I have a "99 Forester, moreover the dash lights have burned out.

I could not locate any info at Haynes for my model; Any advice is appreciated!

I know how to remove the dash trim but after that it is all new to me.

Thanks.

John:banana:

Do a search. get radio shack bulbs. its super easy, well at least it was on my obw

Do a search. get radio shack bulbs. its super easy, well at least it was on my obw

 

Yea I did the same, bulbs are like 2 dollars at radio shack.

What the fellows are saying is that Radio Shack sells pretty much the same bulbs in pairs in a bubble pack. They have very long pigtail wires. When you finally get to taking apart the faceplate of your climate control panel, you'll find that the bulbs are inserted into very small socket-like thingies, about as round as a pencil, and only a 16th of an inch thick. A quarter turn anti-clockwise and they fall out of the face plate. You'll then see how the pigtails of the factory bulb protrude through the bottom of these little plastic bulb sockets and are wound through two holes, bent over and the excess cut off. You simply unwind the pigtails and remove the old bulb and install the new one in reverse. In some cases the factory bulb may have a green or blue condom on it, that casts the coloured glow when the dash lights are lit. You simply slide them off and onto your new bulb. By the way, Subaru uses these same bulbs in all of their lighted switches for the seat heaters, wiper heaters, cruise control switch and so on. This is definitely the way to go, since years ago the dealership wanted about $12 a bulb with socket, if I recall correctly. When you're finished, you may notice that the new replaced bulbs may appear somewhat brighter than the unreplaced ones. This may be due to the Radio Shack bulbs being slightly brighter, or because your unreplaced bulbs have dimmed somewhat with age. I found this when I replaced one bulb in my cruise switch. It is slightly brighter than my adjacent switches on the dash, but that beats not having the switch illuminated at all. Good Luck!

To help motivate you that this is any easy change out, here is the world famous FAQ thread on this topic->http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2498&page=1&pp=10&highlight=climate+control+backlight

What the fellows are saying is that Radio Shack sells pretty much the same bulbs in pairs in a bubble pack. They have very long pigtail wires. When you finally get to taking apart the faceplate of your climate control panel, you'll find that the bulbs are inserted into very small socket-like thingies, about as round as a pencil, and only a 16th of an inch thick. A quarter turn anti-clockwise and they fall out of the face plate. You'll then see how the pigtails of the factory bulb protrude through the bottom of these little plastic bulb sockets and are wound through two holes, bent over and the excess cut off. You simply unwind the pigtails and remove the old bulb and install the new one in reverse. In some cases the factory bulb may have a green or blue condom on it, that casts the coloured glow when the dash lights are lit. You simply slide them off and onto your new bulb. By the way, Subaru uses these same bulbs in all of their lighted switches for the seat heaters, wiper heaters, cruise control switch and so on. This is definitely the way to go, since years ago the dealership wanted about $12 a bulb with socket, if I recall correctly. When you're finished, you may notice that the new replaced bulbs may appear somewhat brighter than the unreplaced ones. This may be due to the Radio Shack bulbs being slightly brighter, or because your unreplaced bulbs have dimmed somewhat with age. I found this when I replaced one bulb in my cruise switch. It is slightly brighter than my adjacent switches on the dash, but that beats not having the switch illumi

nated at all. Good Luck!

Thanks to all!

I will take this up next week, with radio shack bulbs; But first I am getting ready to install the new carpet and pcv valve. This car seems to occupie

much of my spare time and days off.

John

Thanks to all!

I will take this up next week, with radio shack bulbs; But first I am getting ready to install the new carpet and pcv valve. This car seems to occupie

much of my spare time and days off.

John

PS. Yes I will change alll the bulbs I come accross.

John

If you need a good one or replacement parts, I have 3 spares. Lmdew@hotmail.com

props. this saved my rump roast and it was very very easy. Just a bit overwhelming but once i found the part at radio shack (amazingly the 16 yr old kid new what i needed) worked the first time, didn't break a single bulb, although a condom did rip however it played no part as it was for the AC button which lights blue. I can't believe I was considering a new HVAC altogether.

 

I've read about using LED's to replace but I'm not willing to go through all the trouble, however are there different colored 'condoms' for purchase anywhere? I'd like to do Blue for the fan speed if possible.

 

Last but not least, I'm not sure if it was addressed or not, but if your turn signals don't work after doing this repair check that the hazard switch is plugged back in BEFORE bending under the steering wheel and under the hood checking fuses

My local radio shack deny's that the part # is valid. ANyone know a cross referenced # I could use?

My local radio shack deny's that the part # is valid. ANyone know a cross referenced # I could use?

They are id10ts Go to a different Radio Shack.

My local radio shack deny's that the part # is valid. ANyone know a cross referenced # I could use?

Indeed:

Not all Radio Shacks are the same. The one I went to sold me the wrong bulb, stating the one I needed was not available. This bulb, though fitting the spot, burned out an $80.00 relay! The kicker: Subaru gave me the replacement bulbs for free.

John

FYI: the bulbs that worked for this on a 2004 Forester was Radio Shack #7219, as opposed to the Subaru P/N 72350SA000 at $60.28 each (only about $1.25 at RS). Very small needle nose pliers and screw-driver help too!

Go to the bulb rack. They are in the back left of one of the drawers. (12V 60mA bulbs) I had to go to three RS stores before I found one with the bulbs.

I think what you will want are: Catalog #: 272-1092

 

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103780&filterValue=12+Volt&filterName=Type

 

I brought a phillips with me and fixed all three in the HVAC head and the one in the HAZ switch right there in the parking lot. Took all of 10 minutes. (unit was already removed)

3 1/2 year old thread, he probably got them fixed.

To help motivate you that this is any easy change out, here is the world famous FAQ thread on this topic->http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2498&page=1&pp=10&highlight=climate+control+backlight

Sadly, in reply #2 from Cincybuckeye, both links mentioned are dead. I hope some of this got into the USRM.

There's still a good how-to on scoobymods:

 

http://www.scoobymods.com/legacy-hvac-bulb-replacement-t91.html?t=91