Radio Light

[TomH]

It seems a light bulb in my factory radio is not longer working. I've come to this conclusion because when it's dark and I'm driving with the lights on, I can't see what radio station is playing.

If I recall correctly from the last time I had the radio out, the bulbs are installed from the top of the radio. Can anyone confirm this for me. Also, anybody happen to know the p/n for the bulb.

Thanks
Tom

 

[RavenTai]

have you tried turning up the dimmer? on my LX the radio dims out at a much higher rate than the rest of the dash, at full brighness they are the same dime the dash to a non glare level and the radio is completely dark

 

[TomH]

I haven't tried the dimmer since all the lights on the radio work except the one that illuminates the display. But I'll give it a try anyways.

Thanks
Tom

 

[Stumper]

My boss here just had the same thing happen to his Lexus GS 300...the dealer wanted an a$$ load to fix it, but he found the part and instructions online to pull it, and replace the light. Said it was an easy job....1-2 bannana. Let me know if you are intersted and I can find out where he got everything he needed to do the job.
Russ

 

[MoJ]

I had a 88 Toy PU that would do that once in awhile. A good smack and it would come back on. Nothing like ignoring the root cause.....

 

[TomH]

OK, I tried the dimmer and I tried smacking it with no luck. I was just hoping someone had one sitting around and could see if the bulbs are easily replaceable. Guess I'll just yard the radio out this weekend and see what I find.

 

[cruiserdan]

Toyota does not service radio bulbs. You would need to hunt them up. The factory repair is to remove the radio and send it in for repair. In some cases the illumination is burried in the circuit boards.

 

[TomH]

Toyota does not service radio bulbs. You would need to hunt them up. The factory repair is to remove the radio and send it in for repair. In some cases the illumination is burried in the circuit boards.

Yeah, that's what I figured. I'll pull the radio anyway and take a look. If nothing else, the wife will be home in a couple weeks and then it won't be my daily driver anymore so it won't matter.

 

[concretejungle]

speaking of light bulbs, what about the antenna up/down button and the hazard light button? I have removed them and i guess the bulb is inside. Reason i ask is at night i can't see the antenna button. When i installed the CDL button it's the only one that lights up on the dash and got me thinking that the others probably should to, right?

 

[RavenTai]

yes most of those are backlit, there is a small plastic plug that turns out with a small flat head screwdriver the plug comes out with the bulb, not sure if those can be sourced or not

there was a recent thread that described what is and is not backlit

 

[cruiserdan]

Switch bulbs are available.

 

[RavenTai]

are they all the same so that one could get a bunch to fix and have spares? or are there diffrences between them?

 

[cruiserdan]

Not all the same. I forget how many different ones. I think 3 maybe. They range from about 5 bucks to 3 bucks a rattle.

 

[big worm]

i have that same problem with my ac/ heat controls. is the bulb the problem there?

also, while we are on the subject of radio, do you guys know how many watts per channel it puts out to the speakers?

 

[TomH]

Well, I pulled the radio to check things out. The radio actually has a detachable face plate - not like a real car stereo - but detachable nonetheless. Once you pull the face plate, you see a circuit board with half a dozen screws and another half dozen twist tabs holding in into place. At that point I assumed the light is an LED on the circuit board and I have no desire to go any farther. I thought LEDs are supposed to last forever.

Tom

 

[Waggoner5]

The bulb in question is always a problem. So are the ones on each end of the preset display. My 80 also has a light burned out. I bought a cd non working radio on ebay for $10 just for lightbulbs. I have since done the repair and all is good. The r&r of the bulbs is not all that difficult, but good eyes and good soldering capabilities are a must. Most radio shops will be happy to do the repairs if you take them the part.
Gary

 

[TomH]

Thanks for the idea. In theory you could just swap out the faceplate and be done with it. Anybody have a non-working radio you want to part with?

As for soldering, I spent 15 years in electonics manufacturing so that isn't a problem.

Tom

 

[Beowulf]

>> A good smack and it would come back on. <<

Don't knock the technique. This procedure has fixed my intermittent D-light on 2 occassions; the last fix has held up for over a year. (Though it will likely fail when I start it in the morning.)
-B-

 

[cruiserdan]

That is if yer Optima will turn it over....