How to change radio light bulbs?
- Thread starter geo1
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treepete
Full Access Member
hey, welcome to the forum. What year/model we talking here?
TahoeGoBoom
Full Access Member
im pretty sure its be just like any other.
remove the radio, take apart the radio, and replace the bulbs. not sure which bulbs they use tho..
remove the radio, take apart the radio, and replace the bulbs. not sure which bulbs they use tho..
treepete
Full Access Member
its those little led type that are soldered right to the board. usually the preset numbers fail first on the OEM head unit. I bet that in a car audio forum you could find the answer. or call your local repair shop.. its one of those things a tech would have memorized. It'll be "yeah, thats the 1306, they always fail on the bose." ( or whatever pn it is)
treepete
Full Access Member
ok its a 25 1370 lamp 12 volt
thanks to tony seidl for that tidbit...
thanks to tony seidl for that tidbit...
treepete
Full Access Member
TahoeGoBoom
Full Access Member
this is one of those times where i would just put in a new head unit... but thats just me..
treepete
Full Access Member
yeah for as little as 100$ you would be light years ahead of the stock unit.
Wow.. interesting.. I was thinkin about the same thing! About 1/2 of my lights on the radio are out... but the radio still works... and I like how I don't have to worry about some idiot breaking in to steal the radio.
I might actually give the LED change a try... and if it goes bad.. then oh well... time for a new radio.
Has anyone actually had success changing out the radio lights?
I might actually give the LED change a try... and if it goes bad.. then oh well... time for a new radio.
Has anyone actually had success changing out the radio lights?
OK... I was fiddling w/ the truck... and ended up pulling out the radio as well. More than 1/2 the bulbs are burned out... and I figure I'll try to replace them... since the stereo is still functional and all... If I screw this up, then I'll just get an aftermarket unit.
Treepete... how did you get the bulb info? I looked at the site, and wanted to order some bulbs... however, after opening up the radio face.. I noticed 2 types.
8 of them have a black base cover, and 2 of the have a tan base cover. Sizes are the same. These colored sleeves look like they help hold the bulbs in place, and can be reused w/ the replacement bulbs.
The BLACK base have two separate filaments (small)... so I see four 'antennas' holding each end up.
The TAN base bulbs have one longer filament... and three 'antennas'. 2 of the antennas hold the ends of the filament, and the third one props it up higher in the middle.
I'm not very familiar w/ aquiring small electronic parts... but I am good w/ soldering stuff. How can I find out what bulbs to get exactly? From the blurry enlarged pic from MCMelectronics, the bulb Treepete recommended looks like the black base ones... so that would take care of 8 of them... I need to figure out what the tan base ones are...
Anyone knowledgeable about these small bulbs? Any tips would be appreciated.
Treepete... how did you get the bulb info? I looked at the site, and wanted to order some bulbs... however, after opening up the radio face.. I noticed 2 types.
8 of them have a black base cover, and 2 of the have a tan base cover. Sizes are the same. These colored sleeves look like they help hold the bulbs in place, and can be reused w/ the replacement bulbs.
The BLACK base have two separate filaments (small)... so I see four 'antennas' holding each end up.
The TAN base bulbs have one longer filament... and three 'antennas'. 2 of the antennas hold the ends of the filament, and the third one props it up higher in the middle.
I'm not very familiar w/ aquiring small electronic parts... but I am good w/ soldering stuff. How can I find out what bulbs to get exactly? From the blurry enlarged pic from MCMelectronics, the bulb Treepete recommended looks like the black base ones... so that would take care of 8 of them... I need to figure out what the tan base ones are...
Anyone knowledgeable about these small bulbs? Any tips would be appreciated.
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treepete
Full Access Member
Joe, you can use all 25 1370s (should be 10 total)
Tony Seidl worked at D&B audio for like 10 years before we hired him here at my work.
all he did was repair OEM head units all day every day.
he said that you can use all the same bulbs mentioned above. the tan base and black base will be discarded. you wont/dont need to use the bases. Tony said replace them all with the same lamp... sometimes he said that the bases are white also. The new lamps you get from MCM should be about a $0.25 each, wont have the base, and you just solder the leads thru-hole style.
easy fix, easy fix he said.
