I've gotta question regarding the instrument cluster lighting on the 2004 C5 Coupe.

I think I read (or heard) somewhere that there aren't individual replaceable bulbs in the instrument cluster but rather there are LED's that are soldered directly to the cluster board, which sounds like if one goes out you’re pretty much looking at replacing the entire cluster board.

Is there any truth to that?

I’m asking because I swear I have a bulb out in the center area of the instrument cluster. It may be my imagination but there seems to be a noticeably brighter effect on the outer gauges and what seems like a dimmer area dead center where the tach and speedo overlap. I have checked the **** that you turn to adjust the brightness and it works as designed.

Any thoughts?

 

no LED's, mythbusted

there are 2 UV lights, one on each end

if your in the CT area, I could remove the cluster and take a look, about a 30 min job

update your location, someone is most likely to lend a help

 

Yes, there are individual bulbs in the cluster. They are very small and not terribly common. I happened to have a second spare cluster, so I removed a couple of bulbs as spares. You may try you local auto parts house, or your GM dealer.

Once you remove the cluster, you will need to disassemble the cluster a bit to access most of the bulbs. Not too difficult, but tedious and be careful.

The back of the cluster has the standard printed circuit board that powers the instruments and bulbs. It is clipped into a standard ribbon type connector that gets plugged into the harness. I found that one of the connectors had released and was not making good contact with the printed circuit. After verifying all of the bulbs were good, I noticed the printed circuit would slip out of the connector. After "re-clipping" the connector, all worked well.

Good luck... GUSTO

 

Both of you are correct. The High Voltage bulbs on the sides provide the background illumination whereas the individual bulbs are all for the various indicators.

 

thanks for the feedback Steve...

is it possible that one or both of the 2 UV lights could start to "fade" over time?

thank you for the offer to help too... I wish we lived a bit closer I'd take you up on that one as I am completely chicken to pull the dash apart. BTW, I updated my location!

 

thanks for your feedback GUSTO...

any chance of you having any links that show this whole tedious tear down process? I'm still pretty chicken when it comes to taking this baby apart but I also realize that I need to start getting over that at some point. :-)

 

Check out this site, they have some pretty good instructions and pictures on removing the cluster. It should take you about a half hour to remove it... perhaps a bit longer the first time.
http://www.vetteessentials.com/instr...zel_howto.html

Once you have the cluster out lay it face down on a towel or something soft to protect it and look at the back. You will need to remove the panel that you are looking at to access the majority of the bulbs. It will be attached to the rest of the cluster by the printed circuit board. Lay it over and you will now be able to access the bulbs on the cluster. As you lay it over you will see how the printed circuit connects the two pieces together. Where the printed circuit clips into the connector is where you want to check to be sure they are tight.

Before you can remove the back, you will need to remove a couple of harnesses that also connect the back of the cluster to the front. These should be evident when you get a look it it. Just be careful as you remove everything and note how it comes apart so you can get it all back together. If you've ever disassembled an instrument cluster before this should not be too difficult. It's a bit more involved than a C3 cluster, but if you do it one step at a time you should have no problems.

Good luck... GUSTO