Replacing 1989 Digital Dash Bulbs

[TedC]

One of four bulbs went out on my 1989 digital dash. After reading the informative suggestions on this site, I decided to complete this project myself. The 1989 uses four Stanley 7073 bulbs. Prior years did not use the 7073 bulb. This bulb is similar in size and connection type as the more common 194 bulb. You can replace the four bulbs without having to remove the digital dash. Will take you 15 minutes to remove the front plastic dash cover. Lower the steering wheel first then unscrew the tilt lever. The headlight knob has a pressure clip which you can release using a small screwdriver. You should see four tin metal bulb caps which pop right out. They fit one way, so align properly when reinstalling. Now the fun begins. How to remove the bulbs without breaking them? Don't use a pliers. One suggestion was to glue vacuum tubing then pull them straight out. I came up with a quicker way by using vacuum tubing and a vacuum pump. It took no longer than 10 minutes to remove and replace all four bulbs. The expensive Stanley 7073 bulb is only slightly brighter than the 168 long life bulbs I decided to use. Measurements indicate that the 168 bulb uses ~15% less power. Using a 194 bulb would be even lower, but so would the brightness. I measured resistance of a 7073 bulb at 29 ohms, 34 for the 168, and 49 for a 194. The 168 long life bulbs are rated at ~2500 hours, which matches the rated life of the 7073. Standard 194/168 bulbs are rated at 1500 hours.

 

[tonylong]

Thanks for posting this. I know I'm gonna be doing this soon, my dash is occasionely blinking out now, but a good thump brings it back.

 

[ken mohr]

Good post. If you have a heat problem with the brighter bulbs let us know.

Thanks