No Illumination In Climate Control
 

Lost the lighting in the climate controls - is there a bulb I can change or is it integrated?

Yes, there are 3-4 bulbs in there IIRC.

Sent from my high tech squawk box

3 bulbs, you have to take the control off to get to them, real easy. Take off the face plate and you'll see a few screws holding the control panel in, take them out and replace the bulbs in the back of it.

Perfect! I'll have to see if I can find out the bulb type in my service manual....

I can't remember the bulb number but it was a dealer only item because it was a 1 piece unit bulb and base in one and it was cheap.

That's good info, thanks! I'll get it from the dealer...

Got them - dealership gave them to me for free. Super easy to change. They are B8.5D, I believe. They are the same as in the instrument cluster - I have some LED versions coming.

I don't think you're going to like the LEDs. They have more of a direct beam of light whereas the incandescent light spreads out. I've seen pics of both setups in dashes and the stock bulbs put out a better quality of light IMO. That's just my .02 though.

Sent from my high tech squawk box

Sounds like a good point. I bought ones that have a wide illumination pattern so I'll give it a go and post a photo.

You ever get a chance to try out the LED's... my climate controls bulb's have been out for years and wondering if LEDs might be the way to go?

I did...looked great the bulbs were kinda crappy from superbrightleds.com.

I want to do the same thing but from a more reputable company like Diode Dynamics.

EDIT: dumb question


Although free from the dealer would be okay too...

Google search the bulb type as listed earlier: B8.5D

One thing I just learned, the bulb does have a polarity. If you install it and it doesn't come on, turn 180° and reinstall. Maybe superbright led wasn't that crappy of quality (?) ...but I'm now going to try again with a different brand.