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Needed: HVAC plate with working light
Start with this exchange:
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A2 A/C Vent Control Light
Here is the problem:
Can some one please tell me how to replace the lamp of the A/C vent-control
of a 92 Corrado. It's the same vent control as used in all A2 Golfs and
Jettas (the one with the sliders) with A/C.
The main problem is that the housing the lamp is in, is glued to the front
panel. In addition, even if I get the two halves separated, it does not
look like I can take the lamp out as it is embedded in the housing.
Needless to say, VW's solution is to replace the whole unit for ($40-250$),
while all that's bad is a 1.25$ lamp.
The first procedure is probably the most accurate, and I enhanced it with
my own experience. My comments are surrounded with [Jan: ...]. The whole
procedure can be done in under 1/2 hour.
Jan Vandenbrande
Nov 25, 1998
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Subject: Re: A2 Vent Control Lamp Replacement
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1998 14:45:49 -0400
From: "Nathaniel Currier"
Organization: The Internet Connection
Newsgroups: rec.autos.makers.vw.watercooled
References: 1
I recently just did this repair in my 90 Corrado
Here is what to do.
Remove the panel from the dash.
[Jan: First pull the levers straight out, then pull the whole panel out.
Then disconnect the fan connector and the lamp connector]
Carefuly take the white platic out of the black plastic it is glued in
there
pretty good and you could break the white plastic.
[Jan: Some additional hints. Use a thin screw driver or a Stanley knife to
gentle break the white tabs that connect the white with the black plastic.
The only other place it's glued is underneath the 4 position fan control,
on the bottom and outer side. Once you have it appart you'll see a bunch of
tiny posts that hold the black to the white. You also must pull the fan
control knob out. It's a snap/friction fit and all you need to do is to
pull firmly.]
Once the white thing is
out you can see the bulb. Now carefuly get the brownish plastic housing
that
holds the bulb and plugs out of the white thing.
[Jan: Just push on the prongs that stick out from the rear.]
Take this bulb down to the auto parts place (radio shack does not carry a
bulb that will fit right.) and get a 12V instument cluster light bulb (look
for a sylvania one of the same diameter as the one in the brown plastic
thing.
[Jan: The bulb he's talking about is the Sylvania "European Lamp" 2721.
Note that I did find the exact replacement of the bulb in an electronics
store, BUT the big problem is that the wires on the bulbs have to be strong
enough to be pressed back into the brown holder. Only the Sylvania lamp has
strong enough wires.]
[Jan: I would NOT do the following:]
Once you get home take a razor blade and slice the brown thing just enough
to
get the bulb out.
[Jan: Instead, get some fast drying epoxy, and a nail or something. Glue
the nail head to the lamp, let it dry and then just pull the lamp straight
out. Dentists use the same trick to pull crowns off (don't ask me how
I found that one out).]
Once the bulb is out take the one you just got and bend
the two wires so that the stick down instead of wrpping up around the base
of the bulb. Line up the wires so that the fit in with the prongs. squeez
it together and put it back in the white plastic.
[Jan: At this point, make sure the lamps still works :->]
Now put it all together and put glue only on the areas that it was before.
(you may have to cut the black plastic in front of the bulb in order for it
to fit). Put it back in the dash and it works. Tah - Dah.
[Jan: Yep, I had to grind some the black plastic material out with my
Dremmel tool, using a 1 mm flat end mill. No big deal because part of that
area was molten anyway]
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From - Thu Jul 30 11:52:57 1998
Xref: xyzzy rec.autos.makers.vw.watercooled:119940
From: sstraub515@aol.com (SStraub515)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.makers.vw.watercooled
Subject: Re: A2 Vent Control Lamp Replacement
Lines: 39
I DID replace the vent control bulb in my '90 Corrado. I first
seperated the
black laminate face from the rest of the housing. On my car the came apart
rather easily.
I then took the bulb out, your right that it is embedded in the plastic
housing. I got the bulb out by taking a straighted paper clip and
pushing it
out from the back. It has two metal "pigtails" that come out of the
base and
along the sides of the plastic housing.
It is a 12 volt bulb (as you probably guessed), I forget the wattage. It's
printed on the base of the bulb. After checking some various electonic
dealers, Radio shack and Tech America DID NOT have it. I found one at a
local
VRC repair/elctronics shack in Denver. They carried a bulb that was not
quite
the same wattage, but close enough. I then placed the bulb in the
housing, and
took the "pigtails" and placed them into the sides of the housing. You
could
sodder them to the sides, but I didn't. Put the housing in the control
panel,
then sparingly crazy glued the black laminate face and housing. Oh
yeah, check
to make sure it works (at night to see if it's bright enough) before
glueing it
in place. My unit is not quite as bright as it used to be, but if you
searched
harder you may be able to find the exact bulb. Either way the 35 cents
I paid
for the bulb is a hell of alot better than the $250 bucks the dealer
wants for
a whole assembly.
I hope this helps jan, God knows your web site has sure helped me.
Good luck.
Steve Straub
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Hope that helped.
Chris
Jim Jarrett wrote:
> The light for my HVAC controls in my '88 doesn't work.
>
> Does anyone have one to sell, or a Tech Procedure on how to replace the
> bulb?
>
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