Do it yourself
Frequently asked questions about cars and motorcycles

How to change and replace the dashboard lights of the old Fiat Panda

Model: Fiat Panda MK 1, 141 - Years 1980-2003
Part: Dashboard

Let's see how to disassemble and modify the dashboard lights of the old Fiat Panda: first of all you need to remove the bulbs, remove the part that energizes the bulbs and remove the white plastic part using either a screwdriver or a hair dryer, heating the part and lifting it, as much as It is held only with glue. In this case the green stripe, which would be the one that gives the color to the dashboard bulbs, we remove it and then a strip of a different color is installed. To illuminate the dashboard, two bars of 6 + 6 LEDs of 12v and 3w each are used, which we will place where the two lights were (in the white plastic part). Now to replace the old green stripe, we need to create a transparent or translucent strip to diffuse the light otherwise, without stripe, too much light reaches the bottom of the dashboard, consequently you will see the reflection of the light on the windshield. In this video, an old jar is used to create a strip to replace the green one; using a cutter, first we remove the bottom of the jar, cut one side of the jar vertically in such a way as to always open it with a cutter, putting something underneath so as not to pierce the work surface, we will cut a strip and discard it; now let's take a hair dryer and try to straighten the jar. We take the green bar, place it on the open jar, with a permanent marker, mark the outline of the bar and to cut it we can use a simple scissors, as the material is quite soft. Once the bar has been cut, check if it goes well, if the length is to be changed, modify it and with the hot glue we begin to glue the bar, putting dots of glue on the sides of the bar seat, then position the bar. Now we are going to modify the support of the bulbs where we are going to put the LEDs; we take the LEDs, place it where the previous bulb was and mark where we need to cut, we take an electric cutter and cut along the traced edges. When we have cut the support, we are going to install it on the dashboard and then we will attach the LEDs to the support; to attach everything we can use hot glue because if you have to reassemble it one day it will be easier. With the hot glue we are going to attach, with some glue dots on the sides, the support; glued the support, let's go to attach the leds. Also in this case we can use hot glue, put hot glue dots on the support where the leds will go and glue the leds. Let's test the LEDs by making a wiring using the connectors of the LEDs in the package that will be connected to the machine lighting cables, let's try them by connecting the wiring connectors to the LED connectors by attaching the wiring to a 220-12v transformer and the light looks good and not excessive. Now let's mount everything on the car. Once the dashboard is mounted on the car, we turn on the instrument panel, the lights and we notice that they work and do not bother. The lighting is not reflected in the windshield thanks to the bar we have created and consequently does not bother while driving.

Posted on 18 July 2022 by ScegliAuto

Video tutorial

Related tutorials

Fiat Panda (2003-2012 / 169, MK 2) This video tutorial explains how to replace the dashboard lights not only on the Fiat Panda, but on many cars on the road, therefore useful for many.…
Fiat Panda (2012-2024 / MK 3, 319) In this video tutorial we will see how to replace the license plate lights of a third series Fiat Panda. So first let's get the new light bulb; we op…
Fiat Panda (2003-2012 / 169, MK 2) In this tutorial, we can see how to replace the license plate light bulbs in the Fiat Panda, an extremely simple and fast operation. Before proceedin…

Other guides you may be interested in

How to Open the Bonnet of a Renault Twingo

How do you open the front bonnet of a Renault Twingo for maintenance and top-ups? Let's see in this video how to proceed. Open the plastic grilles located at the sides of the front grille with your hands. Once the catches at the front are released: turn the key (as shown in the video) and pull the lever located on the left of the bonnet to the right. Once the piece is removed, carry out maintenance on your car. To reassemble, secure the plastic cover at the front of the nose with your hands and then slide it upwards. Finally, close the bonnet release levers with your hands.

Watch the video!


by ScegliAuto

More videos