General YellowAir Con Indicator Light Dim???

[Pompey Janner]

Hi fellas & fellaresses,

Just a quick one for any of you people in the know.

For a while now the bulb or lighting that indicated my air con is active is very, very dim and it's nigh on impossible to detect if the car is using the heater or air con.

My car is a pre-facelifted mk2 Sporting, and the centre speed selector dial should light up in the centre if pushed inwards to indicate the air con is in use.

Does anyone know if a bulb can be changed, or is there another way to make the dial glow brighter???

Thanks in advance for any help

 

[BlackWooZ]

You got 2 or more bulbs blown out, had same problem here!
Ended up replacing with blue led bulbs which made it even worse, still dimmed because of orange filter haha

Look up at guides section for ''Centre console removal and bulb replacement''
I'd post link if i could, but can't yet

 

[Pompey Janner]

Thanks for your answer bud, but all four 286 bulbs under the 3 knobs are working, but on my car the centre knob has a small window that illuminates if you push the button inwards. It klicks and glows when the air con is activated. It's the bulb that illuminates this that is really dim.

Thanks for your reply bud, and I tried white leds and they didn't throw the light evenly. I found the original 286 bulbs were best option but they're about £2 each!!!

 

[PuntoHowTo]

I can't remember if this is an led or a bulb have you tried removing the knob and seeing what the situation is ?

 

[Pompey Janner]

Yes I took the centre speed dial off and the shaft gets illuminated from behind. I tried undoing the two screws and withdrawing the fan speed switch but it only comes forward a few mm and I didn't want to chance my arm yanking it. May be a real job by having to take the whole white housing out to get to it by the looks of things

 

[Italian Job]

Got e same problem as you. I have removed the two screw from the switch and the switch comes forward. Thats as far as i got at the moment.

I think you then have to remove the wires and the whole switch comes out and there is a bulb mounted in the rear of the switch.

 

[Ziggy122]

Those 2 screws only release switch and not the clip on the wiring that attaches it
Dont tug too hard as u risk damaging wiring = bigger problems

Ziggy

 

[Pompey Janner]

Thanks Ziggy & Italian Job, I've just this second given mine a slight pull and I called it quits. As Ziggy just said, I can see the wiring getting snapped or wires breaking so decided to go no further. I couldn't even see the wires, so 'Italian Job' if you could see the wiring you got a lot further than me. I took the fan resistor out yesterday and blew a load of dust off it and the switch does light up but very dim

 

[Pompey Janner]

Something that BlackWooz said has got me thinking, I don't know if all 4 286 bulbs + the bulb that lights the air con dial, are all connected? Maybe if the Halfords bulbs draw slightly higher current than the Fiat ones, then the air con bulb might be being starved of some current,...or am I being stupid?

P.s,...gentle with your answers! Lol

 

[BlackWooZ]

Have you tried to remove those orange block filters from the knob?
Might give you more light but still i'm not sure, tried to check myself if it illuminates blue by the bulbs.. and it's stuck cuz i didn't put it back properly, so there's that.

 

[Pompey Janner]

I haven't bud, but I do know the bulb used to be brighter. You have to feel the cold air when it's on to know if it's aircon or heater air, or cup your hands around the knob to be able to see the bulb. I'm damned sure it was really easy to see even in bright sunlight before...pain in the arse if you ask me. It should be easier to renew a bulb

 

[Pompey Janner]

You can pop the holders through to the other side but it's a tricky procedure getting the poxy things back in again. I did it on my girlfriend's son's 5 door. We eventually got them all in. You might be able to get it out easier if you pop the holder through. It was quite a while back when we did his, but you might have to pop the whole white housing forward a bit. I think the only way to get that out or get behind it, involves taking large parts of the fascia front off which is where I definitely draw the line

 

[digger58]

Any chance the bulb holder has retreated into the depths of the switch? would account for a very dim illumination if the bulb isn't sitting properly.

 

[Pompey Janner]

It could well be. I stumbled across part of a Punto Instruction manual that mentions the light at the end of the clear shaft that the knob clicks onto, as being an led.

I did have a go at getting the whole switch out to investigate, but I couldn't even get it out far enough to see any wiring, leading me to believe you have to access the wiring from behind the complete panel making that a right job and a half