FAQ: Interior Lighting Questions (Dash/Guage Color)

I'm sure there's a chance it can be done, but realistically only with the 2000-2003 SSEi's. They're the same platform as the Riv, though I'm not so sure about how everything might bolt up. You'd be in for some wiring fun too, I can guarantee that.

The result would be interesting, though.

Would be alot cheaper and easier to just add the gauges you want. Or just go buy a Bonneville

But then the Riv's interior would step down to Pontiac's level.

If you really like the red lights, you could preserve the riviera dash while putting in colored bulbs or colored films. Here is a thread I found about it.

http://montecarloforum.com/forum/sixth-generation-monte-carlos-39/changing-you-dash-speedo-light-color-under-$10-some-pics-25376/

I can tell you wiring stuff would be a concern. It would all be pretty different between the two cars and they don't exactly make it easy to mix-match anything.

Has anyone changed the dash and climate control lights to a different color?

Im going for blue guages and green needles, and gonna try and make my climate control blue...

I just had my gauges out and took the bulbs out to make them blue. THEY ALREADY HAVE THE BLUE SOCKS ON THEM! I can't figure how blue makes green when it's all together but it does! I didn't see any yellow on the inside to possibly alter the color. One of life's mysteries!

rivparadise wrote:

I just had my gauges out and took the bulbs out to make them blue. THEY ALREADY HAVE THE BLUE SOCKS ON THEM! I can't figure how blue makes green when it's all together but it does! I didn't see any yellow on the inside to possibly alter the color. One of life's mysteries!

Thats a bit wierd. On the back is there something yellow?

Could it be that the light that the bulbs emit is yellow?

Could be! I didn't have the chance to light one up to see while it was out but I did pull the sock back to see the bulb and it was clear. Didn't get a look at the filament though.

saintsnsinners wrote:

rivparadise wrote:

I just had my gauges out and took the bulbs out to make them blue. THEY ALREADY HAVE THE BLUE SOCKS ON THEM! I can't figure how blue makes green when it's all together but it does! I didn't see any yellow on the inside to possibly alter the color. One of life's mysteries!

Thats a bit wierd. On the back is there something yellow?

The bulbs when lit are yellowish enough that the light thru the blue "socks" looks green. Best way to get a true blue would be to use blue LEDs.

Do you know what size Bulbs the dash lights are?

saintsnsinners wrote:

Do you know what size Bulbs the dash lights are?

I don't believe they are readily replaceable. I think they solder in.

They arent solder in. I was just at the pick and pull. they are in little twist to remove carriers in the back of the cluster. there are 2 sizes. Large in a brown twist and small in a blue twist

I'd love to see somebody's Rivi with Red LED dash lights

So, we've just picked up a "barn fresh" 95 and although I don't know/think any of the interior lighting is out, I also wouldn't know what is out if they were....

With that being said, can someone give me a quick rundown of where all the interior lighting is on a 95 so I can verify that all the interior lights are working?

Thanks!
Al

Top edge of interior door pulls -they are riveted on the panels so you have to pull panel to fix.

Your water barriers inside doors will be brittle now but last I checked they were available. From gm dealers not too much $.

Door remote latch wells

Front passenger footwells on the underdash panels

Trunk
underwood (comes on if parking lites are on)

Ashtray

Glove compartment

Rest of them are either typical (inst panel etc) or obvious (dome and courtesy)

Not if under the hood counts as interior or not, but, anyone know the part number for the under the hood light? Wanna go with an LED.

Will this fit?
561 bulb

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cat/led-vehicle-replacement-bulbs/vehicle/1999-buick-riviera--under+hood+light/9-887--366698/

Can anyone confirm? Tryin to order today!

For replacing the cluster lights with LEDs:

There are 4 socket T10/194 bulbs in the cluster, 2 for the tach 2 for the speedo. You might want to order 20 since they come in packs of 10, you can do the dome and license plate lights as well as other misc things. If you're going crazy expect to use most of them.

There are 21 (23 if you count the little dots for low fuel/overheating) socket T5/74 bulbs for everything else. There are only 2 responsible for lighting the fuel and water temperature. If you're doing the tach and speedo you NEED to order a set of little bulbs to fit the water temp and fuel gauges otherwise it will look stupid. I "disabled" my airbag light already so I only needed 20. Order 30 to be safe.

While you're ordering things order as many sockets as you do bulbs. They're cheap and the OEM ones are likely to break if you try taking the old bulbs out of them. Do it once do it right. NAPA and Amazon sell them for cheap. If you're ordering from the links posted below you DO NOT need to order T5 sockets.

Order 3 of each of these for a bluish white color, fits the blue interior very well.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PR7G2JY?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005ETCIO8?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

I went nuts and used them EVERYWHERE. Really makes the car look modern. I went to NAPA for the sockets because they were cheap and I could confirm they are the right ones.

To get the cluster out, pull apart the dash and take off the top part. Then reach in with a flathead screwdriver and pop off the 2 connectors to the cluster. The tab for them is facing the front of the car so it makes this semi difficult. There are a few screws around the cluster, but you only need to take out the ones on the white tabs. You can also take this time to clean the cluster and replace some of the gauges with something of your choice. The boost gauge AutoZone sells matches the blue interior nearly perfectly. Fun fact, our cluster has 2 areas for a washer fluid low indicator, but they go to separate places on the loom. I'm assuming since the bulb was left out of one that it would work just fine if you put one in.

got pics, bro? I am interested.

charlieRobinson wrote:

got pics, bro? I am interested.

Just 1, waiting on the rest of the lights to come tomorrow.

They look awesome! Is the light balanced on the temp guage or is it brighter on the right side? Same with fuel.

tach and spedo look great.

Do the LEDs dim ok or do they start flickering when you use the dim knob?

Awesome.....

charlieRobinson wrote:

They look awesome! Is the light balanced on the temp guage or is it brighter on the right side? Same with fuel.

tach and spedo look great.

Do the LEDs dim ok or do they start flickering when you use the dim knob?

Light is balanced pretty well, the 2 middle gauges use the different type of lights so I'm waiting for them to arrive, that's why it looks funky.

Tach and speedo look awesome at night, needle color changed as well. Looks like something you would see in a brand new car.

They dim just fine. They're really bright so I might dim them a bit, will see what happens when I get the rest of the bulbs.