Has anyone had to replace the light that lights the display in a factory Subaru radio. We have a P119 and the light has gone bad. Anyone ever replaced one?

 

David

I don't know what a P119 is, but I have the same problem on the factory radio for my '99 OBW. It goes off, and I have to tap the front of the display to get it to come back on. I'm sure pretty soon it will just stay off.

 

I actually posted this question a few months ago but never got any response. I' ve got to get an oil change this week, and I'll ask at the Subaru dealer in town if they can replace this light. I'll let you know what they say.

 

BTW, my radio is the factory AM/FM/WB/Cassette with the controls for the 6-CD changer under the passenger seat. Don't know if yours is the same one.

I believe we have the same unit. Never tried the "smack it twice on the right side" approach but I will give it a shot.

 

Let me know what the dealer says...

 

Thanks

David

Since you'd have to take it out to fix it, take it out and replace it with an CD player.

I've got a similar problem on my 98 Legacy. I've got the stock radio with separate in-dash CD player. The backlight in the LCD display burned out some time ago. I was just at the dealer picking up the parts to replace my timing belt, and asked about the radio. He said that they don't service them, but he could give me an address to send it to, but they charge $120 just to look at it. I think it was manufactured by panasonic.

 

 

It seems to me that there should be a way to take it apart and fix it, but without a little advice, I'm a bit leery of trying it on my own. I'm afraid that there isn't actually a light or LED, but rather a luminous LCD screen. If the luminous part of the screen died, you'd have to replace the whole screen, and I'm not sure where you could get the part.

 

So in answer to your question, I don't know. But if anyone could shed some light on the subject (pun intended), it would be greatly appreciated.

I just did this last week. I have the same radio in my '98 OBW. You have to remove the ash try and drink holder to get at the screws that hold the plastic cover surrounding the radio. Then you can access the six screws that mount the radio in the dash. With these removed you can pull the radio out far enough to unplug the antenna, power, and speaker wires (three plugs). With the radio removed from the car take it to a work bench with good lighting.

 

You will see the four screws on the backet that holds the radio and cd player together. Remove these and slide the radio free of the bracket. Pull the volume, fade, and balance knobs straight out (the slide off). Now you have to remove the tiny screw on the left side of the clock display, becareful not to drop this. The only thing left holding the face place to the radio is two plastic tabs at the bottom. Push up on these and it will come free.

 

With the face plate off you will see several light bulbs soldered to the circut board, the one for the clock is under the little metal box surrounding the display. I was able to gain access to it by gently prying up on the tab that sticks out. Melt the solder that hold the bulb assembly in and remove it from the board. You can replace the light with a mini-bulb from radioshack, (they are the same bulb used all over the car, heater controls, dash switches) or get one from the dealer. Put the little green cover on the new bulb, solder it back in place and reverse the process to put it all back together.

 

Hope this helps, sorry guess I should have taken some pictures. It took me about an hour to do the whole process. Very nice being able to see what time it is and what radio station I'm on at night again. Like stated earlier, someone that specializes in radio repair might be able to fix this for a couple hundred bucks, or you can do it yourself for $2.05

Thanks for the advice! I'll have to give this a try next week.