Tools Needed
Small Flat Head Screwdriver
T25 Torx Bit and driver (a 1/4 inch socket on a ratchet with a drill bit attachment works very well, pictures of this tool are in the tutorial)
T5 Wedge LEDs
First off, to make this removal easier, pull the steering wheel out as far as it goes, by pulling down on the lever on the bottom left of the column, then pulling back on the steering wheel, then pushing the latch on the column back upward to lock it in place.
Here we go. Start off by prying out the two small covers that cover the torx screws holding in the trim around the cluster, this can be done by some with fingernails but easiest done with a small flathead screwdriver.
Here is where the little tool I had previously mentioned comes in handy. I used a small ratchet, with a 1/4 inch socket and a drillbit driver (or two).
Use this tool to remove the two torx bits that you find in the trim and then place those somewhere where you will be sure not to lose them. I use the drivers side door pocket so that they are within reach and in a place I will not lose them.
Next, take your finger or the small flat head driver and push downward in the center of the top of the cluster trim. Push downward and pull outward/tip forward. You have to push it down far enough for the spots for the torx bits to "pop" out of the nitche they're in.
Next, pull the trim outward and slide it out to one side behind the steering wheel.
After that, you will now see 4 screws that hold in the instrument cluster. (The Vacuum line that you see in this picture will not be on your car, I have ran mine through there to mount a boost gauge to the center speaker area.)
Once you remove those 4 screws using the tool that I had recommended or anything else you may have found to work for you. The cluster is now almost completely free.
Tip the cluster downward from the top and then pull the cluster outward while it is face down.
There is one connector on the back of the cluster that will need to be unhooked.
Now you can remove the cluster completely and slide it out behind the steering wheel (you can go in either direction, I just chose to go toward the right.)
Voila! Your cluster is now out of the car, if that is all you needed this tutorial for, you are done, otherwise, sit back, grab a drink and listen up for the next part of this tutorial, Installing LEDs in your instrument cluster.
With the cluster out, you will see a handful of light sockets on the back of the cluster. 4 blue, 2 gray, and 5 black.
At this time, if you have already purchased T5 Wedge LEDs, you are ready to go, if not, you probably shouldn't have gotten this far and you should probably put the cluster back in and wait for some LEDs to arrive.
Otherwise, with the LEDs you have, the black sockets are for the actual gauge lights, the two blue sockets at the top are for the turn signals, the blue in the bottom center is for the brights, the blue one on the bottom left is the turn signal warning light of some sort, and the gray sockets are for the small data panels in the middle of the speedometer and the tachometer.
Here are the differnt types of bulbs that you will see attached to the sockets, they simply pull out, they require a little bit of force, using duct tape to wrap around the bulb and pulling on that, works best.
Once you have the bulbs out, you need to decide what colors you want to use for your cluster.
Now, here is the difference between the stock bulb and a T5 wedge Inverted LED bulb that I have chosen to use.
Remove the stock bulbs and put the new ones in their place. Reinstall all of the blue/gray/black bulb holders where they were (take a picture if yours happen to be any different than mine, otherwise you can follow the picture that I posted above if you forgot.)
At this time, to help get the light to disperse more evenly opposed to be directed straight outward, take some high grit sandpaper and sand down the bulb housing. I used 400 grit wetsanding paper and it worked very well. Here is the difference between a sanded bulb on the left and an unsanded one on the right.
Now, reinstall the bulbs where they were orignally and go and plug the cluster back into the car and turn it to accessory.
At this time, if you notice that your cluster lights only light up in certain places, dont worry, dont throw the bulbs out and try again, just listen up. Here you can see that only two of the gauge lights were lit in mine the first time around.
So here's what has to be done. Figure out which bulbs did not light, and make a mental note of them. I would recommend testing out any other bulbs that you may have changed (turn signals, brights etc.) Go and take the bulbs out of the back and rotate them 180 degrees and reinstall them, now they should light up no problem and you should have a fully lit instrument cluster!!!
Now reinstall the cluster using the above directions but in reverse, when all is replaced, sit back and look at your new instrument cluster and then go show your boys and be the envy of the block with the only P2 Volvo with a Instrument Cluster LED Swap!
I hope this helps out anyone that may have thought about installing LEDs to change the color of their gauge cluster and to help show how easy it really is!
-John