Tony Seidl worked at D&B audio for like 10 years before we hired him here at my work.
all he did was repair OEM head units all day every day.
he said that you can use all the same bulbs mentioned above. the tan base and black base will be discarded. you wont/dont need to use the bases. Tony said replace them all with the same lamp... sometimes he said that the bases are white also. The new lamps you get from MCM should be about a $0.25 each, wont have the base, and you just solder the leads thru-hole style.
easy fix, easy fix he said.
Last edited:
I too have this issue and really want to keep the stock unit. I noticed that your radio has a "TheftLock" symbol on it same as mine. What exactly does that do? I have held off on pulling the radio due to this label. I have heard that once the radio is removed it will lock up and you need a code to unlock it. Any ideas?
Doh! I hope that's not the case. Seeing that I can disconnect the battery and have the radio work fine after reconnecting, I assumed I can disconnect the radio (pull it out) and not have to worry when reinstalling.
Another 'theory' I heard is that the radio is coded to you BCM (body control module)... so if you were to buy a oem radio from ebay or whatever, you'd need it matched so it can work in your truck. Makes sense to me. Basically, we can pull it out of our own cars and reinstall same one w/ no problem, but your radio wont work on mine.
I'm still waiting for the mailman on my bulbs.. but I guess I'll soon find out if there's any issues reinstalling the radio.
Another 'theory' I heard is that the radio is coded to you BCM (body control module)... so if you were to buy a oem radio from ebay or whatever, you'd need it matched so it can work in your truck. Makes sense to me. Basically, we can pull it out of our own cars and reinstall same one w/ no problem, but your radio wont work on mine.
I'm still waiting for the mailman on my bulbs.. but I guess I'll soon find out if there's any issues reinstalling the radio.
treepete
Full Access Member
naw, youll be cool on the pull-out, put-back on your own truck. that wont make a radio problem. BUT IF IT DOES, its solvable. I saw a few threads here a couple months back ( like this last summer) about resetting that thing with a series of keycodes and maneuvers, etc.. i just cant find it when I search now./...
TahoeGoBoom
Full Access Member
i remember the thread too, i think there were actually a few. but you shouldnt have this problem, like previously stated, i believe it works, as long as its in the original car. i had a chevy malibu with "theftlock". changed the radio and everything in it, and 16 months later when i sold it, i put in the factory radio and had no issues at all.
dhenley126
New Member
Radio Bulbs
I replaced mine with bulbs from Radio Shack.
Easy fix like everyone has mentioned.
Direct link http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2104023
Hope this helps.
I replaced mine with bulbs from Radio Shack.
Easy fix like everyone has mentioned.
Direct link http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2104023
Hope this helps.
Nice info! I guess I could have gotten it locally... Besides the huge price difference between MCM vs. radio shack, shipping $$ seems to even them out be similar overall $$.
Good to know for the future! Thanks!
Now I'm curious... while I'm on the topic of changing interior lighting...
-Does the rear windshield wiper switch light up too?
-Does the 'EJECT' button on the single , lower in-dash cd player light up?
Mine don't light up so I'm curious. Thanks~
Good to know for the future! Thanks!
Now I'm curious... while I'm on the topic of changing interior lighting...
-Does the rear windshield wiper switch light up too?
-Does the 'EJECT' button on the single , lower in-dash cd player light up?
Mine don't light up so I'm curious. Thanks~
treepete
Full Access Member
I dont think those light up. but I could be wrong. Ill ask Tony Seidl, see what he says.
treepete
Full Access Member
ok he said that yes, the CD player eject has the same bulb, quantity:1
I dont know about the washer switch though.. my rear blade doesnt touch the window all the way anyway, so I rarely use it. Ill check it later tonight though.
I dont know about the washer switch though.. my rear blade doesnt touch the window all the way anyway, so I rarely use it. Ill check it later tonight though.
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