Hi New Member

Got a byDiesel 1.3JTD and the light behind the temperature controls have gone.

Dealer told me it was not covered under warranty but had to pay them about £50 to replace the bulb as the dash has to some out apparently.

Had anyone done this themselves?

many thanks

Duncan

Have a search on this forum - there was a thread a few weeks back. If I recall it is just a matter of gently tugging off the knobs (if you'll pardon my French) to allow you to lift off the cover and gain access to the bulb.

That will be a job for the weekend then.

Thanks for the info.

I also don't like speaking for people but in maxispeak ............. give it a good tap in the general area first, just in case it is a loose contact.

grimwau said:

I also don't like speaking for people but in maxispeak ............. give it a good tap in the general area first, just in case it is a loose contact.

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That's happened to me too!

Its not covered under warranty but £50 is a bit steep, we popped one in for a customer last week free of charge whislt servicing the vehicle.

Chris@souls said:

Its not covered under warranty but £50 is a bit steep, we popped one in for a customer last week free of charge whislt servicing the vehicle.

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If its a glass fronted main dealer in the SE its only half an hours labour which is probably not far from the truth.

Cheers

D

Not even 0.5 hrs! 10 mins max, including the Tech waiting for 8 mins at the Parts counter.

rallycinq said:

If its a glass fronted main dealer in the SE its only half an hours labour which is probably not far from the truth.

Cheers

D

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10 mins max - we'd do it with a smile knowing we'd pleased and retained the customer

Mine do this too! However, the heater controls can be in darkness when I start my journey home from work, then ... 42 miles later ... they will have come back to life!

Sorry to bump an oldish thread - but one of my bulbs has gone as well. Its a funny little thing, like a grain of wheat. Its the one that other posters have mentioned, but what I would like to know is what type of bulb it is?

I presume its one of those tiny little 5W ones that Halfords sell - surely its not a Fiat special bulb?

Secondly, without using too much force, do you just pull out the old bulb?
Thanks!

It's not a 'special' bulb, but I don't know what it is. I just took the old one into a local motor factors when buying the new ones. The bulbs pull out easily. I did a quick guide when I replaced mine a wee while ago: https://www.fiatforum.com/500-guides/282195-changing-heater-control-panel-bulbs.html

Lloyds motor factors near Wembley sold me a replacement bulb for £1.20. Steps to fix:

- Tape the dials up so they don't change position
- Grab the console at the left and right and pull (it comes out)
- Pull the bulb, push the new one in
- Line up the console and push it back in. You'll feel it click in. If it doesn't go in dead square it'll rattle a bit

I've done this twice now and it took no more than 10 mins.

Many many thanks - especially to Turtle for the lovely photo sequence. I suspect I've actually got one of those bulbs in my spares tub.
Great result!

Note to the mods - this is the second time on this forum that members have referred me to a photo sequence. Is there a chance that all these could be archived onto a "sticky"?

snes said:

Many many thanks - especially to Turtle for the lovely photo sequence. I suspect I've actually got one of those bulbs in my spares tub.
Great result!

Note to the mods - this is the second time on this forum that members have referred me to a photo sequence. Is there a chance that all these could be archived onto a "sticky"?

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but we have the guides section. Besides nobody reads stickies.

Mmm - saw the guides section, but seems to be mainly a buyers type guide.

Have a look at the Smart forums for excellent tutorials style layout.

Perhaps if there was a more specific Guides section - eg Maintenance Guides?

snes said:

Mmm - saw the guides section, but seems to be mainly a buyers type guide.

Have a look at the Smart forums for excellent tutorials style layout.

Perhaps if there was a more specific Guides section - eg Maintenance Guides?

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Sorry you have lost me. Click guides then click 500 guides and there they are. Of the 8 guides people have done for the 500 none are buyers guides.

I was looking at the stickys "Guide Fiat 500" where just about every posting relates to buying. Its by 306 Maxi.

For future ref, if you have to go to Halfords (I had no choice) the bulb is a 12v 1.2w part no. 286. They charge the usual marked up price - £1.99. Which, while not 80p, I guess is better than paying a garage £50......

Hi snes, was this the photo sequence that you were referring to?

https://www.fiatforum.com/500-guides/282195-changing-heater-control-panel-bulbs.html

As Venters has said above, this is in the Fiat 500 Guides which is in a separate section.

https://www.fiatforum.com/500-guides

Unfortunately it is still not highly populated but I am thinking that once the cars are out of warranty and more owners do their own DIY then it will get bigger.

Venters said:

but we have the guides section. Besides nobody reads stickies.

Click to expand...

snes said:

I was looking at the stickys "Guide Fiat 500" where just about every posting relates to buying. Its by 306 Maxi.

Click to expand...

Looks like snes did, lol.