Does this light up?
 

I know in some of the newer Ranger and B-Series, these three circles have LED's behind them which light up. Mine never did to begin with when i got the truck. So my question is, do the standard XL fleet trucks come equipt with the lights?

no, my 2000 mazda doesnt have those lights....just the dots

also, the cruise buttons on my steering wheel dont light up either, and i know on some rangers they do....odd....

I'm wondering though, lets just say they werent meant to light up... if you COULD make them light up.

Those don't light up on mine, but my cruise lights do. You could probably wire an LED into it.

i dont think so, i think its more of a sticker embedded in the dash...not hollow behind it for a light...only way to find out is to tear down the dash

Yeah, i could see my self spending a couple hours looking for something that wasnt really there, lol.

ok, the headlight switch is a universal switch on all rangers, however it is lighted by a bulb, that one most rangers blow quickly, my truck had 36 miles on it when i bought it and the light didnt work, however i replaced it with an LED and now it does

Nope, didn't light on mine.

works on mine the bulb died though not to soon after i had the truck, well it works again and is now blue ;)

Mine used to work also...... but now it is dead and I am to lazy to fix it!

03 w34,000 miles.. and it actually works.. had to go check it..lol, also, it wasnt turned up all the way, so thier alot brighter..lol

i dont see a light leo?

I see it. And mine works at 37,000 miles...

not even 10,000 miles on my 2004 and that lamp has burnt out
there is an access cover right next to it
I suppose that is where older year trucks had their fuse panel
I can reach in and touch the mechanism so it should not be hard to replace the bulb
on 2004 and newer Rangers the cab fuse panel is located near the passanger kick plate

Funny I was sitting in my truck, finishing my coffee and listening to the radio, and the only two lights on in the truck were my radio and that switch. So yes it should have a bulb behind it, and yes, yours is probably out.

I doubt Ford engineered two versions, one without, and one with a bulb. So either your bulb is out, or you don't have one in there to begin with.

It could be the bulb and/or mechanism is missing on lesser trimmed trucks, as the OP suggested. I definitely would not put that past Ford for a second. If that's the case, you could replace the whole switch w/ one from an XLT in a boneyard..

It's on whenever the key is on, so it's no wonder they don't last forever.

Is it a bulb or LED and what do i need to get while i'm out?

Anyone? lol

There's a full how-to on my CarDomain site on putting an LED in there. The only catch is is if the bulb is missing. It's a special bulb with an unusual long base that you need to do the conversion so you'd have to get one, bad or good, from a junkyard to do it right.

Take a look at my CarDomain site to see how to change it over. It's super easy.

Actually I'm 99% certain that with some skillful soldering someone could do it without the bulb base, and just wrap the LED leads in electrical tape to keep them from shorting.

It definately is susposed to light up. My truck has 55K miles and it is long gone, but the XLT with only 20K still has it.

Thanks for reminding me to check mine. It's not lit anymore. 2001 XLT with 42K. I guess mine finally burned out.

John, your page shows how to swap in an LED, but doesn't tell how to yank the bulb assembly out. Do I have to take the dash apart, or is there an easier way?

Take the dash apart. I thought I mentioned that it's mounted in the switch, and getting to the switch requires you to take the dash apart. If not, I'll add that when I get a chance, thanks.

That's part of the reason why the LED is important: you don't want to have to change it again.

Yup, just checked my factory CD, and the dash has to come apart. I guess that bulb will just have to stay burned out for a while. I'm not in any hurry to pull the dash apart again. Thanks for the info John, I'll do the LED mod when I do decide to pull the bulb out.