It depends on the model number of the radio. The 1990's radios had very tiny bulbs with leads wound around the socket to form the terminals. Those pushed in and turned similar to dash light sockets, but about 1/3 the size. By the mid to late 1990's, those bulbs were soldered in on the face plate circuit board. They have little orange or blue rubber caps to give them their color. I just sold thirteen of those bulbs to a fellow at the Lola, WI old car show swap meet two weeks ago.
There are two problems to be aware of. The first is those bulbs come in 5.0 volt, 8.0 volt, 10.0 volt, and twelve volt versions. I compiled a list so I did not have to figure it out on every radio, but that list only goes up to around 2002. I have not worked on anything newer than that. 5.0 volt is the most common on Chrysler radios. 10.0 volt is most common on older GM radios.
The other problem is these bulbs are notorious for being intermittent. Tapping on a not working one can get it working, then you may not be able to get it to quit. You do not want to give a radio back to a customer like that because you know at some point it is going to go out again. It is also possible some dead bulbs will start working from the vibration of shipping, especially if it was shipped through the UPS basketball team! You could overlook some bulbs the owner was hoping would be replaced. To avoid that heartache, I just change all of them at once.
Unless your customer is really insistent on spending money, I would recommend they wait to have the bulbs replaced until more go out, so the repair has more value. I do not know what the repair history has been with 2005 radios, but if they can put up with a few dark switches, have them wait until some other repair is needed, then have all the bulbs replaced at that time.
Also, be aware that on most of the boards I have worked on, there is a plastic frame the display tube sits in that covers a few of the bulbs. Getting to those bulbs is a real challenge if you do not want to damage other components. I used to look for shortcuts, usually with frustrating results.
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Friday, July 21st, 2017 AT 12:43 AM
