Burned out Tach backlight

[Guest]

On the commute to work the other morning, I noticed my tachometer light was dark compared to my speedometer. Autumn is coming I guess.

I haven't tore it apart to check which bulb it takes, but is this light bulb easy to find at an automobile parts store or am I going to have to go to dealer for a replacement? If anyone know which bulb it requires, may save me hassles with parts people at Autozone.

[Steve]

I don't remember exactly which bulb it takes, but you don't have to hassle with the people at Auto Zone,
just take your bulb out, go straight to the bulb aisle, match it up and get it yourself.

.

[BassCliff]

Hi Mr. waterman,

Have you checked the parts fiche at your favorite online vendor?

Here's a couple of findings from the search feature...

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=120036&highlight=bulbs

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=122053&highlight=bulbs

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[mike_of_bbg]

It's slightly higher wattage, but I believe I used a Sylvania 168 to replace the tach light on my GS550L. Just happened to have it lying around and it fit perfectly. It's not obnoxiously or distractingly bright and I much prefer it to the dimmer and less consistent light from the speedo.

[waterman]

Thanks guys for the quick responses, Basscliff glad to see you are back to your helpful, cheerful self. Thought about you the other day as a coworker had an accident with his bike and shattered his tibia, he will be off 6 to 8 weeks. Hopefully, you are well on your way to fully recovered.

The links are great, I didn't word my search very well I guess. Will tear apart and see what I have.

[bigbabee]

I replaced all of my instrument lights with LED`s using the original bulb sockets. There is a step by step tutorial on this website. LED`s are more resistant to vibration and last much longer than incandescent bulbs.

[BassCliff]

Thanks guys for the quick responses, Basscliff glad to see you are back to your helpful, cheerful self. Thought about you the other day as a coworker had an accident with his bike and shattered his tibia, he will be off 6 to 8 weeks. Hopefully, you are well on your way to fully recovered.

The links are great, I didn't word my search very well I guess. Will tear apart and see what I have.

Thank you for your kind words Mr. waterman. Yes, I'm doing well and healing nicely. I hope and pray your friend heals quickly.

I think Mr. bigabee is referring to Mr. Matchless' guide to replacing the lighting in the instrument cluster with LEDs. I have a link to Mr. Matchless' collection of great tutorials on my website and a copy of the LED replacement guide in the "Electrical Odds and Ends" section. For your convenience, links are below.

Matchless' collection:

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=3a0ab726f6117e564012e8015643d9c85717b31bfbde8fc1

My Electrical Odds and Ends collection:

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/storagecliff/images/electrical_odd-n-ends.html

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[MacGyver]

On the commute to work the other morning, I noticed my tachometer light was dark compared to my speedometer. Autumn is coming I guess.

I haven't tore it apart to check which bulb it takes, but is this light bulb easy to find at an automobile parts store or am I going to have to go to dealer for a replacement? If anyone know which bulb it requires, may save me hassles with parts people at Autozone.

It is most likely a 194 bulb - very common for instrument clusters. The 168 is also compatible but a bit brighter and thus uses a watt or so more plus generates more heat. When I changed out some burnt out bulbs in the GS550E, the rubber sockets had melted a bit from the heat of the bulb over time. I wasn't able to determine if the dead bulbs were 168 or 194.

Tim