very minor problem with shifter
 

feel free to move this to electrical or general chat if it's better suited there

since i've had my 96 Se, the gear selector (center console mounted) has not shown me what gear i'm in. This has been a minimal problem for me, as i can just count the clicks while i shift. however, i'd like to get it working just for the novelty of it. does anyone know what may have caused it to go out, and what could fix it? the actual letters P, R, N, etc. all light up with the headlights, but the little dots don't ever show what gear.

Re: very minor problem with shifter
 

??? :question2: :confused: ???

Little dots?

Re: very minor problem with shifter
 

yeah, the little dots next to the letters/numbers that would indicate what gear i'm in

you have a bulb out.

take the shifter knob off, take the ash tray cup out and remove the 2 screws under it. The center console will lift up and you will have access to the bulb

how do i get the shifter knob off? (i'm slightly apt with fixing cars, but i've never removed one before)

put the parking brake on, move the shifter to 1st gear, on the front of the knob is a metal clip that you need to pull straight out with a needle nose pliers.

ok, thank you. i might try that today if i get time.

ok, i got the center console almost all the way off, but i can't figure out how to tell if my gear indicator is faulty, or where there'd be a bulb. is there a way i can get the indicator (the rectangular thingy that says P, R, N, D, and has the dots next to these letters) off, or is there a bulb under it? i really have no idea what i'm doing at this point.

take a few pics, I'll show you were to look. I would if I had my 95 still...

It may not be the bulb. On my 94, the wire was actually broken....which makes sense considering how many times the lamp has to move over the course of the cars lifetime.

Lash, you wouldn't know anything about this...You got the Ghetto Grocery Go-Getter setup :lol:

i don't have a digital camera, but maybe in a day or two i can use my mom's or my g/f's. (got a ton of homework to do tomorrow that i should be doing now :x)

here's the best i can do to describe what's going on in my shifter indicator thingy. there is a bulb in the front by the P (for park), and it works; it comes on with my headlights) and it looks like there's wires going to each position on the indicator. i also see two springs on each end of the indicator, but i can't find a way to get it off (but it seems like it should be removable).

sorry, that's as descriptive as i can be right now. i'll get some pictures up here whenever i get some time.

I have AN EXTRA wire that controls that, and great pictures ( just had and fixed this problem last week )

Gimme 30 minutes to eat the wife's dinner, and I will post all you will need to tackle and fix this...

the little dots don't light up... theyre painted on

Bonnevillan Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 6:14 pm
" the little dots don't light up... theyre painted on "


no, they do light up lol.. maybe you need to do this too !!

http://statusplease.info/sitebuilder..._1-740x561.jpg
MY WIRE WAS CUT BY THE TIGHT PLASTIC HOUSING, I OPENED IT UP SOME SO THAT IT COULD NOT HAPPEN AGAIN. YOU WONT SEE THE BOLT TO UNDO IF THE CAR IS NOT IN PARK, BECAUSE IT SLIDES BACK WITH THE LEVER !!

http://statusplease.info/sitebuilder..._2-745x562.jpg

well holy darn, that looks like the answer. i'm gonna look tomorrow to see if my wire was split.

thank you for the picture, it was VERY helpful

No problem, I was super stoked to be able to run outside and takes those pics ( console if off right now, don't get me started on that snowball.... )

I have been literally on this forum 2hrs a day for the last 45 days feverishly looking for the most crazy answers for questions that are super hard to " use the search function" on, because people who don't know anything about what they are talking about ( me )don't know what to include, mention, or even what the parts are called that we are asking about....

This SITE and this SITE alone is the reason I bought an SSEi I was just "borrowing" for a few months until i found what i really wanted... I found out I wanted an SSEi :)

So anyway, I am glad to repay this forum in anyway possible.. My ratio of helped to help is probably about 200 to 1.. so I will help ALL that I can.

If you need that wiring ( too much damage, or missing somehting ) I can part with the EXTRA one I pulled from a wrecker ( fixed mine after seeing what it should look like )
pm me if you look at yours and need one.. It could still be a bulb though:)

hmm i had my console apart, and made sure the bulb was good... i remember thinking they should light up, but they looked painted on to me. theres a little residual light that leaks through from the PRND21 lights, but on my 95 i was almost positive nothing really lit up the dots.

now you have me wanting to take it apart again :x

well i got it apart, and it turns out that the wires got pulled apart AND the bulb burned out. it is a weird LED type bulb, a GE 558, but it's almost the same size as a 194, so a 194 would work in it i'm guessing, it'd just burn out sooner...but anyway, i'm waiting on a new bulb from my parts store, cuz...well, it's a weird bulb

cool.. glad you figured it out, ITS A PAIN when those "dots" dont work, to me anyway.

well, i got it in and all back together. i'm rather disappointed, because it doesn't light up very bright. maybe soon i'll upgrade to a LED, a nice aftermarket one. but it does work now.

The GE 558 that came out is actually a regular bulb.:idea: But it pulls about 30% more current than the 194 that you installed, so the 558 will be somewhat brighter.