I took out my C5 Vert tonight and when I put the lights on the 1&2 buttons on the right pod stack (I believe fuel & trip or options) did not illuminate. Did not flicker but both would go on for a few minutes and off for a few. I hate things that don't work. Any ideas. Thanks, Mike

 

Only thing I can think of is send the DIC control unit to a place like JW Motoring and have them replace the stock lighting with LEDs.

 

Just sounds like the bulb is going out or loose. There is one bulb for every 2 buttons. You have to pull the IPC to replace. The bulbs are set into a plastic base that rotates into place. You can get used replacements since they have a blue tint on the bulb. GM does not have replacement to my knowledge, I looked in the past. I located some good used ones for my parts inventory. You can remove the bulb from the base and replace the bulb with a Radio Shack 272-1092 one. You would have to tint the bulb to match.

Marc at VetteNuts.com should be able to provide correct bulbs (with base). If not, let me know, I have another source.

Here is how to access, looks harder than it really is. Some people are able to remove the Knee Bolster without removing the console pieces. Just don't break it that way at the ignition key area.

http://www.vetteessentials.com/instr...zel_howto.html

Let me know if I can help further.

Mr. Sam

 

Like dadaroo said, there is one bulb for every two buttons, and your top bulb is probably loose and making intermittent contact in its' socket. My top two buttons went dark a long while back and I found the bulb on the floor near the gas pedal one day, apparently it just vibrated out of it's socket. I eventually got around to replacing it when I also had to replace my hazard flasher, and was able to screw the bulb into place without having to remove the button pod from the gauge cluster, altho you do have to pull the cluster out at least part way from the dash to be able to access the rear of it to replace the bulb. The directions are pretty clear, it takes a while and is not really hard, just decide when (and if) you want to do it. A dealer will charge you a small fortune to replace that bulb and you can do it yourself in an hour or so. I did it by removing the bolster underneath the dash and dropping the steering wheel to get the gauge cluster out far enough to change the bulb. Just go slow, arrange all the screws in an orderly fashion so you know where they go when you put it back together, be careful and deliberate and you won't break anything. Like with all else, read the directions first, a few times.

 

I think I had a full set of LED bulbs for the DIC switches and door switches, if you're interested.

 

Thanks for the solid info. Since I have to remove the dash to replace the lights I think I will give some thought about adding gauge bezels etc before I pull it. I will check on them tonight.

 

Just so you know the original bulbs are not LEDs. If you use LEDs then they most likely will be much brighter that the others in the dash. That is why people do all of them instead of just a few so things do not look strange. I like to keep such things stock. My upgrades are for performance and handling, not cosmetics.

 

Just replaced all of my stock bulbs on the right and left of the gauge cluster with LEDs last week - definitely brighter (which is what I wanted) and a different tint than than the stock blue bulbs provided (as expected). I also had my Radio and AC bulbs swapped out with LEDs at the same time as well as the door switches, etc. Big improvement!

Someone at GM really went out of their way to make sure that every lit component on the C5 used a different bulb brightness and button tint combination to end up with a fairly consistent coloring in the stock interior. I had the exact same color temperature Warm White LEDs installed in my Radio an AC Unit last week and the Radio lights all look like they have a slight bright Yellow Tint now and the AC unit lights look bright Snow White. I am starting to get used to it. I think I will just tell people I paid extra for a 2-tone dash lighting scheme and wait until it comes into fashion!

 

Some stock bulbs have a blue tint applied to them like the DIC ones. Some buttons like the HVAC unit have the blue tint in the buttons and clear bulbs.

 

B-stock -- you do not have to remove the dash to replace any of the lights. You only have to pull the gauge cluster forward or remove it if you want. There is a BIG difference in removing the dash and just pulling the cluster out. Do a little research or homework on here and Google and you'll see the difference.

 

Here is how to remove the dash pad. Not that hard but you can decide which way you want to go. I already provided how to access the IPC without removing the dash pad.


http://tech.corvettecentral.com/2013...-dash-removal/

 

Great instructions!