PapillonOne

Hello all.
New here. I drive a 1994 Honda Accord Wagon EX. I really love her and try to keep her up and running well. I have already become so enlightened from reading the sticky notes you all have posted. I can see there are a few things I can fix as my Honda does have a few "leaks" I'd like to address. (Saw the ABS lead posts and now just have to search for a power steering fluid fix- lol)

My main question at this time is that recently I noticed while driving at night, that I no longer can read my speed or my gas level and other gauges. Not sure when this happened and since the only other light that is out is one of the preset buttons on the radio, I am not sure what lights are out that would cause this and need replacing. I can see all the numbers in the gauges but just can't see the little arrows and where they are pointing.

Not being able to tell my speed is a bit of a nuisance so I am hoping some one can share an easy fix (hoping big time.

Thank you for your time.

PapillonOne
Central Florida

TalonIV

Oh so it is just the needles on the guages you can't see? I wouls assume thee arebulbs behind them that illuminate them. May have gone out or possibly a loose connection behind the guage cluster?

jdmcertified909

TAKE A PICTURE AND POST IT SO WE CAN SEE WHAT YOU MEAN

n9_accord

I had the same Issue on my 97 Wagon and now my daily driver 96 Sedan.. I'm thinking there are bulbs back behind the needles for the dials that have limited life expectancies... I also have a 97 Sedan I picked up with a non-functional speedometer all together... If it comes down to pulling the gauge cluster out and swapping it, I will crack it open and see about those bulbs.. maybe get some pictures up!

holmesnmanny

lol there should be a **** that turns the light up. Look on the dash.

PapillonOne

That **** does change the brightness of the dash lights but has no effect on the lighting of the little needles inside of the gauges. It was the first thing I tried to adjust hoping that was what the problem was. Thanks for your suggestion.

PapillonOne

Only problem with that is, it is only at night in the dark that the problem occurs and I don't know how to take a picture that would not require a flash to get the dash area to show up in the picture and the flash would obliterate what I am trying to describe.

Everything inside the bezel(?) area lights up except the little needles of all of the gauges that tell me how fast I am driving or how much gas is in the tank, etc.

Any other suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you.

PapillonOne

That would be great! If it is an easy fix, I'd sure like to know it! Thanks.

TheMuffinMan

iTrader: (1)

There are two overhead bulbs on the cluster that if they go out make it difficult to read the gauges.

You will need to remove the cluster in order to replace the bulbs.

*edit*

The needles do not light up at all, they are illuminated by those two bulbs I just mentioned. if you look upwards in the cluster you should see two translucent parts where the light shines through.

This image illustrates it nicely thanks to the LED swap, the two top most lights you see are what I'm referencing.



*edit2*

There are two cluster removal threads in the Accord FAQ that show you how to remove the cluster to a point that you can replace the bulbs.

PapillonOne

Thank yous to TheMuffinMan for the pix and reply. I read those 2 threads regarding cluster removal you referred to when I first joined the site. They're awesome, however I fear that it might be the kind of "repair" that is beyond me at this point in my life..... 59 year old "tomboy" that I am.

Odd that both bulbs would burn out at the same time though I guess if one goes it changes the voltage or amps on the other and takes that one out too maybe.

If I were to find someone to do it, is it hard or very expensive to swap out those lights for LED lights? May I ask if anyone can tell me what sort of lights were in there originally, incandescent bulbs? or was there some other technology back in 1994?

Thanks again. I love these forums and all the help I get from my Honda brethren.

PapillonOne

Lost Again

IIRC, these are #194 bulbs...been a while so my memory is suspect .

djkurious

https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-accord-1990-2002-2/speedometer-temp-fuel-rpm-needle-not-illuminated-3068776/

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/par..._415152_18440_

Lost Again

Warned you my memory was bad.......

TheMuffinMan

iTrader: (1)

Just plain incandescents

Personally, I wouldn't bother with the LED bulbs in those year Accords, I feel as though the lighting is just uneven and looks odd when compared to the AC/radio/etc controls. You should be able to swing by a local AutoZone or Advanced Auto (or similar) and pick up direct replacement bulbs for those two.

The actual swap isn't too bad to get the cluster out - just take your time and save all the screws!

PapillonOne

Thank you all again Especially The Muffin Man!! Nothing like being able to "talk" to people who actually know what they are talking about. Love it!!