The light does not light up when I turn the ignition on my 2001 SE AE 5 speed. The previous owner said that the cluster was not altered.
I'd like to get it fixed for future CA smog testing. Could this be a bulb that has burned out? What else should I check?

 

Start with the bulb since it's the cheapest and easiest test.

 

That's my plan, did some searching and it seems that the early 5th gens that were made between 1999-2000 have bulbs while the later 2001-2003's have LED's that are soldered in.

I'm just curious to know if there could be anything else besides the bulb on the cluster and pins/wires at the ECU that could have been altered to prevent it from illuminating.

 

does the light matter for inspection? doesn't inspection test scan though OBD-II anyway?

(yes it would be nice for the light to work for sure , not saying that, but for inspection you can maybe get by and play dumb?)

 

Here in CA, the CEL light must be operational in order to pass, regardless of the year of the vehicle.

 

I'm pretty sure that it does for CA smog inspection, unless the technician performing the smog check skips/forgets to verify that MIL does illuminate when the key is in the ignition and goes right into connecting the OBD2 test equipment to verify that the emission monitors are set.

 

If the bulbs around it are still working then it's most probably the bulb burnt out

 

good to know, prolly same in south eastern PA

 

Issue fixed; it was one of cluster bulbs.

 

great!