center console lighting

[james butler]

i found a way to change the bulb in the center console panel that controls the heater, if you carefully prise the white backing plastic away from the black front plastic, a bulb is located in the section where the wiring connects. the plastic is glued together so to prise it apart you have to take your time breaking the glued joints.
the bulb and its holder can be prised out of the white backing plastic and the old bulb desoldered from its holder.
to get the bulb holder out i pushed the connector pins where the cable plugs into and the holder just popped right out.
getting the old bulb out was a nuisance. i smashed mine then pulled out the remnants afterward with pliers.
also getting the new bulbs wires to fit back in may require a small amount of drilling to open up the small access holes
new bulbs can be obtained from maplins
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/12v-096w-wire ... type-wq13p
did it in my car and it worked.
not the brightest bulb but you can see everything once its dark, and so nice to have it working again after it being broken for so long.

[Roxylife]

I just bought new bulbs and holders on eBay..?! Saves a lot of hassle!

[Nate]

good post :) before doing this however, make sure yours isn't one with a removeable bulb!

[james butler]

I just bought new bulbs and holders on eBay..?! Saves a lot of hassle!

Really? Have you got a link?

[mark1gls]

Early heater panels have a removable bulb and holder later cars have the bulb inside the panel. If you remove the panel you'll easily spot a removable bulb.

Early panel.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-GOLF-JETTA ... 7675.l2557

Later panel
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/400967127552

You can see the difference in the pictures of the back of the panel.

[james butler]

ah i see,
like this one?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-GOLF-JETTA ... 0842540825
to be fair i haven't seen many around this being the first ive actually seen for sale with the removalble bulb.
shame it doesnt have the bulb holder aswell

[james butler]

thought i would do a run through on how to repair these.
step 1 is to prise the white backing peice away form the black plastic front piece, i know its hard but it does come apart.
some bits of the white part may break away but it doesnt really matter as long as most of its still there because if you didn't fix the bulb it would end up in the bin anyway wouldn't it



step 2
you need to get this bulb AND the holder its in out of the white plastic, it requires a little bit of heat, i havent tried boiling water yet but a hairdryer works.



heat up the plastic and push the terminals hard from behind and it will pop out.



step 3 once out you need to pull the terminals out which i found came out fairly easy with a bit of heat and a pair of pliers.
then smash the bulb and pull all of it out of the holder with pliers.
then you can insert the new bulb with the wires coming out of the origenal holes, then push the connectors back into place (tech tip before putting the connectors back put a dap of solder on the bit where the wires are to be soldered to.) so you can solder the bulb wires to them, dont forget to test the bulb before assembling and for LEDs you have the correct polarity or you will be doing the job again.




step 4 reassemble the bulb back into the white plastic housing then use some glue (i used this stuff http://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/loctite-all ... 04762-1000) to glue the white backing piece back to the black plastic piece.

this is what it looks like, its the closest ive found to the origenal spec without it being too bright and in your face.

[mark1gls]

Another great guide, I might give mine another go now, how did you remove the back from the panel?

[james butler]

i use watch makers screwdrivers to wedge it apart then a bigger screwdriver to actually lever it so it doesnt really leave a mark, plus it seems to come apart easiest if you start at the end where the blower control is.

[whiteshark]

An excellent guide, maybe mods could have a repair section and do stickies.

[steve bain]

Blimey. That's a nightmare! I have a removal one. Just slides out and pop a new one in...

[scirocco_ne]

I just bought new bulbs and holders on eBay..?! Saves a lot of hassle!

I literally last night repaired my heater console and i ordered the pack of bulbs from ebay too... Not the same as the rest of the dash im afraid.

I ended up...Wiring a bulb from the Mrs dolls house into the panel until i get a new panel haha. I soldered onto the bulb and used the original tabs on the bulb end as pins to fit the standard plug.

Thanks
Mick