instrument panel lights

rav3

New Member
alright so i have a 91 acura integra and i was driving down the road and all of a sudden my interior dash or as some call it im not really sure instrument panel lights to see my speedomoter and MPH gauge and such stopped working i checked the fuses and nothings blown its extremely frustrating so if anyone can help itd be greatly appreciated
 

rav3

New Member
yeah i tried taking the little dash thing out to check it but i couldnt get it off i undid all the screws so im not sure what im doing wrong here i really hope it is just the bulbs but even that i dont know how id replace those or where to get them
 

94RS

No fucks given.
Follow that link I posted, it shows you where and how to replace the bulbs, and where to get LEDs. Even if you don't want LEDs, the same method works for 194 (factory) bulbs.
 


rav3

New Member
hey i got everything taken apart for the most part but when i went to pull the instrument panel out there was resistance and i didnt want to break anything any ideas? and if it was the dimmer switch how would i know?
 

g6qwerty

Member
You have to remove the cable that goes to the speed sensor in the instrument cluster. That is what is holding it in after you have removed the 4 screws 2 at top 2 at bottom

The Cable goes to the transmission its on the rear top of the transmission, right below the throttle body, near the rear engine mount.

Will help with room if you remove the intake hose from the air filter to the throttle body.

There is a rubber boot over it, and you just need to remove 1 metal clip and perhaps twist a little on the cable and pull up to remove the cable.

Then you need to find where it goes into the firewall and push a bit more cable into the firewall that should give you some room to reach behind the instrument cluster and release the cable that goes to the speedometer.

Just push down near the back of the clip, its plastic and it should come out then you can remove the wiring connectors and remove your instrument cluster.

Its what stumped me for a bit on how to remove it too.

Edit:

Also if your speedometer stops showing your speed, your speedometer cable might have came loose or failed, because the gear driven by the transmission it transmitted via a cable to your instrument cluster which has the vehicle speed sensor in it, and it works with out power to it at all.

Or your speedometer may need to be replaced.
 


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rav3

New Member
thanks guys i got it taken apart after some frustrating hand maneuvering managed to reach my hand behind the cluster and unplug the cable because i didnt see the post about the cable in the engine till just now. but anyways i checked my bulbs they looked good from what i could tell so im assuming its my switch and autozone doesnt have one so if anyone knows where to get it please let me know
 

rav3

New Member
alright so i have another question people since appearently the switch has been "discontinued" would i be able to wire a "rocker" switch or other kind of switch into it and use that?
 

94RS

No fucks given.
Disconnect the dimmer and short the red wire to the black wire and switch on the lights. if everything comes on full brightness the dimmer is dead.

if you want to check it with a DVM, there are three wires.
the red/blk wire has 12 volts on it with the lights on.
the red wire has a lower voltage on it as the dimmer brightness is increased. (close to 8v at minimum brightness, almost 0volts at full brightness, yes it's backwards, it controls ground not power)
black wire is ground.

shorting the red wire to the black wire sill set the lights to full brightness.
Taken from here: http://honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=1282547



If you can wait a few days, there's tons of dimmers on eBay.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/90-91-92-93-acura-integra-OEM-dimmer-switch-/350352971438?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Model:Integra&hash=item5192aa16ae&vxp=mtr
 
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