1998 Avensis Dashboard Bulbs

[drminfrance]

Hello,

Thought I'd say many thanks for this really useful 'how to'.  I now have dash and heater control lights again!  A couple of useful bulb and accessory suppliers I found on-line: ABD.co.uk & DS4U ~ the latter supply those coloured rubber caps for the clock and odometer dash 284's.

[AveDaniel]

Hello everyone,

really sorry to resurrect an old thread but I find it better than making a whole new topic.. Anyway, the heater control panel in the pre-facelift Avensis T22 has lights?? If that's the case, mine have been gone since I bought the car a year ago and I simply assumed that it never had any lights. Is there a guide somewhere on how to change them? Thanks!

[Konrad C]

1 hour ago, AveDaniel said:

Hello everyone,

really sorry to resurrect an old thread but I find it better than making a whole new topic.. Anyway, the heater control panel in the pre-facelift Avensis T22 has lights?? If that's the case, mine have been gone since I bought the car a year ago and I simply assumed that it never had any lights. Is there a guide somewhere on how to change them? Thanks!

I did this a couple of years ago:-

With my old car, I pulled the fake wood centre consul from the bottom, then disconnect the plugs at the top for the hazard warning lights or just flip the whole panel on to the top of the dash leaving everything connected. Pull the heater controls off, then release the tags of the heater panel and pull the panel off.   

[AveDaniel]

Thanks for the help, just wondering, how many bulbs are supposed to be there? I changed the three bulbs but the light is very uneven so I'm wondering if I missed a bulb somewhere. I also used LED bulbs which could be the issue as the light from those doesn't spread as much.

I also changed the dashboard bulbs for LEDs but once again the light isn't that even and the gauge needles don't glow at all as you can see in the picture below. Are there separate bulbs in the cluster for the needles themselves or is the issue caused by the LED bulbs?

[drminfrance]

If you trace back to the earlier threads by Konrad they pretty much cover all you need to know.  I would add that the bulb suppliers I listed can supply all the bulbs you will need, plus the little green rubber caps to cover the bulbs illuminating the odometer & clock/external temp displays.  Personally I prefer the softer glow and would ditch the LED's; instead I chose to go for the higher wattage bulbs and these are fit for purpose, but it's down to personal choice.  Incidentally the ventilation control knob is also illuminated by the temp cluster bulbs, but only if you still have the little Perspex tab slotted into the knob.

Unless your model has a different bulb cluster layout, the number of bulbs will be  apparent by the quantity of plastic bayonet bulb holders (usually black, except for the two green ones in the dash).

[Konrad C]

4 hours ago, drminfrance said:

If you trace back to the earlier threads by Konrad they pretty much cover all you need to know.  I would add that the bulb suppliers I listed can supply all the bulbs you will need, plus the little green rubber caps to cover the bulbs illuminating the odometer & clock/external temp displays.  Personally I prefer the softer glow and would ditch the LED's; instead I chose to go for the higher wattage bulbs and these are fit for purpose, but it's down to personal choice.  Incidentally the ventilation control knob is also illuminated by the temp cluster bulbs, but only if you still have the little Perspex tab slotted into the knob.

Unless your model has a different bulb cluster layout, the number of bulbs will be  apparent by the quantity of plastic bayonet bulb holders (usually black, except for the two green ones in the dash).

Looking at your photos, you need to check and change the bulbs in the instruments. Compared to my old car, the upper bulb between the speedo and rev has blown, the fuel bulb is either dim or the covering tint is dirty, same for the temperature gauge bulb - that may need changing. The digital displays are normally green. Has the lights been modified or is that the reflection of the camera flash? I cannot find photos for the back of the instrument panel to show you how to change them.
Your heater control back lighting again needs checking. I replaced the heater control panel, as mine had been damaged before I owned the car and was getting worse. First I changed the bulbs, then I replaced the panel with one from a scrapped car. I actually replaced a few trim parts from the same car. 

The bulbs are the same on the instruments and heater control. 

[Mary-Ellen Roden]

I agree with Konrad and tallDave about the green dipped headlight indicator light on the instrument panel. I have a 1999 1.8 GLS Avensis, and a few bulbs were gone. My car mechanic can't find the green headlight indicator. He is convinced there isn't one, but I remember seeing a green light when the side lights or dipped headlights were switched on. Therefore, I would be grateful if someone could show me where that light is on the dashboard.

[Konrad C]

2 hours ago, Mary-Ellen Roden said:

I agree with Konrad and tallDave about the green dipped headlight indicator light on the instrument panel. I have a 1999 1.8 GLS Avensis, and a few bulbs were gone. My car mechanic can't find the green headlight indicator. He is convinced there isn't one, but I remember seeing a green light when the side lights or dipped headlights were switched on. Therefore, I would be grateful if someone could show me where that light is on the dashboard.

Hi Mary-Ellen. It's been a long time since I owned my old T22 GLS 1.8 hatchback. Because it had the older style instrument panel that only illuminates when the lights are on, there is no need for any green sidelight/dipped beam indicator. So when it is too dark to see the instruments, the driver turns on the lights. This means it must be dark enough to to turn on the lights. Surprised how many drivers never even look at their instruments and drive oblivious!

My current '09 T27 has the Optronic display that is always illuminated, regardless of the lights being in off or on. This has the green dipped beam indicator telling the driver the side and headlights are on. Since my car has auto lights, I hardly ever touch the light switch, unless dull rainy days, when I switch on the sidelights. 

In both cars, if the lights are left on when the driver switches off and opens the drivers door, there is a buzzer alert.

  

[Mary-Ellen Roden]

Hi Konrad,

Thank you for your reply. Yes, the instrument panel only lights up when the lights are switched on. I am pretty sure though that I used to see a green light when I switched on the sidelights/dipped headlights. It was somewhere at the top of the dashboard, but exactly where I don't know. I thought it was between the two indicator lights, but there is no bulb behind there. The only other place I can think of is to the left of the left indicator light. My car is with Brooklyn Motors in Newport at the moment. They changed a few other bulbs yesterday.

[Konrad C]

On 2/2/2022 at 1:25 PM, Mary-Ellen Roden said:

Hi Konrad,

Thank you for your reply. Yes, the instrument panel only lights up when the lights are switched on. I am pretty sure though that I used to see a green light when I switched on the sidelights/dipped headlights. It was somewhere at the top of the dashboard, but exactly where I don't know. I thought it was between the two indicator lights, but there is no bulb behind there. The only other place I can think of is to the left of the left indicator light. My car is with Brooklyn Motors in Newport at the moment. They changed a few other bulbs yesterday.

I went back to one of my previous posts from many years ago and the only lighting related warning lights on the instrument panel are the green left and right indicators , the blue high beam, all located top of the instruments between the dials as in the photo I originally posted - 

The front fog (if fitted) will be in the lower left group, under the fuel gauge. The rear fog will be in the lower right group under the temp gauge.  

Another of my old posts dealing with access instrument panel bulbs:- 

 

At least you can replay a bulb. The later instrument panels now use LED's soldered on the circuit board.
The problem with always illuminated displays, is the driver may not notice they are driving without lights or may have accidently turned of auto lights.