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'82 Rabbit instrument display (speedo) light changing

My '82 Diesel (I don't think that it will matter) has a burned out light that illuminates the speedometer portion of the instrument cluster.

The parts guy at H&L Mueller here in Calgary seems to think that one needs to remove the cluster to make the change.

Bently says that you can get at it throught the left hand speaker and ventilation ports.

I have tried both ways.

After removing the speaker cover, speaker and the the air deflector, and pushing the wiring bundle out of the way, I was able to reach in behind the speedo and grope around. I was not able to twist anything that felt like the backside of a bulb assembly. I bought two (one black and one white, with the aim of matching the type that lights the clock if I can get to it) bulb assemblies from the shop (bulbs in holders, not separate bulbs and holders).

Not wanting to cause damage, I tried the 'remove the cluster assembly route'. At this point I ran out of light, but not before I was left scratching my head over how to remove the cold start and headlight control stalks.

I hope in the next while to go to the self-serve wrecking yard where I may or not be able to find a similar car to experiment on, or better yet, find disassembled. In the mean while, does anyone have any recommendations (pictures would be good!) of where the bulbs are on these clusters?

Thanks for any help, Rob in Calgary

Reply to
Robert Young
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BTDT. I have a couple of Rabbit instrument clusters stashed away. I'll take a picture of the backside in a few hours and circle the position of the bulbs.

To change the bulbs without removing the cluster, you'll need hands about a foot long with extra finger joints, rest your head against the pedals and your feet on the headrest. You'll need to do that anyway to remove the speedometer cable from the speedometer..

Remove the dash bezel (to remove that, you'll have to remove the light switch first), un-(screw or or clip? I forgot) the speedo cable, pull instrument cluster forward and out. The forward and out part is tricky, and much easier if the steering wheel has been removed. It is possible to get the cluster out without removing the steering wheel, it's just trickier.

The bulbs are the itty bitty kind that just twists out. I'd get a full set and replace them all for two reasons: you'll break the other sockets by dicking around with them, and the clock or tach half will burn out as soon as you have everything back together. Murphy's Law. Also, and this would be a third reason, the new bulbs will be much brighter.

Reply to
René

This is the front of the cluster, from a 83 gaser Rabbit, should be the same as yours:

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This is the back of it:

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of all lamps marked. Lamp:
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Hope that helps.

Reply to
René

Thanks The black bulbs are 1.2A, there are white ones that are 2.0A. What type were the three bulbs that fit into the three empty socket at the top of the cluster? I am guessing that they may have been 2.0A as they would have had to light the faces of the gauges and not just shine through like the four 'inner' black 1.2A bulbs.

Thanks again, Rob

Reply to
Robert Young

Oddly enough, none of the other 2 Rabbit clusters I got have the bulbs still in there, but I do seem to remember that these had a white socket and were slightly larger.

Most likely.

Reply to
René

I just removed the instrument cluster from my '82 Rabbit Diesel to attempt to repair the odometer (again).

Maybe this info will help. I think it would be easier to remove the instrument cluster to replace the bulbs. Also, the printed circuit board isn't very durable and I'd be afraid to do too much back there blind. There are three screws at the top of the panel, two screws behind the ashtray. The headlight knob pulls off, the CS knob unscrews. You need to pull of the three black plastic knobs: one from the fan switch, the two from the heater controls. In order to get at the speedo cable connection, I found it easier to remove the two screws that hold on the "knee pad" and pull it off.

Now reach your left hand up directly in front of the aluminum "knee pad", just to the right of the fuse box. You can get your left hand all the way up to the speedo cable kurnled nut pretty easily and unscrew it. Then get an 8mm socket on an extension of some kind and remove the four hex head screws that hold the instrument cluster in. Twist the the top of the cluster down so you can get at the electrical connector as seen in the pics posted in this thread. Squeeze the locks on the sides together and pull it off. Now the cluster is free to come out. I removed it by pulling the top out, then the bottom and sliding it to the right. I found this way too easy to justify removing the steering wheel. I don't think removing the wheel would make it any easier, maybe save half a minute.

I was go> Robert Young wrote:

Reply to
djiskra

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