Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting cats replaced; now middle of dash is dim

3 days ago the catalytic converters on my 95 SE were replaced under warranty for the second time. The car runs great, but with the lights on, I noticed that the middle part of the dashboard is much dimmer than the rest of the dash. I'm 99% sure that this was not the case before the dealer worked on my car. Now, the speedo numbers from about 0 to 50 mph, and the tach from about 5,000 RPM to the end, are barely lit up compared with the rest of the instrument panel.

I've seen the info from Ray McNairy on the site, which lists several common problems after the cat work is done. Most of them are mechanical. I have no idea if there's any logical reason why the illumination on my dashboard could be affected by the catalytic converter work. Any ideas?

I'll probably take the car back to the dealer, or at least call the service advisor. But it would be nice to have a logical explanation for why this could happen.

It is not likely related.

Sounds like dash bulb has burned out.

Thanks. Re: bulb burned out-- two-thirds of the cluster is still illuminated. Is there more than one bulb back there, or would something else be illuminating the stuff on the outer two thirds? Seems if a bulb was burned out, the whole thing would be dim, which it isn't.

There's at least 5 bulbs.

Anyone know what size bulbs the gauge cluster takes?

I believe they are the same as the parcel shelf stop light, however they are a bulb/plastic base combination. I had to get mine from dealer.

Don't know for sure, haven't looked, but in my experience the bulbs usually used are 110, IIRC. Not an expensive bulb by any means.