DIY Cluster Illumination Tip

[97ToyCar]

Hi Folks,

Just thought I would share a quick tip. My "D" bulb burned out this afternoon. Being that the Toyota dealer was closed, I rummaged around in my junk box, and found out the A/C cluster illumination bulbs have the same base as the #74 cluster bubs, so I thought I would give that a try. It works! I had a couple extra ones laying around. The bulbs fit very tight in the holders, I ended up breaking the old one, and used the filament support wires to pull out what was left of the base. I have tried the LED bulbs, but they don't seem to give good results, so I stick with the incandescent ones.

The only thing that worries me is that it's a good bet the candlepower is a bit more, thus generating more heat, and I don't want to burn a hole in the cluster. When I get a chance, I will order some more #74's. Here's a link to some that I have found, and it looks like a good deal at $.12 ea. for a 10 pack. http://www.1000bulbs.com/product/1238/IND-0074.html.

Happy Camry Trails to all!

[abew330]

cool. thanks for info / site...

you havent thought about switching to led replacements?

[97ToyCar]

Well, I have tried some LED's, but they are very directional, unless you get the wide beam ones, and it seems that sometimes the sizes wouldn't fit the hole the bulbs actually go in. Maybe I just had the wrong ones. When I bought the car a couple of months ago, I gave it my usual "new to me" treatment...full tune up, all filters, trans fluid, and differential service, oil change, wipers, both sides got new ball joints and tie rod ends and an alignment. I'm anal about maintenance. The thing runs like a top. I had noticed some of the bulbs in the dash were burnt, AC, defrost switch, hazard illum. cig lighter and ash tray were all blown. I tried the LED's, but the light was not even. By the time I got done, I had wasted 50 bucks...so I ordered the regular bulbs from toyotapartszone.com, and all is well. I tend to stick with whatever the manufacturer puts in the car, they meant it that way for a reason. Heck, I didn't even realize that the hazard switch lit up at night until it got fixed...