Climate control back lights. Accessible?

[winemaker53]

I noticed on my 1996 Buick Park Avenue, that the "Auto" and the "Off" don't show up at night, but the other buttons have a seemingly backlight to them. Is this a possible bulb problem? How hard it is to check or remove this piece to check the bulbs?

Thanks!

[HotZ28]

I assume the function of the “Auto” and “Off” buttons still function properly and you are only concerned about the lights! Most of the time, the dealer would replace the whole AC control head to overcome this problem. (To labor intensive to repair). As you have probably noticed, this replacement could be a 600 buck job.

Now, if you have some electronic PC board experience, you may be able to tear the unit down to the component level and replace the bulbs. IIRC, the control head has LED’s or fiber optics for the lights, and they are either plugged into a socket, or soldered to the PC board. You will never know until you dismantle it. If I were you, I would look for a cheap replacement “control head” at your local JY, or on eBay!

[winemaker53]

Considering I only paid $1500 for this car and all other things work and work correctly, it would not make sense to plop down anything over $100 just because these 2 backlights don't work. I have some experience in electronics and don't mind tinkering. But, for what it's worth, since they are the only 2 lights that don't show up at night, it may not be worth the hassle.

I just wanted to know (1) if they are replacement bulbs (and your answer probably is correct in either optics or LED) (2) how difficult a task it is to remove this piece. Not sure yet on #2.

Many Thanks!

[mrfix]

Don't know if this will help, but I had a back light go out on my 97 PA door lock switch. These do have very small bulbs in them. I was able to disassemble the switch and use a bulb from an old radio I had laying around. The back lights in the radio buttons are very similar to the one in the door switch. I had to cut, snip, and solder, but I got it working with just the labor. Hope this helps. Good luck.