Climate Controls Lighting?

**viennatech** · 11-11-2006, 11:54 AM

I have a 300 Touring model. It has the standard climate controls and i noticed that they are completely dark at night. Can you confirm for me that this is normal? Maybe i just have a burned out bulb but i find it terrible on a car of this class to have a dark place in the middle of the dash at night. There is nothin that lights up so when i want to adjust the heat, i'm doing so "in the dark"!

Any insight?

**Super T** · 11-11-2006, 01:00 PM

I seem to recall someone else having this problem a while ago and the dealer shying away from servicing it because the whole control unit had to be replaced rather than just a bulb. I don't remember if they actually did or not or if they ended up being wrong. Maybe whoever it was will chime in...

**King Magnum** · 11-12-2006, 12:58 AM

I am on my THIRD one...

**fnkychkn** · 11-12-2006, 08:43 AM

the backlighting bulbs for the HVAC controls are soldered to the circuit board. chrysler doesn't sell them seperately. unless you can find a supplier and someone to replace them, you'll have to replace the control head.

**Cdn_Magnum** · 11-12-2006, 11:07 AM

Makes for an expensive 7 cent bulb... would be tempted to get on of these things that have burnt out bulbs and replace them with white LEDs. Not having seen the inside of one of these yet, I would have to say that it should be do-able ...plus the LEDs would last longer than the car

Anyone care to offer a burnt out one up for testing?

**fnkychkn** · 11-12-2006, 01:54 PM

Originally Posted by Cdn_Magnum

Makes for an expensive 7 cent bulb... would be tempted to get on of these things that have burnt out bulbs and replace them with white LEDs. Not having seen the inside of one of these yet, I would have to say that it should be do-able ...plus the LEDs would last longer than the car

Anyone care to offer a burnt out one up for testing?

i'll see if i can find an old one. i kept one for test purposes. hopefully, i'll find another.

**Rev.Hammer** · 11-12-2006, 02:48 PM

DA CHIKKIN DONT RUN!! He bee bad to de thighbone!

**Super T** · 11-12-2006, 03:03 PM

Too funny... yesterday I was at my dealer and a guy brought his magnum in for the exact same problem. They just swapped his controller because they happened to have one in stock. I told the guy it's a common problem. The service tech looked at me all confused-like... I told him I've heard of four of five doing it. The confusion got worse :-) Some days I almost want to fill them in on this forum so maybe they stop treating customers like we're all ignorant, but then again, there are things I don't want them to know ;-)

**Cdn_Magnum** · 11-12-2006, 04:42 PM

Originally Posted by fnkychkn

i'll see if i can find an old one. i kept one for test purposes. hopefully, i'll find another.

Pete.....

Thanks man, I think this would be a good experiment, especially for the guys who are out of warranty on this item. I love tinkering with this stuff.

Keep me posted.

**oldschool** · 11-12-2006, 09:24 PM

My controls were dark too...DC gave me no lip when I brought it in. replaced the whole unit lickety split!

oldschool

**Jaak** · 05-07-2007, 10:14 AM

This is a relatively easy fix once the most appropriate LED is selected.

The best way is to pull all the bulbs (cheap bastards that supply DC for this!) drop in LEDs and then identify a trace that can be cut, the solder mask scraped off the ends and a surface mount resistor mounted.

Then you will never have to change one again. (for a lighting issue, anyway...)

Selecting the right LEDs is more than just colour. You want the lighting levels to match up well with the rest of the dash.

**Nightshade** · 05-07-2007, 10:52 AM

Originally Posted by jaak

This is a relatively easy fix once the most appropriate LED is selected.

The best way is to pull all the bulbs (cheap bastards that supply DC for this!) drop in LEDs and then identify a trace that can be cut, the solder mask scraped off the ends and a surface mount resistor mounted.

Then you will never have to change one again. (for a lighting issue, anyway...)

Selecting the right LEDs is more than just colour. You want the lighting levels to match up well with the rest of the dash.

can also get PLCC2 led's pretty cheap..

I will likely be doing that when I get my replacement HVAC control unit. Mine is also dark but am getting it replaced under warranty. so will have a spare to play with once that is done..

Am sure this isn't gonna be a tough thing to do.. just gotta figure out if it's a 12V signal.. and if so, what resistance is needed to drop it to 3V for the surface mount LED's.. (and try to find surface mount resistors that aren't in packs of a thousand)