Me again, 1999, C2 Cab, dash board issue. The digital speedo, outside temp and the clock/oil level can not be seen, as if there is no back lighting. If the sun shines (or any light) on these gauges I can see that they are operating normally. However, the readout can not be seen under normal driving conditions, with or without the headlights on or the key switched on or off. The procedure in the Bentley manual to turn the gauges on didn't work. Any advice or direction would be greatly appreciated.

 

Have you removed the cluster and replaced the backlight bulbs? If you're going to do this, here is a site I found for my friend who replaced his in his '99 Cab. If this isn't what you're looking for, let me know and I'll delete this comment.

http://pedrosboard.com/read.php?7,10420,10420

 

I know a little bit about this because I have been seriously considering changing all the bulbs in my dash, console and such to blue or white. The blue can be accomplished by installing what are called bulb condoms. Yes, condoms. The white requires a bulb change along with the removal of a piece of cellulose. I think the orange is dull and dated. To answer your question, there are small incandescent bulbs in behind the LED readouts. Yours has no doubt burned out. Because of their location it might not require removing the cluster. You might want to go to a stereo shop and see if they can tackle it for you. If you do need to remove the cluster you may want to consider the color change. There are a few posts on here that address doing it What has stopped me from tackling the job is that unlike the bulbs that are behind the dash and controls, the heating/ac controls has small LED's that are soldered onto the board and would require soldering blue ones on. sounded like a ***** when I say it out loud! Good luck.

 

Thanks a lot guys! This looks like another of those PITA jobs . . . but your info tells me that I can at least attempt the fix. At this point I'm going to stay with standard lights, just need to decide which ones to replace . . . my attitude has always been 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it', but in this case changing the most used bulbs makes sense . . . the car has 85K miles on it. Thanks again. Larry

 

I always hate to ask the obvious but, why don't you take it to your dealer, have the oil changed, get an inspection and - have them change your bulbs??? They have the ability, experience and equipment to remove and replace all the parts of your car. I call this wait, wait,... normal maintenance.

 

denversteve, First, I live 2+ hours from the nearest P-car dealer and, being on a fixed income, I'd rather not pay their rather tall fees for both service and parts. As for normal maintenance, I have owned all sorts of cars over 50 years and never ever replaced a dash light. Not sure what the dealer charges for an oil change but I'll bet I saved a significant amount doing it myself. Also, I always thought that this forum and Renntech were known to offer advice and information on how best to fix/maintain our wonderful Porsche autos.

 

You are correct my friend. That's my advice. Good luck with the lights.