1985-1998 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Friday night I noticed the lights on the airflow control buttons on the ACC (the ones on the right side) had died. I got on TSN and found a post from Lu dated last year that said it was an easy replacement, so I went to the dealer for the part.
The parts guy says there are 3 bulbs in the ACC, and they go for $12 each (which is nuts, but bear with me…) He didn't know anything about the inside of the ACC, nor did the service writer. I figured there was probably a bulb for each set of buttons, so I bought one bulb and pulled the ACC.
If you have an ACC bulb die, here's the procedure. (This was on a 96 CSE, YMMV)
Pop the ACC using a thin, flat-bladed screwdriver. Be gentle--it will pop right out. I used a blade on my multi-tool. You can also pop the radio head unit, then the ACC, but this was unnecessary on my car.
Unplug the ACC, as it is much easier to do this job with the ACC detached. I recommend doing the work on a flat surface. You could certainly do it in the car, but since Murphy is always around, you will likely drop a screw between the seats. I did mine on the kitchen counter.
There are 6 Phillips head sheet metal screws holding the black plastic front to the sheetmetal housing. Use a small, long Phillips screwdriver to undo these.
Gently pry the black plastic front of the unit off the metal housing. It won't pull off very far (2") as there is a thin ribbon wire connecting the front (which is all the switches) the circuit board in metal housing.
The bulbs are set into little gray plastic discs that twist in and out. It's obvious which one lights what. Twist the old one out and the new one in. Use a thin-bladed straight-edge screw driver and be gentle.
Re-assembly is the reverse. The whole job took maybe 20-30 minutes. I've read that some guys try soldering in a bulb from Radio Shak in to save a few bucks, but this is so easy that even with the ridiculous price of the stock bulb, using the stock part makes it a no-brainer. I didn't spot the bulbs on a TSN-sponsor cite.
This is something that doesn't die often, but this is fast and easy and beats paying someone to do it.
Noel
posted by 69.163.42...
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