Heater control bulb change. Dash removal
#21
07-12-2011, 01:28 PM
hi, i'm new to the forum and i'm having the same issue with my a/c heater **** control not lighting up. everything functions fine but the left **** does not light up. anyone have a step-by-step instruction on how to remove dash, remove housing and replace bulb? thanks.
#22
08-07-2011, 11:09 AM
Hvac **** Lights
First off i want to thank Jen for the post it was great.
https://www.hummerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16478
However as i am one that does not really know how to solder i really was a bit apprehensive to mess up the circuit board.
Thus i decided to goto junk yard and search out a Hummer to replace the bulbs. I found that there really were no junk yards whom had hummers so i went ahead and started to dig thru a bunch of old cars looking for the same bulbs as the hummer uses, It was hard as there are many different sizes and some that are really close. But in the end after about 3 hours of digging thru cars i finally was able to located 3 bulbs/sockets of the same size to use as replacements.
I cannot tell you what type of car/truck i found them in as i had about 20 diff bulbs/socks that were very close in size and until i put them in the circuit board i was not sure they would fit. However i can tell you they were not in GM or Ford (CAR) Models. They were in either Jeep Models, MiniVan Models or Foreign Cars sorry i cant be of more help in that as i didn’t think about writing down which was which. I just kept grabbing any that looked close.
Three things i will note:
#1, Don’t tell the junk yard you are just looking for that little bulb as they may not let you look, as they don’t want you destroying a dashboard/hvac for just that $1 bulb. Happened at one junk yard to me. )
#2, Most of the cars i looked at i let the others rip apart the dash/hvac controls and then i looked for the bulbs very rarely did i unscrew the whole dash, as too much work and not sure if the bulbs were the correct size.
Yes also look behind the Dash board speedometer.
#3, Test the bulbs before putting them in..use your (electric meter)Ohm meters to see if current flows form one side to
the other.
In the end 3 hours at junk yard and $3 in used bulbs saved me $400+ in replacing the Hvac controls and or having to solder the circuit board.
Hope this helps others like me.
Thanks,
JuneMe
https://www.hummerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16478
However as i am one that does not really know how to solder i really was a bit apprehensive to mess up the circuit board.
Thus i decided to goto junk yard and search out a Hummer to replace the bulbs. I found that there really were no junk yards whom had hummers so i went ahead and started to dig thru a bunch of old cars looking for the same bulbs as the hummer uses, It was hard as there are many different sizes and some that are really close. But in the end after about 3 hours of digging thru cars i finally was able to located 3 bulbs/sockets of the same size to use as replacements.
I cannot tell you what type of car/truck i found them in as i had about 20 diff bulbs/socks that were very close in size and until i put them in the circuit board i was not sure they would fit. However i can tell you they were not in GM or Ford (CAR) Models. They were in either Jeep Models, MiniVan Models or Foreign Cars sorry i cant be of more help in that as i didn’t think about writing down which was which. I just kept grabbing any that looked close.
Three things i will note:
#1, Don’t tell the junk yard you are just looking for that little bulb as they may not let you look, as they don’t want you destroying a dashboard/hvac for just that $1 bulb. Happened at one junk yard to me. )
#2, Most of the cars i looked at i let the others rip apart the dash/hvac controls and then i looked for the bulbs very rarely did i unscrew the whole dash, as too much work and not sure if the bulbs were the correct size.
Yes also look behind the Dash board speedometer.
#3, Test the bulbs before putting them in..use your (electric meter)Ohm meters to see if current flows form one side to
the other.
In the end 3 hours at junk yard and $3 in used bulbs saved me $400+ in replacing the Hvac controls and or having to solder the circuit board.
Hope this helps others like me.
Thanks,
JuneMe
#23
08-09-2011, 07:14 AM
All,
So I ordered the above recommended LEDs from SuperBrightLEDs.com. Description of the bulbs I ordered...
NEOx-x: NEOx LED Instrument bulb-NEO4-W: 4 mm NEO-x Cool White
The bulbs that are presently in the unit are incandescent bulbs, not LEDs. When you put the LEDs in you get a blue look instead of a white look. As a side note, the recommended LEDs do fit and appear to work.
