Coupe GT Instrumentation Lighting

[Theodore.Haug at rrd.com]

John McCullough wrote:

86 Audi GT Coupe:

To get change the backlights to the dash instruments do I have to take the
full dash off?

And for the central consol do I need to do the same?

Help!!

John,

To answer your questions:  No, you don't have to remove the entire dash to
change the bulbs in the instrumentation.  Just the top cover needs to be
removed from the speedo/tach instrument cluster.  This is done by removing
the two screws at the bottom of the assembly (behind the turn signal/wiper
stalks)  And then there are two screws in the plastic bezel housing that is
just in front of the speedo/tach.  You will need a stubby phillips screw
driver to remove these two screws.

Once these four screws are removed, you will be able to take the cover off
the cluster.  You will have to sort of flex it a bit to get it around the
actual gauges.  Once the cover is off, there are two screws on either side
of the instrumentation cluster that will need to be removed (often times
the plastic tabs are already broken, so quite possibly, these screws aren't
holding anything in place anyway).  Once these are removed, you will be
able to slide the cluster forward enough to allow easier access to the
rear, in order to remove the various harnesses and/or speedo cable (if you
are lucky enough to have the analog gauges).  Once all the harnesses are
removed, you should be able to tilt the cluster forward and lift it over
the steering wheel.  You now have the cluster in your hands and can replace
the questionable bulbs.

The center console illumination also doesn't require too much disassembly.
The only way to access any of the bulbs in the center console is to have
the radio removed.  If you have analog gauges in the console, it will
become fairly clear how to replace the bulbs once the radio is removed.

If the bulb is out in the heater control/ventilation display:  once the
radio is removed, gently pull out all three levers, and the fan knob.  Then
pry gently with a small screw driver on the left side, and the display
section should come out.  You should be able to access the bulb and replace
if necessary.

The digital gauges in the center console.....hmm.....I think if you have
the radio out, and you remove the ashtray, you may be able to reach around
to access the bulbs in this display, if not, you may have to remove the
trim surrounding the center console, in order to access the screws that
hold the digital display in place.  My memory is kind of fuzzy on this, so
maybe another lister could comment here.

Anyhow, I hope this helps.  Let me know you need any further description of
the the disassembly, my descriptions may not be as clear to someone who
hasn't done the job before.

Best regards,

Ted Haug
90 V8 quattro
90 100
87 Coupe GT
94 Cabriolet