growrx300

New to CL and hope I am doing this correctly. I have looked through the questions for several pages and have not found my problem mentioned. The instrument cluster on my 2000 RX 300 (speedometer/tach/fuel gauge, etc) has lost illumination on half the display. Any ideas?

salimshah

Check the thread about "D" drive light out.

There are bulbs for the instrument cluster and I suspect that they have popped. Personally I would go to the dealer and get new bulbs. Messing with alternates and playing a guessing game can mean uneven light and or overheated (melted) cluster.

Ask the parts as how many are needed to replace all cluster bulbs. The pre-empitve change may save you opening up the cluster again.

I almost forgot
Welcome to CL

Salim

growrx300

Of course, the D light is out but that is not a problem I would open the cluster to correct. I tend to:know what gear I am in Not being able to read speed, etc. is an issue. Thanx for the suggestion.

salimshah

I did not know that your D light was out. What I meant was follow the instructions to get the instrument cluster out. The D light is one particular bulb.

Dont take the Dlight bulb out lightly. You will be amazed at how things are interconnected.

Just last Saturday, I helped diagnose a problem ,,, the car would not start. The P light was not lit. The gear shifter was not fully engaged in Park position and the safety interlock prevented the starter to engage. Normally it does not happen as the key can not be released unless the shifter is fully in Park. It was most likely a kid pretending to drive pulled on the lever.

Moral of the story is, keep your vehicle in top order. All the visual feedbacks help in how you operate.

Salim

growrx300

Good point about the interconnect. I will look for the thread on replacing the D light. Thanx!