Soldering Required to Replace Instrument Panel Bulb

I noticed the other night that one side of my speedometer was dimly lit. I supposed that I had a light bulb burned out and began a search on the Internet to determine how big of a job it was going to be to replace.

As it turned out, it was quite easy to remove the instrument assembly from the truck. You would think that would be the hardest part. Previous models used incandescent bulbs mounted into twist-in sockets. It was quite simple to change a bulb. My newer model of truck uses incandescent bulbs, not LEDs, that are soldered into place.

Not only that, but you have to remove all the needles from the gauges to disassemble the instrument panel enough to get to the bulbs. The manufacturer's solution is to sell you a new instrument panel at about $400 in order to fix a $.25 bulb. Not surprisingly, a cottage industry now exists to convert these displays to LED bulbs.

I'm still trying to decide whether to send it off to one of these fine businesses or to dust off my soldering iron and getting to work. I'm pretty sure the manufacturer has saved millions of dollars since they made this design change. But if they had asked me, I would have paid an extra buck when I bought the truck in order to save me all this trouble down the road.

Tell us your experiences with Monkey-designed products. Send stories to Lauren Muskett for Made by Monkeys.

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