Question: Digital dash on 1986 Coupe

[tedsone1]

Just purchased a beautiful black 86 coupe this week. Garage kept and low miles. My only issue is with the dash. The MPH and RPM are great. The center section over the steering column is so dim I can only see it if the sun hits it just right. Is this a bulb issue or do I need to replace the instrument cluster? Lots of important stuff in this area that I want to be able to see. Any advice here would be appreciated.

 

[Rex S]

My copy/paste function decided to not work so GOOGLE a search for "corvette digital dash" and you'll get a really good writeup in Corvette Mag. by Gordon Killebrew. In depth on how to remove & clean the contacts.

 

[theafus]

Just purchased a beautiful black 86 coupe this week. Garage kept and low miles. My only issue is with the dash. The MPH and RPM are great. The center section over the steering column is so dim I can only see it if the sun hits it just right. Is this a bulb issue or do I need to replace the instrument cluster? Lots of important stuff in this area that I want to be able to see. Any advice here would be appreciated.

Sounds like the bulbs need to be replaced to me.

 

[WhalePirot]

My guess is some of the bulbs on the back of the unit. These units are LCDs, which darken to blank out the light from halogen bulbs, which then passes through a plastic screen, giving the coloration.

R&R is not too difficult, but don't handle halogen bulbs without gloves, or care. The oil from your fingers will cause them to overheat and fail.

 

[tedsone1]

Thanks, I just found the article mentioned above on the web detailing how to check and change the bulbs. Since everything works I was hoping it was just a bulb. Have something to do after work tonight!

 

[air1jpg]

I would be great if you could replace these bulbs with LED bulbs.... they would last forever...

 

[vetteoz]

What seems to be the problem with your Digital Cluster

Replacing the Light Bulbs

 

[geekinavette]

I would be great if you could replace these bulbs with LED bulbs.... they would last forever...

Not to mention not getting so dang hot!

 

[WhalePirot]

I would be great if you could replace these bulbs with LED bulbs.... they would last forever...

True, but LEDs are very directional and may not illuminate it uniformly. I have done a few small projects with them and any replacements need to be made properly taking this directionality into consideration. Different LEDs have varying dispersion anglesm as well as brightness.

I made one replacement bulb, using LEDs, for the map light in the passenger door; another heat problem area. It seems to be fine, but I have little dark time with it in place. Having bought 60 LEDs, some blue, some white, all ultra brights with correctly sized resistors, I am always thinking about other such projects. Every interior light in the Vette is a candidate for this soft blue, greatly reduced heat, light.

I read that good dash replacement bulbs are xenon, primarily for heat.

 

[tonylong]

I believe Stanley 7073 are good replacements for the lamps in the panel ahead of the driver, and they're Xenon, too which are cooler. i bought mine for about $20 for four on ebay.

 

[88C4]

This may sound strange, try tapping a couple of times between the speedometer and tachometer. It fixed my lighting problem some time ago.