ok so today i went about taking apart my cluster to begin my project of swaping out the cluster lights for brighter led's. when i finally got the cluster out i was really stupid and began pulling out the light sockets at random and didnt bother to remember where any of them specifically went or what color sockets went where. I have an 86 iroc and all of the threads about led swaps tell me that i only need 11 of the led's to make the swap specifically for the instrument cluster lights. i couldn't help but notice that there are a lot more than 11 sockets. i realize that there are sockets for the turn signal flashers, hi beams, and the warning lights but even after subtracting those there are still more than 11 sockets unspoken for. can anyone help me out here? maybe a picture of the back of the cluster or a link to something that might help me out.

 

There is a total of 22 locations for light sockets. 11 for gauge lighting, 2 for directional indicators, one for the high beam indicator, and 8 across the bottom for "idiot" lights. Of the 8 across the bottom, not all locations are used, you'll need to check your gauge bezel (the black plastic piece) and see which ones have a labeled lens (BRAKE, CHECK ENGINE, etc) and what color the lens is.

 

fyi theres a thread or tech article with a picture of the rear of the gauge cluster, and some arrows pointing to which ones you should swap out and which ones you should leave, should help, don't recall if it was one of the threads or the tech article, but its around here somewhere.

 

It's in a tech article. I found it here...

https://www.thirdgen.org/leddash

It also explains how to build your own LED lights to work in the sockets. Easier to buy them preassembled from a site like www.superbrightleds.com or www.v-leds.com

 

While that article is specific to the IROC dash, with a bit of trial and error I should be able to apply those same principles to my Firebird dash, right?

 

should yes, if it uses normal light sockets and what not.