Okay so with how rough my car is running, I've been wondering why I don't get the SES light. Today I realized it doesn't come on at startup either.

The Haynes manual is garbage, it didn't help one bit when I decided to take the cluster out. So I figured it out myself. From what I can tell it's not one of the regular bulbs that twists in and out of the back of the cluster. So how can I replace the bulb for the SES light? And is there a trick to getting everything back together?

I'm just afraid to start tearing the cluster apart, I don't want to break anything. And I'd like to replace that bulb before I reinstall the cluster, the removal was a PITA and I'm sure reinstalling it will be too. I don't like not having a service engine light.

 

bump..

Anyone know about replacing the SES bulb? I will try looking on AllData once I'm able to access it, but in the meantime has anyone done this?

 

I just looked at my spare 99 'bird cluster. The bulb is soldered onto the circuit board. My ses led is actually missing from the spare.

Casey says that you can unsolder the old led and solder in a new one. they are polarized and needs to be replaced in the correct polarity. a hobby shop or radio shack might have the right led and could tell you which side is positive and negative. but for the effort, i would say live with it or replace the cluster

 

So in other words, a way for the dealer to make money.
Thanks for the help though, I guess I'll learn to live without the light. Maybe I'll just pick up a code scanner and use it periodically to put myself at ease.

 

Better get it scanned ASAP just in case -- a lot of auto-part shops will scan your car for free...

 

I have several lights out on the dash of my suburban and all of them are the little LED's that are soldered onto a circuit board. Drives me nuts at night because I cannot see the A/C controls and and buttons for fog lights etc. Only way to get them at the dealer is to buy the circuit board. Sux!!

 

I bought my scanner from ebay. It was $35. It's come in handy SO many times and was worth the money. Granted, it only tells the codes, allows you to erase it, and tells the VIN # and one other thing I think. So it's not a super advance one, but all I needed it for was to tell me what codes was present and erase them. So you might want to look into something simple like that. The good scanners are really expensive.

For me, since the engine is new, I only get one code now and I already know what it is and know that it's not a big deal. I just erase it. The issue is being dealt with finally in 2 weeks. That SES is such a pain, it's been tempting just to black it out (put a piece of tape over it). But if I were you and you don't want to go through the hassle of replacing the bulb (and it WILL be a huge hassle), I would just get an inexpensive scanner and scan it every once and awhile. Or whenever something just doesn't feel right. I don't think it's worth getting a new cluster or trying to replace it. But that's just my opinion.