Instrument Cluster in Vanagons: How to Remove

The instrument cluster in a Vanagon is right in the way... Fortunately, it's pretty simple to remove. And it's a good thing to know how to do on  your Vanagon, because it allows access to the master cylinder and all the wiring. Once you know how to do it correctly, it literally takes less than a minute to remove.

Here are the steps:

1. To pull off the outer cover of the cluster, first pull up along the back edge with one hand, then bump the front face lightly with your other hand.
2. Unplug the connector at the hand-brake warning lamp—this is above the headlight switch.
3. Unsnap the headlight, emergency flasher, and rear defroster switches from the cluster face, but do NOT unplug these switches. 
4. Remove the four (4) Philips head screws that hold the cluster to the dashboard.
5. Reach back and unplug the speedometer (and cruise control, if so equipped). 
6. Lift up the cluster and remove the 14-pin plug.

That's it! Once the instrument cluster is out of the way, you can do all sorts of good stuff: replace the antenna, mess around with your gauges, find lost wires going to many interesting places...

 

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