Hey all,

My check engine light doesn't light at all. I.e. it doesn't come on when I turn the ignition key to the on position. I took my car to AutoZone to scan for codes, so I'm not worried about that. The question is, how difficult is it to take out the cluster to get to the bulb(assuming that's the problem)? I have the Haynes manual but it seems the only instructions they give involve removing the entire dashboard(center console etc.). Any suggestions? Also, on a side note, my car DOES NOT have a screw to do a self-diag on the ECU. 2000 is supposed to be the year they took it out, but it seems I must have a late '99 without the standard '99 ECU.

-Erik

 

There are two screws located on the underside of the flat hood that shades your gauges. Those two hold that black plastic bezel in place. After you undo those, the bezel will shimmy around but will not come out. This bezel snaps into place inside the dash, which means you might have to get a little forceful with it, to get it out, but dont worry, you probably wont break it. Even if you do break it(which I did when I installed my indiglos) you can easily super glue it or something, then once you snap it back into place, the break is barely visible. Moving on....

Once you have that bezel out of the way, you should see 3-4 screws (don't remember exactly) holding the instrument "unit" in place. Once those screws are out of there the whole "unit" should be free except for the wiring harnesses which i'm sure you'll be able to figure out on your own.

The whole process is made much more annoying by the steering wheel being right there, but if it all came together, then it all comes apart. Once the "unit" is free, you can take it inside to work on. From there its pretty easy to figure out how to take the "unit" apart.

Also, someone might have a sticky out there with pictures.

Good luck.

 

Thanks,

I will try that when I get some free time. I just hope that it's a burnt out bulb and not something more serious, otherwise I'll have to do periodic AutoZone checks to make sure the CEL is off.. ha ha.