I have slowly over the past few months lost some of the illumination in my center stack. I first lost the fog light illumination and just tonight lost the rear wiper control illumination. Anyone successfully take either of these appart and replace the bulb inside them. I seem to recall that the "fix" is to get another complete switch. For the cost I'll just live with knowing how to operate them in the dark

 

Adding to the information, since Sunday I also lost the defroster illumination... bad luck, eh? all in one month

Anyhow... the rear wiper swith looks like it might be do-able if I can find the right bulb. The other two (fog and rear defrost) use these tiny little bulbs that you can remove from the switch with a quarter turn of the screw driver. So, now I need to start the search to see if there is anything out there that will do the job. I am considering figuring out how to get an LED in there instead... but that is going to have to wait.

For the time being I put the switches back into service sans bulbs (not that it makes a difference when they were blow) and kept the bulbs around to see if I can get replacements.

 

I replaced the bulbs in my '96 Explorer, Radio Shack has 12v mini bulbs with pigtails, remove the socket, look at how the wires_pigtails, are wraped around the socket and then insert the bulb with the pigtails in same location as the original. The light for the headlight swich is actuallly a halogen and is sold by ford as a socket and bulb unit, price was abou $9.00 last year.

 

Found the bulbs at the Shack... a little larger than the ones that were there but they should do the trick... I'll report back once I get the tried out (too cold to go at the dash tonight ).

thanks!
-John

 

Well, apparently I have some odd mental problem because I decided that since the replacements were so easy to put in the bases I could not wait to get them into the Moutaineer. So off I went and they work like a charm. Thanks don96exp.

For those that are interested the bulbs, to fix the rear defrost illumination and fog light swith, from Radio Shack come 2 to a pack (#7219 micro lamps (pn 272-1092)). They are a touch smaller (shorter), I misspoke in my last post, than the stock bulbs but not enough to be of any issue. A little care removing the light coloring sock that goes over the original and installing it on the replacement bulb and you are good to go.

-John B

 

Do you need to take the dash out to replace the bulbs?
It seems to me there is a lot of work to get at the switch to replace the bulbs.
On my 95, the rear wiper switch bulb is burnt. I am trying to get at it. You make it sound so easy.

 

The rear wiper switch on mine is still burned out, I need to find the replacement bulb for it so I need to get in there. To get the switch out was pretty easy on my 97 (not sure what a 95 looks like).

1. Pull of the **** for the rear wiper control from the shaft it is on

2. On the center console bezel there are two screws slighly above the pockets at the bottom, these two come out (hex head)

3. Pull back the plastic bezel, this brings the whole radio assembly and vents with it

4. Remove the cable harnesses from the back of the three switches (wiper, defroster and fogs)

5. Remove the two screws that hold the switch "holder" in place (these are accessed from the back).

6. Once the holder comes free you can see that the switches are held by plastic clips, with creful prying and noting that the wiper switch comes out in the opposite direction of the other two you can remove the switch from the holder and get at the bulbs.

As I said, I have yet to replace the wiper bulb as it was not of the same type as the other two but am going to look into what that takes next time I have a few free hours.

Once you do it once getting the switches in and out is really a 15 min operation after that.