Instrument Panel

[Midgear]

Ok, what I have found is very odd.

I got to lookin at my instrument panel the other day and decided to pop it out and give it a once over with some windex and a paper towel.. what I discovered was kinda shocking.. I took the panel trim off.. and noticed that the bolts holding the instrument panel to the dash were all missing..

So I woundered.. could the previous owner have done what i think he / she did.. and I was correct.. The LED lights that light up the "SERVICE VEHICLE SOON", the "SERVICE ENGINE SOON", the "ANTI-LOCK", The "TRAC OFF", and the "LOW WASHER FLUID" were brutally removed with a pair of pliers.. the "SERVICE ENGINE SOON" light still exists on the board.. but its shattered and the base of the light bulb is just sitting there.. the other bulbs were ripped off the board.

My first question is why.. So i go ask the person i bought the car from, and he says that the previous owner tried to make a race car out of the alero, and thats all he knows. So im guessing thats why the lights were ripped off the board, and thats why theres a 2003 3.4L V6 engine in my 1999 Alero..


My next question.. how does one replace LED's? Do i have to buy a whole new instrument panel?

[diablo]

i took my cluster apart and found the bulbs were all sodered in place, is yours like that? cuse if itis than yes you need a new planel

[Eh_nigma]

Alrighty, I did a how to on the bulb/LED's in the climate control recently. It's EXACTLY the same when it comes to the LED's and resistors. If there are any other questions, PM me and I'll see what I can come up with.

I would be doing a "how to" on doing that, though I'm postive it was alread done, and that I'll be replacing my instruments a line from Autometer.

But yes... wow, cause not only do STICKERS give you 10hp, but removing bulbs, that's 2HP a piece!

[Midgear]

Originally Posted by diablo

i took my cluster apart and found the bulbs were all sodered in place, is yours like that? cuse if itis than yes you need a new planel

not according to Eh_nigma..

My cousin has a sodering gun (i know i spelled that wrong) .. so perhaps we could just go get a few LED's and soder em to the board?


Edit: Eh_nigma.. that was your 1000th post..

[Redog]

Mosty likey there's a 03 motor in your Alero becuase somebody really effed the old motor. Maybe it had the LIG leak and it wasn't attened to, but it could be anything

[Gr1m]

or maybe your throwing codes right now and u just dont know..

[antichrysler]

I'm wondering if it's odometer fraud. Put the odometer from a different alero and smash out the bulbs to show error codes... pretty cheap way to increase the resale value of the 'ho

if i remember correctly the mileage reading goes with the cluster

[Redog]

Originally Posted by antichrysler

if i remember correctly the mileage reading goes with the cluster

No, the milage is on the BCM, gotta change that to change the miles

[Eh_nigma]

Originally Posted by Midgear

not according to Eh_nigma..

My cousin has a sodering gun (i know i spelled that wrong) .. so perhaps we could just go get a few LED's and soder em to the board?


Edit: Eh_nigma.. that was your 1000th post..

It's easy to do really... what's easier on that panel, is there's A LOT more room to work with than the climate control, so I would STRONGLY recommend getting the 12V LED's (LED's with the resistor already attached). Pick the colours you want to put in... may as well do the whole thing while you're at it... and solder them in. But, as always, be sure that the solder connections are solid so they don't break down from vibration down the road (bad pun, sorry), and that they're not shorted.

Aside from that, when it comes to the odometer, exactly like Redog stated, it wont change at with a new or altered cluster - insurance/safety feature adopted years ago is to blame for that one.

I would also STRONGLY recommend that you get this car checked out for error codes once you're done. Either at a dealership or however else... to ensure that you haven't had the wool pulled over your eyes due to this moron busting out the lights... ...still baffles me WHY he/she would do it...

Hope this helps...

and for the record, my 1000th was right after Candace#1 (pawz) posted a reply to fun with my... errr... I can only assume "car" is what she meant.

[pawzbear]

hahahha yep. and hush... dont even act like the 1000th post thing wasnt planned out...

[Midgear]

Originally Posted by antichrysler

I'm wondering if it's odometer fraud. Put the odometer from a different alero and smash out the bulbs to show error codes... pretty cheap way to increase the resale value of the 'ho

if i remember correctly the mileage reading goes with the cluster

I never thought of that, and that scares me. I know i have bad wheel hubs because my traction control doesnt work, but i have no lights that show that they are out. they've been ripped off the board.. im going to confront my dealer about this and see if he cant chip in to get a new board or entire cluster, if that fails, im gonna go get some LED's..

by the way, where do you pick up LED's like that

Edit: My odometer now reads 161,200 miles.. so i believe those are original lol

[antichrysler]

lol unless it had 500,000 miles and 161,200 miles happens to make it worth value of the pink slip

before you take it to the dealership i'd take it to a mechanic you trust and pull all the codes off it first and see if you can find dates on em too. That way if there's codes from when the car was in their possession you can pin it on them

[cavaliers60]

If all the bulbs are broken off, you might have a fun time trying to get the rest of them out... really all you'll need to do is just buy new 194 bulbs to replace all of them..... if you want LEDs... Just get some 194 LED bulbs that just slide right in... no wireing... all you REALLY need to do is solder the wire on the LED to the connector to help hold it in place.. I didn't, but it will hold them in better...

[Midgear]

I'll take pictures of what the damage is tomorrow.. i dont think you can just "slide" these LED's into place.. theres nothin to hold them on or connect wires to.. i think its gotta be soldered.. sodered.. or however you say / spell that word.

[cavaliers60]

oh.. well if they completely removed the metal pieces in the piece that holds the lights, then I would get some new ones. lol I might have to take one out tomorrow if I have time and show you what I did...

[Satsuriku]

Originally Posted by Midgear

by the way, where do you pick up LED's like that

go on ebay and search for super bright LED's, you can get like 100 for $15 WITH resistors, really cheap and very much worth it!!