The digital dimmer circuit on the Element's dash lights just doesn't go low enough for my taste, so I thought I'd try red bulbs. It started with a discussion of alternatives in this thread at Element Owners Club. Some owners simply paint the stock bulbs with stained-glass paint. Others have experimented with retrofitting LEDs to fit in the #74 bulb socket. One owner ordered LEDs that are claimed to fit the OEM socket, but reports that they don't fit. I decided to go with colored #74 incandescent bulbs, and found them at an attractive price here.
Figure 4 There are seven identical plastic sockets in the back of the cluster (red circles, Figure 5). Turn each a quarter turn counterclockwise to unlock, then lift out. Pull the bulbs straight out of the socketssome may be very tightand carefully press the new bulbs in. I found pliers made specifically for handling tiny bulbs at Harbor Freight Tools awhile back. HF no longer carries it, but as of November 2015 there's a version by Klann Tools, p/n KL-0190-27, on sale for $5 at Brinson Co. (also available for $23 at Autotoolworld). The tool protects the bulband your fingers! Figure 5 According to the 200304 Service Manual, the seven instrument panel bulbs (Honda p/n 35505-SCV-A01, red circles in Figure 5) are 1.2 watts, while the two odometer bulbs (Honda p/n 35505-SCV-A11, red squares in Figure 5) are 2 watts. However the #74 bulbs I obtained seem to work just fine in both applications. Later, I changed the color of the radio buttons and display to match. [More] |