Like the title says, its been out since I got the truck, how do I change this bulb? Do I HAVE to remove the air bag?? Thanx

 

yea you have to remove the air bag to get the cruise pods off the steering wheel......the air bag is only held in my 2 10mm bolts, one on each side, then unplug it.....

you can't just replace the bulb as they are sodered on the board.....if i where you, i would grab yourself a set off a wrecked truck, or do the LED mod that is in John Griggs (n3elz) Car Domain page....

 

^^ Thanx, thats what I was afraid of. Might as well just look for a whole new wheel!

 

Nice to know how to remove it. A buddy of mine has a 2001 Ranger with the left side of the cruise control pod out and my right side is out. We were wondering how to swap them out so he can take it in and get it fixed under his warranty from the dealer (forced into the purchase after the dealer wouldn't cancel the contract on his Cummins he had for 26 hours.)

 

why? the cruise control pods are only held in by 2 screws per pod....i wouldnt get a new steering wheel unless yours was in bad shape...

 

Im being sarcastic...... Thanx for the info

 

I'd disconnect the battery to be safe.

It's easy, pull the ground cable off the battery. pop off the caps that cover the air bag screws(one on each side of the wheel). Pull the bolts (8 or 10mm, can't remember), slowly pull the bag off, and disconnect the connector. Put it in a safe and where it won't get disturbed. Air bags freak me out. There's 2 phillips screws that hold the pods in place. Pull the screws, and I like to use needle nose pliers to unplug the pods.

The pods are 3 pieces; front, back, and the board. I put 2 blue leds in each pod using N3elz's how to about 4 years ago. And unfortunately one side is dead now.

 

Well, I'm sorry one side died, Shane. For some LED's putting the lower value LED's like 220 or 270 ohms shortens their life -- but sometimes also LED's are just bad from the git-go like any other manufactured component.

For the guy planning it, there's a link to my site in my signature.

Mine are still working fine after all these years. I'm thinking about the white LED bulbs for the dash next time bulbs go behind the gauges. They have the ones that are cone dimpled on the end that spread real well now and I need white so my painted overlays keep their colors.

I think some folks on here have used the white ones successfully on the gauges.

 

Not to go off subject, but i'm going back to stock interior lighting, green. yuck. But i think it's time for a change. It's been about 4 years, and a couple are burnt out....plus i'm tired of the gauge overlays. i got a expo white faced cluster, and i dont want to scratch the green and paint yet. Sorry about the off topic comment.