lexusk8

A rather minor but annoying problem has been kinda plaguing me lately, and that is the climate control lighting in my '01 ES. It actually started for a long while ago with the 'A/C' and 'MODE' buttons not lighting up, though the A/C indicator light operates normally. And just a couple days ago, I found out that the 'FRONT' and 'REAR' defroster buttons don't light up too, so now the entire right side of the A/C cluster is blacked out at nighttime (while the rest of the buttons, the temp **** and the LCD screen are fine). You can imagine how ridiculous it looks when driving at night, even though the A/C controls work OK.

What I'm aiming at is the source of the problem. I have done the "search in vain" deal with the CL search engine, and came up with a couple conflicting answers. One answer is that there are small 12V green bulbs behind the A/C cluster, just like in the LS models. The other answer is what I got from the Lexus parts manager today, and that is that there is only 1 bulb (located behind the temperature ****) and the rest of the A/C unit is one piece and would have to be entirely replaced (cost of part = $600)

I guess you could say I'm at a loss right now on how to deal with this problem, and I need some kind of clear direction of the real source behind the burnt out A/C lighting. Are there actual bulbs behind the A/C cluster? Are there LEDs soldered into the circuit board of the A/C panel? Or is it possibly a blown fuse? If anyone has taken apart the A/C cluster of a '97-'01 ES, please let me know. Thanks

D2-AUTOSPORT

Hey Doug when my climate control backlight went out (on my 96) my mechanic told me it was a bulb. My screen went though not the button.

Good luck, and that wood sure looks nice

Kohinoor

iTrader: (22)

yea a lot of lights are out on mine too.. i need to send it to mr olt

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

I have those.

lexusk8

This morning I decided to try to take apart the A/C unit and see what's going on with the bulbs that don't light up the 'A/C', 'MODE' and defroster buttons. Thanks to Tom_ES300 and his stereo removal instructions here, I was off to a good start

Here's the stereo-and-A/C-unit cluster I took out.

lexusk8

The A/C unit is removed from the cluster by taking out the (2) black Philips screws on each side.

lexusk8

Here's the A/C unit.

lexusk8

The face of the unit will have to be separated from the rest, in 2 steps. The 1st step is the back of the unit where (2) small gold Philips screws from each side are to be removed.

lexusk8

The 2nd step is to release the body of the A/C unit from the face cover via the (4) plastic notches from the top and bottom. I'm touching one of the notches with a small flathead, which is what I used to pry away the face here.

lexusk8

This is what's actually behind the A/C cluster, and here you can see a total of (6) A/C light bulbs. (4) bulbs have the brown socket and provide the backlighting for the buttons, and (2) bulbs have the black socket, which light up the LCD screen. I took out the (2) suspected bulbs (with the brown socket), and they look OK compared to the rest of the bulbs (the filaments still intact). I'm guessing the problem is bad wiring within the circuit board of the A/C unit, which I am at no liberty to touch. I will probably look for an A/C cluster from a '00-'01 ES in a junkyard to replace, and in the meantime I'll learn to live with my current A/C unit.

Although I didn't end up fixing the problem, it was an interesting experience to remove the head unit assembly (never done it before!) and dissect the A/C unit. Now I have no worries or concerns of taking it apart the next time

lexusk8

Here's the best picture I can get of the unit turned on at nighttime. Notice that the words on the buttons (located below the 2 orange and green LEDs on the right side) don't light up.

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

It's the bulbs.

Davtown

Nice job on taking apart the A/C unit....even though you didn't fix anything, it's still a good experience. And while you came to the conclusion that it wasn't the bulbs.... well, I'd listen to this guy, he seems to know what he's talking about

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

the filament is the problem. (in the bulbs) happens to all aged microbulbs. at the end of ryans thread "climate control, i fixed it" i explained why. they don't have to "look" blown and may even give you a reading.

lexusk8

I finally got a chance today to replace the (2) burnt out bulbs in the A/C cluster (after many weeks of enduring this harsh and bitterly cold NE weather. Hehe, try working on your car outside in 20-deg temps) The new bulbs worked out, and I'm very pleased with the "just-like-new" look of the console face at nighttime I've attached the picture (sorry for the bluriness, I gotta get me a tripod to take better nighttime pictures). You should see the new lights on the defroster buttons and the 'A/C' and 'MODE' buttons.

FYI, the Lexus bulb part no. for the stereo-and-A/C cluster in any '97-'01 ES is 90010-03001 ($2.10 per bulb). It comes in a brown socket. The Lexus bulb part no. that lights up the LCD screens in the stereo-and-A/C cluster is 90010-03002 ($2.86 per bulb). It comes in a black socket.

This is a nice DIY repair project that anyone can do, and all you really need is a 10mm socket (w/ an extension), a small flathead, and a Philips. If you have a few burnt out bulbs in the center console of your '97-'01 ES, the steps (and pictures) in this thread should help you greatly.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask

Oh, thanks to Brian for suggesting it's the bulbs all along