RedAE102

I just replaced three of the bulbs in the factory Pioneer head unit in my '96 LS400, so I thought I'd share with everyone how I did it, so anyone who's adventurous enough can replace their own burned out bulbs. In mine, it was the bulb that illuminates the power/volume **** and the two bulbs that light up the AM, FM, TAPE, and CD input buttons. All the bulbs in the stereo (excluding the LCD display, haven't checked those... they look easy enough to change) are available from Radio Shack, part number 272-1092. The package contains two bulbs and costs $1.29 I believe. Coincidentally, these are the same bulbs that my Corolla uses in all of its switches (hazard, defogger, rear foglight, central locking). If you need information on how to do it, just reply here and I'll post the procedure (I don't have a digicam though, sorry). I'm running short on time, so talk to you later!

nc356

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for posting. I am warming up to the same job; without your info I probably wouldn't have found those bulbs.

Is disassembly of the radio obvious, or did you find some tricky parts?

Thx again,
NC356

RedAE102

It's pretty self evident. Remove the brackets from the radio, then unscrew the 2 screws on each side of the face, then pry up the tabs and pull out. Unplug the LCD display connector, and the faceplate is now free. Then unscrew the screws (they're numbered!) holding the circuitboard to the faceplate (remove 1-7, not 8-9 unless you have a bulb out in the LCD display... leaving the LCD connected will keep it protected while you have it disassembled. The bulb holders are glued on to the board against solder on each side for power.

And as always, reassembly is the reverse of disassembly.

caliness

Red, I disassembled the whole unit, got to the board where all the bulbs are at, but I found they they are soldered onto the board. Did you have to solder/weld them on?? I bought the 272-1092 bulbs you were referring to but it doesn't look like the ones on the board.
How did you put the bulbs in? And did I get the right bulbs?

RedAE102

Pull the plastic base off the board by working them around a bit till the solder releases, then pry them up. Pull the green condoms off and unwrap the wires that wrap around the plastic base. Pull the bulbs out, then use the old bulbs to measure how short to cut the wires on the new bulbs. Then wrap the wires back around and then use a very small drop of superglue on the bottom of the plastic base. When resticking the base to the board, work it so the wires sit in the indentations in the solder to make the best contact. Then, hold until it dries, and then put the whole thing back together. I cannot stress the SMALL drop of superglue enough, because one of the bulbs I replaced still didn't work because the glue got between the wire and solder and acted as an insulator, thus preventing the bulb from working. I had to take the whole thing back apart, clean it up and try it again. Worked the second time....

Only problem was that another bulb had burned out after that.... but I've found that is often the case... Examples: After I replaced one instrument cluster bulb in my Corolla, the other two burned out a few minutes after turning the lights on again (all were the original 10 year old bulbs).... and when I wired up my second license plate holder in the Corolla, the original two license plate bulbs blew the next day.

caliness

Thanks!! I'll try it as soon as I get the chance!! What do you use to pry the bulbs off?