Here are some pictures...
New LEDs in the foreground and old incandescent bulbs in the background.
Circuit board with bulbs taken out.
New LEDs installed in the circuit board.
Blue look to new white LEDs (sorry for the picture turned sideways).
Zoomed in look at blue look to white LEDs versus factory white look (rear window wiper control ****).
I personally am not happy with the blue look. First off I have a green H3 and blue lights inside just don't match. Second, it's just not a quality factory look. I hope someone out there can find the factory OEM bulbs on the internet some place. It does not say on the bulb what kind they are.
Joe
2006 Hummer H3 Luxury/Adventure (Green)
About 80,000 miles
So I ordered the above recommended LEDs from SuperBrightLEDs.com. Description of the bulbs I ordered...
NEOx-x: NEOx LED Instrument bulb-NEO4-W: 4 mm NEO-x Cool White
The bulbs that are presently in the unit are incandescent bulbs, not LEDs. When you put the LEDs in you get a blue look instead of a white look. As a side note, the recommended LEDs do fit and appear to work.
Here are some pictures...
New LEDs in the foreground and old incandescent bulbs in the background.
Circuit board with bulbs taken out.
New LEDs installed in the circuit board.
Blue look to new white LEDs (sorry for the picture turned sideways).
Zoomed in look at blue look to white LEDs versus factory white look (rear window wiper control ****).
I personally am not happy with the blue look. First off I have a green H3 and blue lights inside just don't match. Second, it's just not a quality factory look. I hope someone out there can find the factory OEM bulbs on the internet some place. It does not say on the bulb what kind they are.
Joe
2006 Hummer H3 Luxury/Adventure (Green)
About 80,000 miles
Your pictures do not show up for me
#24
08-09-2011, 07:22 AM
Same here, no pics.....could you have gone with a different color bulb to get away from the Blue effect? You got Cool White.....I was thinking maybe Warm White, or Natural White?
#25
08-09-2011, 09:27 PM
the actual incandesant bulbs are available ifn u want them.
info in this thread
CM8-A241: JAMECO VALUEPRO: Opto & Illumination
info in this thread
CM8-A241: JAMECO VALUEPRO: Opto & Illumination
#30
11-07-2011, 05:25 PM
I'm having the exact same issue. I did the step-by-step tutorial created by Jens and got as far as removing the old bulbs (they are a twist lock bulb with no soldering required, they simply twist out - see attached pic). Thank you Jens for the great tutorial!
However, I can not find replacement bulbs anywhere. I have read that the NeoWedge series LED bulbs from SuperBrightLEDs.com are not a good solution as they differ in color from the stock incandescent bulbs. It does however seem like a good fit as they come with the plastic bayonet housing which simply locks the new bulb in place (no soldering).
X_DIZZY_X: I'm not sure if those bulbs will work either. They do not come with the plastic base and from the sounds of it, the resistor is soldered inside of the base? I suppose you would have to solder these bulbs directly to the circuit board.
clan0013: Your pics are no longer showing up. Can you repost the pics as attachments to your post? OR you can PM me the pics and I will post them for all to see. I'm curious to see the difference also.
If you know where to purchase the correct bulb (shown in attachment below), please post the link here.
Thank you!
However, I can not find replacement bulbs anywhere. I have read that the NeoWedge series LED bulbs from SuperBrightLEDs.com are not a good solution as they differ in color from the stock incandescent bulbs. It does however seem like a good fit as they come with the plastic bayonet housing which simply locks the new bulb in place (no soldering).
X_DIZZY_X: I'm not sure if those bulbs will work either. They do not come with the plastic base and from the sounds of it, the resistor is soldered inside of the base? I suppose you would have to solder these bulbs directly to the circuit board.
clan0013: Your pics are no longer showing up. Can you repost the pics as attachments to your post? OR you can PM me the pics and I will post them for all to see. I'm curious to see the difference also.
If you know where to purchase the correct bulb (shown in attachment below), please post the link here.
Thank you!