Ruddy Dashborad Lighting!

[Chris1Roll]

Hiya All,

I've had the S40 for a couple of months now, and have been quite pleased with it - it is astoundingly slow, but it does do 42mpg even with me hammering it about. However, the intermittent dashboard lighting is starting to grate a little.

When I got it all was fine bar the right hand side of the heater controls, which then decided to work for a little while before stoping again. Then the bulb behind the fuel gauge packed up.when i came to pull the dash, I moved the steering wheel to its lowest position and still couldnt get the clockhousing out of the apeture. I just about managed to get my hand in behind and change the bulb, although it wasn't blown. All was ok for a couple days until that one started randomly working or not, as it saw fit. Occaisionally the next one along stops too, as does the next one along, so three out of the four are intermittent. when as will inevitably happen all three out of the four decide to be intermittent its going to make a speeding ticket a much higher probability.

Its evidently not the bulds so I want to have the clockhouse out and clean up the contacts and apply some di-electric grease to them - i notice the circuit board is that crappy flexible type, so resoldering isn't really an option, but does anybody know how to get the clockhouse right out?
If I have to remove the steering wheel so be it, but if I don't need to I'm not going to mess with the airbag for the fun of it.

Thanks,
Chris

[4 forty]

remove the two column upper bolts, then lower the column down.undo the retaining screws and remove the panel shroud from the facia. remove the instrument panel screws, release the upper retaining clip, and withdraw the instrument panel squarely from the facia.

paul

[Chris1Roll]

Thanks, I'll give that a go somtime this week.

Chris