OEM '91 radio bulbs in backlight displays? (2 Viewers)

[jfwhite]

I have a '91 truck that's seen quite a few miles... so many that the backlights for the radio (behind the LCD display for radio station / CD track) are burnt out.

Does anyone happen to have one of these old radios somewhere handy? It would be nice to order replacement bulbs before I take it all apart.

Thanks!

 

[old87yota]

What radio do you have?

Can you post a picture?

I know that at least some of the radios use LEDs soldered to the circuit boards.

 

[KLF]

Wow, I'm impressed that you were able to suffer through a factory radio for this long. Instead of fixing the burned out bulbs, why not pick up an upgraded newer unit from Crutchfield? Bluetooth, hands free phone, better sound, better display... You can get all this for surprisingly cheap money.

I do have a few old OEM radios downstairs, post a photo.

 

[pappy]

Instead of fixing the burned out bulbs, why not pick up an upgraded newer unit from Crutchfield? Bluetooth, hands free phone, better sound, better display... You can get all this for surprisingly cheap money.

This. Just don't loose the brackets from the old radio. Shoot, I have an upgraded radio in my 4Runner, and I've been looking at Crutchfield to upgrade again. A really nice unit is cheap.

 

[jfwhite]

What radio do you have?

Can you post a picture?

I know that at least some of the radios use LEDs soldered to the circuit boards.

Sure, here's the radio in question: Backlight no longer works in the tuning display or CD track display:

Wow, I'm impressed that you were able to suffer through a factory radio for this long. Instead of fixing the burned out bulbs, why not pick up an upgraded newer unit from Crutchfield? Bluetooth, hands free phone, better sound, better display... You can get all this for surprisingly cheap money.

I do have a few old OEM radios downstairs, post a photo.

Yep, I'm planning to hardwire in a Bluetooth adapter behind the radio and figured I'd fix the backlight at the same time. Not a financial choice, I just prefer the look of the OEM radio. The cabin on this truck is super well-preserved and I want to keep it that way as long as I can.

 

[old87yota]

Did both display back lights go out at the same time or separately?

Do the buttons still have a backlight?

I am not a fan of new head units myself. They are way to flashy and are nowhere near as friendly to use. I had a cheap Pioneer head unit with red back lighting that reflected off of the back glass of the cab and reflected again onto the windshield. That got pretty annoying when driving at night.

If you do want better sound, buy some new speakers.

 

[Prairie Swamp]

What Old87 said. I'm guessing in that vintage they are individual incandescent bulbs. Did they go out one by one or all at once? May just have a bad connection if they all went out at once. Would have to look at a wiring diagram but the head unit should be looking for a signal from the headlamp switch. Headlamps go on, puts 12V to the head unit which turns on the backlighting.

 

[jfwhite]

Did both display back lights go out at the same time or separately?

Do the buttons still have a backlight?

I am not a fan of new head units myself. They are way to flashy and are nowhere near as friendly to use. I had a cheap Pioneer head unit with red back lighting that reflected off of the back glass of the cab and reflected again onto the windshield. That got pretty annoying when driving at night.

If you do want better sound, buy some new speakers.

Yes, the buttons do have functional backlighting, and yes, I will eventually replace the speakers. You and I share the same opinion of modern headunits—I just want to fix the existing unit, not chuck it.

What Old87 said. I'm guessing in that vintage they are individual incandescent bulbs. Did they go out one by one or all at once? May just have a bad connection if they all went out at once. Would have to look at a wiring diagram but the head unit should be looking for a signal from the headlamp switch. Headlamps go on, puts 12V to the head unit which turns on the backlighting.

Just the radio tuning display and CD track display are dead. They went out one at a time. All the buttons still illuminate correctly.

I think they're probably individual bulbs, too. My guess is that it's a bulb like this:
12 Qty GM GMC Chevy Honda Toyota Climate Radio Switch Button Bulbs 3mm 12v 40mA | eBay

 

[old87yota]

I do not have the CD player, but I might have that same (or very similar) radio in a closet from a 1990 Toyota Corolla.

I have been meaning to repair it (bad screen and tape deck) and reinstall back into the Corolla but have not gotten around to it yet.

If I find the time tonight, I might open it up and take a look at what is broken and look to see what illuminates the screens.

 

[jfwhite]

I do not have the CD player, but I might have that same (or very similar) radio in a closet from a 1990 Toyota Corolla.

I have been meaning to repair it (bad screen and tape deck) and reinstall back into the Corolla but have not gotten around to it yet.

If I find the time tonight, I might open it up and take a look at what is broken and look to see what illuminates the screens.

I would really appreciate that! Just trying to avoid taking the radio out and apart twice if I can help it. Seems pretty likely to me the screens in all Toyota headunits of this vintage share the same illumination setup.

 

[KLF]

Ok so I went and looked through my stash of OEM radios (which I have no idea why I still have). Two are from the mid 2000's, and the display backlights are LEDs soldered onto a board, not useful. I have another one that I can't remember what car it came out of, but I think it was a mid 90's Corolla. The bulbs are tiny incandescent also soldered on. Here's a photo.

There are 4 of these bulbs. I can unsolder and send them to you but I have no idea if they are the same as yours.

I had a very similar head unit in my '92 4Runner. It lasted about 7 years and started eating CDs so out it came for an upgrade. Sound was ok, but not nearly as good as the Eclipse unit that replaced it.

Found the photos:
Stock unit:

After:

 

[jfwhite]

Ok so I went and looked through my stash of OEM radios (which I have no idea why I still have). Two are from the mid 2000's, and the display backlights are LEDs soldered onto a board, not useful. I have another one that I can't remember what car it came out of, but I think it was a mid 90's Corolla. The bulbs are tiny incandescent also soldered on. Here's a photo.

[photo]

There are 4 of these bulbs. I can unsolder and send them to you but I have no idea if they are the same as yours.

I had a very similar head unit in my '92 4Runner. It lasted about 7 years and started eating CDs so out it came for an upgrade. Sound was ok, but not nearly as good as the Eclipse unit that replaced it.

That's awesome, thanks for taking a look for me. Can I ask for a quick measurement? I know it must be a pain but maybe you can tell me how wide the bulb is? I see many sizes of grain of wheat bulbs from 2mm-8mm and it looks like I'll want to get a size that will let me reuse that green condom.

Thanks so much!

 

[KLF]

Tell you what... I have no use for this radio. PM me your address, I'll pop off the face plate boards and drop them in the mail. Then I can toss the rest.

 

[ferg]

KLF is AWSOME!

 

[jfwhite]

KLF is AWSOME!

I agree!