know how to get into the cluster.

The bulb types will be written in the owners manual.

I have a 1995 Ford Windstar. 2 of the cluster bulbs have burnt, though one at a time. I owuld like to know how you get to them to replace them.

[PumpItUp]

96' Windstar here as well and have recently had a burnt out bulb at my engine temperature guage area. (Right side of cluster) Anyone having a heads up would be appreciated and not going to work on it now until spring.. brrr.....

[Stan the Man]

I just replaced a couple of lights on my '98 Windstar. Not too hard.

You need to remove the 3 screws (brass-looking, IIRC) under the steering column. Remove the headlight knob - it just pulls out. Then try to pull out some of the dash - that should help you see where the screws are you need to remove. You might have to pull pretty hard to remove the dash - I know I did. I used a small screwdriver to pry out a little of the dash around where the headlight knob was. You'll also need to disconnect the headlight switch assembly from the wire so you can pull out the dash.

On the instrument panel, there's several screws, including a small brass one at the top of the panel near the center. Remove this & other screws & you can get into the instrument panel. Then just take off the gauge that is covering the light - for me it was my speedometer & fuel gauge. Don't worry about bumping a needle - they'll reset when you crank it back up.

I don't remember exactly which screws I removed, but pulling helped me see where they were. Like I said, you've got to pull pretty hard to remove the dash to get to the instrument panel. They snap right back on, though.

Good luck!!

[scitron]

Originally Posted by PumpItUp

96' Windstar here as well and have recently had a burnt out bulb at my engine temperature guage area. (Right side of cluster) Anyone having a heads up would be appreciated and not going to work on it now until spring.. brrr.....

Thank you Stan the Man. I guess I'll have to wait for warmer weather to arrive before I tackle this job.

Sam

[Stan the Man]

Must be really cold where you're at. Only took me about 30 minutes, counting a smoke break.

My wife hates our Windstar. It's had quite a few problems since we got it new in '98. We'll never get one again. How many of you guys out there feel the same way?

[PumpItUp]

Feel exactly the same way as countless headaches of actuator motors and motor assemblies and contacts etc etc. have been plaguing me..I live in central Canada and went to -28 c last night or 20 below fahrenheit ..I'm not crawling around outside in the snow trying to fix the cluster until spring!

[Dngrsone]

Don't blame you there. I'm not entirely dissatisfied with my Winny, though I wish I could up the mileage a little more-- 18.6 as of this morning in city traffic. I might break down and get a new MAF sensor and see if that helps.

[Stan the Man]

I think we're getting about 17 or 18 mpg out of ours, but we've had lots of problems with the interior build - seat covers replaced, seat belts replaced, cup holder fell apart, door locks acting buggy sometimes, had early warranty-covered minor transmission problem, pistons in liftgate going bad, and probably a million other things my wife just has learned to put up with.

Mechanically, it's been OK up to now. I'm sure the screech is nothing more than a bearing or bushing in the water pump assembly, and that this is probably normal for a van with about 64k miles on it. It's just all the little frustrations combined.

By the way, how dangerous is it to drive with a questionable water pump, assuming that's what is giving me my problems? I assume there'd be some warning signs or something, like an idiot light or the temp gauge shooting up, right?

[Dngrsone]

Generally, yes, though if the bearings were to sieze, you might snap the accessory belt, and that wouldn't be happy.

My rear environmental is messed up right now, waiting for me to find time to break into the side panel to fix it, and I could really use a new seat-belt thing for the middle seat by the door, since that one fell apart... hard to put a baby seat there when the belt only engages on one side.

[LeSabre97mint]

Stan the Man

If you know that your water pump is going bad I'd replace it so you can do a "planned" replacement. I let one go and the bearing went out and I had to do a replacement away from home.

Regards

Dan