Are the lamps for the warning lights (low fuel, abs... ect) the same as in the heater control panel?

NO. Those are the more standard larger twist type bulbs.

 

 

The ones that you are in plastic mounts, you can replace the bulbs then reuse the mount.

 

 

nipper

ok then, i took the panel out and the bulb for the low fuel indicator seem to be fine. does this light when you first start up like the air bag lite. or does it only light when low on gas. i haven't let it get low enough to test yet.

its a 97 legacy if that makes any difference

I have both a 98 and 99 Leggie OBW. Upon start up, the low fuel indicator does not light up. It only lights up, when warning that the fuel level is low.

Rooster2 is correct. That light is tied to a thermistor in the tank and the light will only turn on when the fuel level gets low enough to expose the thermistor to the air. It then heats up slightly and the internal resistance goes down, turning on the lamp in series with the thermistor.

thx, thats good to know. now if there was a way to adjust my fuel gauge. it drops quicker than the one on my old GL which was dead on. when i'ts near empty i still have at least 5 gals. in the tank. guess i'll let it drop lower and see what happens.

The senders are wired in series with each other. It sounds like one of them at least has some dirty contacts. Some folks have used Techron in the tank to help clean the contacts and got results from that. You may have to work on them if that doesn't work.

Since the car is a 97 i was thinking of replacing some or most of the bulbs that are blackened from age. Anyone know what the larger lamps illuminate and what the small ones light? Looks like the large ones are for general illlumination. Also what happens if i don't re-use the bulb covers on the larger bulbs?