5CHN3LL

So...one of the backlights is failing on the LED segment that shows the current time (big deal) and the oil level (OK, big deal). Percussive maintenance (tapping it) is sufficient to make the backlight fire up.

I'm assuming that this is just a cracked solder joint for whatever flavor of bulb is used to backlight that particular part of the display.

Does anyone who has tinkered with the gauge cluster have any insight on whether the cluster is constructed in such a way that this sounds reasonable, or am I just making up a perfect scenario and I'm destined to be bummed when I crack into the cluster?

DBJoe996

I thought there are bulbs.

5CHN3LL

If it's an incandescent backlight, maybe just a bad bulb. That would be simple...

5CHN3LL

Hot damn. Wrong car, right cluster, lots of good info:
http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...eplacement.htm

KoB

Yup, best case is a bad bulb. The bulbs illuminate LCD displays; if you shine a bright light at the panel, you should be able to see if the display is still working.

My odometer display crapped out a while ago, but the digits are still visible under direct light, and the odometers are still working. Unfortunately, replacing the bulb didn't help, so I may be a bad-solder-joint victim.