Hi guys,
I've only been on this forum a few times before, but my car has started to have a few little glitches - so I thought I'd look here for some help. I have a 2001 Impala (base) and a little while ago, I noticed that the digital odometer/gear indicator was very dim. It's that way most of the time, but once in a blue moon it will come up to full brightness. I've also noticed that one side of the speedometer is slightly dimmer than the other. I'm thinking maybe an intermittent connection on one backlight bulb for the odometer and a blown bulb on the left side of the speedo.
I've never had the dash apart on the car, so I don't really know what's back there. Are there backlight bulbs/LEDs for the digital display or is it lit internally somehow? How many bulbs are there to light the rest of the dash?
Finally, does anyone have pics/diagrams the dash lights or part numbers for the bulbs in question? I'd appreciate any help you can offer so I know what I'm get into when I take it apart. Thanks!!!

 

Dimming could mean you have a dimmer going out.
With the cluster, yes you have a blown bulb but unless you are good at soldering I wouldnt try it. You cant reorder these bulbs. Would you like me to give you a name to fix this?

 

Thanks for the reply!

Just so I'm clear...is there a separate dimmer for the odometer/PRNDL display? The rest of my dash lights are always on full bright (minus the one bulb thats out) its just the odometer/prndl display that's dim. I see there's a TSB about it, but I haven't been able to read it yet.

As for my dash bulb...you can't buy them? I'm good at soldering, but I guess if I can't get a replacement bulb, that's not going to help me much. I will take that name though, thanks!

 

Well there are two things that can cause the dimming. Bad dimemr control or going bad, or a bad BCM. But I wouldnt change it unless its that bad of a problem.

So these bulbs are soldered in. Now if you need bulbs you can take them out of a working cluster, Or I can get them for you. I know a guy that can convert them to LEDs if you like. I do the same thing to window controls and door locks