Stupid lights

"BvdV - The Dutch Engineer" (dutchengineer)
12/20/2016 at 03:45 • Filed to: None

Damn, I just noticed half the lighting on my heater control panel has burnt out. I’m curious how hard it will be to replace it, since the last time something behind the heater panel(fan speed controller) needed replacing the whole dash had to come out, luckily that happened under warranty.

I can’t stand having something visible being broken, so either I’m going to fix it myself, or pay the dealership to fix it if the dash needs to come out.

DISCUSSION (21)

RWS Motorsport > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
12/20/2016 at 04:01

My 306 did something similar but i could just pop the unit, in this case was the HVAC controls out with a pair of screws and the bulb was directly behind it. i would guess itll be the same for you, as the bulb needs to be near the actual panel in order to illuminate it. Hopefully nice easy job.

can you pop the vents above out and access the controls from there?

Klaus Schmoll > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
12/20/2016 at 04:10

Has it been out long enough to be sure that it’s permanent? My car did that twice with the tach and it fixed itself within a day. It’s been months now since this occurred last.

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > RWS Motorsport
12/20/2016 at 04:36

It looks like the unit is attached from within the dash:

Kinja'd!!!

Having consulted some forums, they all speak about removing the top dash panels to reach the screws, and that a dealer would probably charge between €40-140 to do it, likely due to the complexity of removing the speedo, radio screen and passenger airbag.

Definetely will try if I can reach it through the vents though, thanks for the tip.

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > Klaus Schmoll
12/20/2016 at 04:37

It didn’t help when immediately restarting it, but maybe it will cure itself this afternoon, it’s a french car after all.

duurtlang > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
12/20/2016 at 04:53

Consider replacing the functioning bulbs as well. When you’re in there anyway you might as well do them all.

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > duurtlang
12/20/2016 at 05:06

That’s a good idea actually, I was thinking about doing that, especially after heaving read that the panels I need to remove are extremely fragile.

Probenja > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
12/20/2016 at 06:23

Can’t you just pop out the a/c knobs and get to the bulbs? It just seems like taking the whole dash apart for a bulb a bit excessive. But then again it is French.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
12/20/2016 at 07:14

Are they actually replaceable? I know my 2009 Accent has LED bulbs on all the circuit boards that are soldered directly and aren’t replaceable! :(

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
12/20/2016 at 07:21

Well, catcar gives me a number for an ordinary 1.2 W bulb when I look up the heater control unit, so I expect them to be replacable.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
12/20/2016 at 07:26

Sounds like it then! :)

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > Probenja
12/20/2016 at 07:28

Well, the knobs seem to have a separate parts number, so they should come off, however I’m not sure if I can reach the light bulb when taking the knob off, I expect it to be deeper into the unit, since it also lights the symbols near the knob.

RWS Motorsport > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
12/20/2016 at 08:00

Eugh what a faff. Bloody modern cars interiors are such a nightmare. They look lovely when they are one piece, but fuck fixing them. Good luck!

Milky > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
12/20/2016 at 09:22

My mom’s Silverado does the same thing, all it takes is a solid tap on it and it all lights up again. She gets so pissed when I do it.

Doesn’t look like a GM product, but I’d try the ‘ol tap first.

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > Milky
12/20/2016 at 09:43

I already tried a gentle tap, might indeed try a slightly less gentle tap.

It’s a Renault Twingo, and apparently it’s a miracle all of my heater control panel lights were working until today, after I read that most of them have at least one bulb burning out within 3 years, whereas mine is slightly over 5 years old.

E90M3 > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
12/20/2016 at 09:58

What year car is that? I replaced all the dash lights on my explorer almost 4 years ago now , the car was 16 years old at the time and most of the lights in the instrument cluster had died.

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > E90M3
12/20/2016 at 10:35

It was built in september 2011, so it’s slightly over 5 years old now. However after a quick search I learned that bulbs burning out in the heater control panel are a somewhat common problem on these Twingos, it seems like mine did somewhat well, since a lot of the bulbs tend to burn out in 2-3 ish years.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
12/20/2016 at 10:47

The other way is disconnect the rest of the lamps so that it’s dark in a uniform manner across all the controls.

:) My truck works like that.

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs
12/20/2016 at 10:52

That’s a solution too, haha. But that would probably require the same amount of work as replacing the other bulb. (I don’t think the bulbs of heater control panel have a separate fuse from the rest of the heater controls)

E90M3 > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
12/20/2016 at 10:57

I wonder how they managed to make a bulb burn out that fast. I wonder if they’re sending too much voltage or something to it. I’m terrible with circuits and electricity so I’m not sure what actually affect bulb life and things like that.

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > E90M3
12/20/2016 at 11:18

It could indeed have something to do with the voltage being slightly too high, leading to the current being also slightly higher and making the tungsten wire burn out quicker, but I’m not sure if that’s the case here. What I do know is that the whole heater unit is a bit of a mess; it’s way too hard to access the unit, lights burn out quickly, and the fan speed controllers also have a habit of going bad. But I guess that is what you get for buying the cheapest model of the brand.

vicali > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
12/20/2016 at 11:24

Kinja'd!!!

One end of my hvac panel goes dark once in awhile.. little taperoo and it’s on again for another 6 months..

The Vanagon had a lazy speedo that would stick unless you tapped the top of the cluster just right- when I changed it out all of the plastic instrument mounts were broken - apparently the PO ‘fixed’ it with a heavy hand..