My 1987 240 DL has a burned out light that lights the dash (gauges). It looks to me like the position is up above the gauges and would be almost impossible to get to without taking the dash off. If there is an easier way to get to this Please let me know!

My Heat gauge only works part of the the time. I dont know whether it is a gauge problem or a sensor problem. Any ideas?

Taking the instrument cluster out will allow you to fix both of these things. Get a new instrument light bulb from the dealer or a junkyard. Then pull your cluster- pull off the dimmer and headlight knob, pop out the panel under these, and the square blank panels on the right. Two screws each side of cluster, extra metal bracket on left comes out too. All wiring pulls off the back. Note that with no tach, the red/white wire in dash doesn't get connected to anything. There's at least one ground wire to the cluster- it's not in a connector. Note which terminal you take it off of. The rest of the plugs just pull and can only go back one way. There's no big speedometer cable in an 87, just a 3-pin plug. Keep the steering wheel straight and the cluster slides right out towards you.
The bulb holders just turn and pull. They can be a little fiddly going back in occasionally. As for the temp gauge, on the brown circuit board you'll find a funny looking tan circuit board, a little strip the size of computer memory modules. This has a 4-pin connector. It probably has oxidized pins. CLean them with an eraser carefully or simply plug it in 10 times. The problem is in this board- you can confirm this next time you have a problem by just giving the dash top a whack- if the gauge returns to a normal reading, the problem's in the dash. Really common problem. My 86 does it about once a week. A new Temperature Compensation board may cure it. The connector is still lousy though.
Good luck!
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Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: 86 244DL, 87 244DL, 88 744GLE, 91 244: 808K total

The instrument cluster is easy to get out, about 10 to 15 minutes or less once you see how it is done. I had mine out twice last week. Here's how I do it:
1. remove the top plastic piece on the steering column (2 screws)
2. remove the light switch knob and dimmer knob by pulling straight out.
3. CAREFULLY pry out the plastic piece in back of where the knobs were. Leave it hanging by the foglight wires.
4. remove the two screws you now can see which are holding both a metal part which holds the switch shafts and the left side of the cluster.
5. On the right side of the cluster, carefully pry out the two square filler panels.
6. remove the two screws holding the right side of the instrument cluster.
7. The cluster can now be pulled forward so you can reach the wires on the back to disconnect them. It's a good idea to make a drawing of where the single wires go. The multiple wire connectors cannot be mixed. The connector to the electronic speedometer has a locking clip on it. I didn't know this and broke the locking part. However, the connector stays on just fine without it.
8. BRIGHT IDEA? Since you are only going to replace the instrument lights, try pulling out the cluster on one side and see if you have room to remove the lamp socket on that side. I think they take a quarter turn CCW and then come out. You may not have to disconnect all those wires at all. Then do the other side.
9. If you do want to take out the cluster, it slides out to the right easily.

For the Dash lights, I would first check the Rheostat (The fader control). Usually, it's very uncommon for all the lights to burn out at once, and those rheostats fry like nothing. What you can do for that, is simply clip the ends of the wires that go into the rheostat, and connect them all with a wire nut. (First, test to see that is is the rheostat buy just holding all 3 connectors together.)

Other then that, you will have to take the dash apart to change the lights, or get at the rheostat wires, but it is very simple. (Someone can probably give you better instructions on how to get inside the dash with your year, I take my dash apart in my '80 245 quite often, but they did change the design in '81.)

For the heater gauge, for some reason, the gauges in later years are terrible. I use to have a '89 245, and that thing would go all over the place. I've never had a problem with that in my '80 245 though. I never got it taken care of, so I don't know where to tell you to start.