I replaced some instrument panel bulbs (illumination bulbs) on my 97 SL1 a couple days ago and learned a few lessons I'd like to share.

First of all, whenever possible possible buy your bulbs with the socket included. If you know your bulb number, simply prefix it it with “PC” when searching for the bulb online, if you want it to come with the socket.

I bought 161 bulbs from rockauto, not really knowing what to expect when I began the job. I simply ordered what their site said was the right bulb.

Well when I finally got the instrument panel out of the dash and onto the bench, I removed one of the illumination sockets to find that they are not designed to be serviceable. The socket and bulb were not designed to be separated, and the socket was not designed to receive new bulbs easily. To get it to work I had to meticulously unwind the old bulb wire from the socket connectors, and then snip the wires of the new bulbs and reroute them manually into the old sockets. It ended up working, but was very tedious and time consuming for just 5 bulbs. Getting my new bulbs into the old sockets took just as long as removing the instrument panel.

I should have ordered PC161 bulbs. And saved myself a big hassle.

Don’t assume you’re bulbs will easily come out of the sockets.

Another lesson: The two “flood” illumination bulbs that are above the instrument panel dials, not behind, are a different and smaller bulb than the illumination bulbs that are behind the instrument panel. I assumed they would be the kind that rockauto was selling for my car, but they weren’t. One of them had a barely visible part number printed on the socket.



So… lesson is… don’t assume sites are listing all the right bulbs for your vehicle. Rockauto DOES sell PC118s, but they aren’t listed under 97 Saturn SL1. (I ordered 5 and they’ll be arrive Friday. As is tradition, I’ll have to do this job a second time.)

Third lesson… Power Probes (or the much, much cheaper TopDiag P60) are AWESOME.

Among many other things, this tool lets you apply voltage from your battery to any component of your vehicle. I used it to test bulbs individually, and also to test the illumination bulbs while they were in the instrument panel without reinstalling it into the vehicle.





Using a TopDiag P60 to supply power to the illumination bulbs.


One bulb (upper right) is too dim and needs to be corrected.

Testing outside the vehicle helped tremendously. The first time I put it together and tested it, half the bulbs weren’t lighting up. The probe showed they weren’t receiving current. After reseating them I had one that was dim. So I put in a different one.

If you can spare the 20ish dollars for this tool on Amazon, I highly recommend it.

I’ll share a few more images I thought were interesting. Of the 5 backlight illumination bulbs, only 1 had visible lettering on the socket, and I could barely see it.

Barely visible: PC160. The modern equivalent is PC161

Here’s the moment just before removal.

About to remove the instrument panel. I had never done this before.


One final note: On my panel, the Daytime Running Light Indicator bulb is exactly the same type as the flood illumination bulbs.

Summary: The job isnt that hard honestly. But if you can, get socketed bulbs. You can search for them by placing the prefix "PC" before the bulb number. Also, double check what bulb types you need from multiple sources. Finally, if you can afford the tool, use a power probe (or a TopDiag P60) device to test your configuration on the bench.