Dash Indicator Light Replacement

[Leaky88]

“CRUISE” Indicator light in dash is defective.  

Manual indicates it’s a PC74 Bulb.

However, if I’m going in to replace 1, I’d  like to swap all to LED, if that’s possible, since all my other lights are LED.

I thought I’d read discussion on doing this,  but searches revealed nothing. 
Thanks

 

 

 

 

[dripley]

I googled "led replacement for pc74 bulb" and a large selection came up. 

[Leaky88]

Thanks.

I too found a large selection.  
Reviews said some fit, didn’t fit, had poor/less illumination, and short longevity. 
I guess it’s just a crap shoot. 
 

[Mopar1973Man]

Ummm... Last I checked the CRUISE is not a "light bulb" but part of the ODOMETER display, part of the vacuum fluorescent display (VFD).

 

All 1998.5 to 2002 where displayed part of the odometer display.

 

If the cruise light is not coming on it could be a bad cruise switch in the steering wheel. Bad clock spring. Other wiring issues. Basically in a nutshell the when you press the cruise on and off it should send a voltage to the PCM to tell it to turn on the cruise. Its a one wire system and based on voltage. Like in my case the Coast button failed on the right side. The voltage was no longer present for this function so the PCM never gave any coast or dropped the 1 MPH. After replacing the switch super cheap off RockAuto everything works again. 

 

Function wise the PCM provides 5V and the different buttons have different resistance. So as the button is pressed a different voltage is sent back. If the voltage matches a function the PCM will do as commanded. If the voltage does not match then nothing might happen, different function might occur, etc. 

[Leaky88]

Cruise DOES work.  I know that for certain. I’ve turned it on and off several times, but the GREEN indicator light does NOT come on when it’s active. 

[dripley]

When mine is on tbe word cruise appears under the odometer. I have no indicater light other than that. Figured yours was just one of the subtle differences between the years. Where is that green indicator light?

[Mopar1973Man]

Again the cruise indicator is in the odometer display and typically on the 98.5 and 99 I've seen its as a yellow to amber color on the odometer. Again there is no light bulb.

 

From 1994 to 1998 was the cruise light was on the steering wheel as a green LED.

From 1998.5 to 2002 the cruise light is in the VFD on the odometer

From 2003 to 2007 the cruise light is a light bulb on the left side of the cluster.

[Leaky88]

I have NOT taken it apart yet.  Maybe more is to be revealed.

I know the draw on LEDs is small, and I was concerned if it would create an issue with what PCM expected.
Below is picture of my instrument panel, pages of my owners manual.
Left to right, Check Engine, Cruise, ABS. White arrow points to cruise. Its as GREEN

as Ireland.


 

[Mopar1973Man]

Never seen it in that location. This is the typical location I know of and always seen. Unless that happens to be only a 98.5 thing... Never seen it on the cluster with a light. 

 

 

As for doing LEDs that is very possible just count the amount of bulbs you need. Make sure the bulbs match the color of lens to show correctly. For example if the tail lights are red lens you shouldn't use a white bulb. You see the bleeding of the other color of the spectrum like green and blue and not appear right. Where a red LED and red lens shows correctly. Changing cluster colors might be a bit weird so be aware there is a green tint... I've not pulled my cluster to see what is there rubber cover bulb or green plastic lens. 

 

Externally I'm all LEDs on my 2002 Dodge and love it haven't done the cluster yet but its just a simple bulb swap. I would also measure the new load on the cluster lighting and change the fuse to match the loads now. Most likely change from a 5A to either 2.5A or 1A fuse. Don't need 5A worth of power when most LEDs barely take milliamps to run.

Edited July 5, 2021 by Mopar1973Man

[Leaky88]

Thanks. 
 

Who knows why this dash is different from others. I have yet to own a vehicle that was in line with a workshop manual. I have a 99 Ford Ranger I have to search using year 99 and 2000 for correct replacement parts. 

Think I’ll source from SuperBrightLeds.com, unless someone warns against them.  Their website lets one pick specific LED colors to match different lens in dash/vehicle. 

[dripley]

I think my cruise light is amber in color but in same location as Mike's.

[IBMobile]

46 minutes ago, Leaky88 said:

Who knows why this dash is different from others.

I've seen manufactures use parts from the previous year to use up those parts then change to new style.

 

2 hours ago, Mopar1973Man said:

Don't need 5A worth of power

The fuse is there to protect the wire between the load and power source.  Since the load is diminishing you can leave the 5 amp fuse in.  Think of it this way, there is a 20 amp circuit in your house (12 AWG) and you will only have a 60watt light on that line. Would you go and replace the breaker to 15amp?  No.

[Leaky88]

By my calculations, 17 Bulbs total are needed.
 7-194’s, 10-74’s. 

If I go with SuperBrightLed, and change everything to LED, total damage is $66.57.

Hopefully the soothing glow of these LEDs will put me in a better mood.

[Daleb]

The Cruise light on my 99 is not with the odometer. It is in the same location as what Leaky88 showed in his manual. The bulb is also replaceable.

Dale

[dripley]

Mine is in the same place as Mike's but definitely amber. And we both have 02's.

[Mopar1973Man]

3 hours ago, Daleb said:

The Cruise light on my 99 is not with the odometer. It is in the same location as what Leaky88 showed in his manual. The bulb is also replaceable.

Dale

Ok I've never seen one like that but I'll look for it now. Learned something from you all.

[Stanley]

I got a white overlay from LMC for $25 and I would just use amazon to get some lights to upgrade. I don't remember where I got mine but it was really cheap and still going strong.

[Silverwolf2691]

@Leaky88, do you have the green odometer or an LCD display similar to a calculator?

 

I swear I've seen in the crossover years (98-99) that the odometer is different than the green ones like most others have. It would also make sense that the owners manual only shows one row of digits and no Cruise indication on it, and Trip is in the "wrong" area.  

 

I wonder if when Dodge went to the green vfd display, that they also swapped those indicator bulbs to LEDs. I would only need the 7 illumination bulbs, a high beam bulb and turn signal bulbs, and one other I think, cant remember where, to convert my cluster to LED.

 

Also what would have the reasoning on the green cruise like stanley's vs the amber cruise like mine and dripleys when in the odometer area? Especially when my 2001 1500 I used to have was green but my 2001 2500's was amber..   

[Leaky88]

Silverwolf,

Mine is LCD display like a calculator.

[Silverwolf2691]

Leaky88, dont know what color you picked for the illumination lights, but you will have issues with certain colors showing. If its blue, your needles, redline, and red tick marks will not illuminate well if at all. Any other color besides a blue or green and the regular tick marks might not show up.

 

Just want you to be aware if parts of your gauges dont light up like they used to.

 

There is a way around the above issue but its labor intensive and is a bit of unknown territory. You can use stage lighting gels and cut them out to match the color you want and keep what you need, but you need white leds to illuminate it.

 

For reference:

https://www.cumminsforum.com/threads/diy-changing-gauge-cluster-color-using-lighting-gels-lots-of-pics.455003/