88-94 radio lights

[The Lowly Genteman]

Has anyone opened up their radio and replaced the bulbs? Most of mine aren't working and I can't seem to find any posts about people replacing the bulbs in the older style radios.

 

[chipskittles]

Personally have replaced bulbs in these yes. If you are handy with a soldering iron and consumer electronics disassembly then yes the bulbs can be replaced pretty easily. The hard part is getting the right wattage/voltage bulbs in there. There's a seller on ebay that sells the bulbs for 95+ radios. I used these in my 94 deck and they look fine. That was a few years ago and they all still work.

 

[The Lowly Genteman]

That is what I was afraid of, the lights being soldered in place. Does anyone have any pictures of the radios disassembled?

 

[KennyP]

I replaced all of my interior lights with leds from superbrightleds.com. Gauge cluster, radio controller face, hvac, and that little bulb in the tape deck. The radio and hvac bulbs just twisted out in my 88' reg cab. No soldering. Now all the numbers and everything is bright and crisp. Led downside, not dimmable...
I believe the replacement bulbs are labeled as "Neo Wedge" type bulbs. The ones I bought were neo4 & neo5. 3 of each type. Here's the link to the bulbs I purchased.

https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...led-bulb-high-power-instrument-panel-led/221/

Mind you this was done to a 1988 factory radio controller.

 

[89RCLB]

Does anyone have any pictures of the radios disassembled?

The bulbs are, in fact, replaceable. Once you disassemble you can use a screwdriver from the backside to twist them out.

Edit: You don't have to actually pull yours apart to this level, you can just remove the printed circuit board with the attached harness to get to the bulbs. I just happened to have one that is completely disassembled.

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[The Lowly Genteman]

Ah-ha! They are removable, thanks a bunch for the pictures. Do you have any tips on dissembling the radio? I started taking mine apart but it seemed like I was going to break it so I quit and put everything back together.

 

[ima93chevyguy]

Those tiny screws are a pain in the butt! I believe they are the same ones on the HVAC unit, i usually take some bigger needle nose or pliers and slowly work at them. Grip Hard and turn very slow. Luckily last time my service technician friend had a socket to fit them. Don't get too handsy with the board either and keep metal away from it.

But as far as the disassembly is concerned those little screws will be the hardest part because there's a good many of them.

 

[89RCLB]

Ah-ha! They are removable, thanks a bunch for the pictures. Do you have any tips on dissembling the radio? I started taking mine apart but it seemed like I was going to break it so I quit and put everything back together.

1. Remove the three screws that secure the faceplate to the enclosure
2. Remove the screw that secures the harness to the back of the enclosure and slowly remove the faceplate while feeding the harness through the opening in the enclosure, that will get you to this point:

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3. Remove the two screws (black circles) that secure the circuit board with harness to the underlying circuit board. Some variants only have one screw to remove and it will be located on the right near the harness.
4. Gently pry the circuit board evenly upwards to remove it from the pins of the underlying circuit board (preferably something made of plastic or wood for prying)
5. Remove the bulbs using a screw driver of your choice.
6. Assembly is reverse of above.

 

[chevilex]

The bulbs are, in fact, replaceable. Once you disassemble you can use a screwdriver from the backside to twist them out.

Edit: You don't have to actually pull yours apart to this level, you can just remove the printed circuit board with the attached harness to get to the bulbs. I just happened to have one that is completely disassembled.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

This is what my radio looks like ('91 with all the bells and whistles). Where do I get new bulbs?

 

[chevilex]

This is what my radio looks like ('91 with all the bells and whistles). Where do I get new bulbs?

Got lucky...

It looks like these are the radio ones. And these for the climate controller.