I had an instrument bulb go out early this year, but pretty much ignored it, despite the fact that I couldn't read the speedometer at night. The combination of decreasing daylight and getting a couple tickets in August have raised the importance of this gauge, and thus I decided to get the bulb repaired.
I always liked the red glow of the instrument cluster from our old 325Ci, and so I decided that I would replace all the bulbs with red LEDs. The effort required to just change one or all is the same, the cost of the LEDs is quite reasonable, and the reliability of the lights much improved.
The original instrument cluster illumination, taken in October 2005, prior to the bulb burning out:
After the replacement:
The replacement bulbs:
Accessing the bulbs during the swap:
Details and photos of the bulb swap are available at:
http://rhhall.smugmug.com/gallery/6155171_Af4vd//388400507_rD3JN
I always liked the red glow of the instrument cluster from our old 325Ci, and so I decided that I would replace all the bulbs with red LEDs. The effort required to just change one or all is the same, the cost of the LEDs is quite reasonable, and the reliability of the lights much improved.
The original instrument cluster illumination, taken in October 2005, prior to the bulb burning out:
After the replacement:
The replacement bulbs:
Accessing the bulbs during the swap:
Details and photos of the bulb swap are available at:
http://rhhall.smugmug.com/gallery/6155171_Af4vd//388400507_rD3JN