How-To: HVAC Light replacement

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MoparNeonMan
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How-To: HVAC Light replacement

Post by MoparNeonMan » Sat May 26, 2007 9:24 pm

After looking at all the talk on replacing the cluster bulbs with LED's I went ahead and pull the HVAC assembly apart and create a how to for all you mechanciy inept.



For the cluster bulbs see the great write up by daaboots http://forum.2gn.org/viewtopic.php?t=12095





We begin with a good look at the center console assembly. Start off by removing anything you have plugged in my case a radar detector.
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Next we need to remove the vents. I find the best way is to sick my fingers into the vents (dont worry they flex) bend the ends of my fingers slightly and pull straight back.
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Now we have 2 phillip screws to remove out of the vent ducts.
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Now go ahead and pull the knobs off. If they dont want to come off dont worry about it Ill tell you a way to get them off in a second.
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If you cant pull the knobs off, slip your fingers under the bottom edge of the surround and pull out. The knobs will pop off.



What you are now looking at is the HVAC control assembly. You can see 2 phillip head screws (one on each side) holding it all together. Go ahead and remove those.
Image



EDIT: Aparently the bulb replacement can be done w/o going any farther. Thx 01WhiteNe0n.



The whole thing will come about just a few inches. There is a plug on both sides. The one on the right is a simple rubber plug. ~~NOTE~~Pay attention as to how it looks. I wasnt paying attention and it messed me up puttin it back in.
The plug on the left side has a press tab on the top. Squeeze, wiggle, and remove.
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You will notice that the assembly is now held in by the adjustment rods. I disassembled everything and took individual pics after as trying to do it all at once and take pix was a pain w/ one person.
First I removed the cable on the left side.. You will see a metal tab above the cable. on the bottom side there is a prong that you will need to press and the tab will pop up.
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the tab will look similar to this here
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It is then a simple matter of rotating the cable left to the small lit in the arm and sliding it out.
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Now you can tilt the assembly forward and slide the other adjuster cable out.


Now the assembly is free of restriction and you can see on the backside 2 of the 3 bulb sockets.
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the third is slightly hidden
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You can remove the bulbs by hand if you have good strong fingernails. If not you can ust a small pair of needle nose plyers. for the third bulb im going to recommend a very small flathead screwdriver.



To install simply reverse the steps you used to get it apart.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



If I have missed anything or would like more info on anything let me know and ill do what I can to help.[/u][/b]
Last edited by MoparNeonMan on Wed May 30, 2007 6:00 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Post by OB » Sat May 26, 2007 9:28 pm

nice write up :thumbup:

I was surprised at how easy it was to get th hvac apart when I painted my bezel last year.
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Post by kc2005ptgt » Sun May 27, 2007 12:10 pm

Well, I ordered 13 BLUE led's from superbrightleds.com, the wide ones (WLED), so hopefully I can do the whole dash, gauges, and HVAC :D Thansk for the how-to!! You rock-on guys!
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TheNumberOneD
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Post by TheNumberOneD » Mon May 28, 2007 4:25 am

you can do it for me!

:rockon:

cause i don't like jacking with stufflike this... :-p
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BlackRoseRacing
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Post by BlackRoseRacing » Mon May 28, 2007 5:32 am

Great detailed write up :rockon:

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MoparNeonMan
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Post by MoparNeonMan » Mon May 28, 2007 7:01 am

TheNumberOneD wrote:you can do it for me!

:rockon:

cause i don't like jacking with stufflike this... :-p

If you want me to Im serious I will. Just let me know what color and Ill get a quote on the LED's
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BlackRoseRacing
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Post by BlackRoseRacing » Mon May 28, 2007 6:50 pm

ok, keep that discussion seperate from the How To's please :)

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Post by daaboots » Tue May 29, 2007 11:11 am

Good write-up :thumbup:
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Post by 01WhiteNe0n » Tue May 29, 2007 3:38 pm

Good write up, should be doing mine today if the bulbs come in :( any night pics yet? :)
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Post by dblsg » Tue May 29, 2007 4:17 pm

what size are those bulbs?
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Post by 01WhiteNe0n » Tue May 29, 2007 4:28 pm

should be 74 i believe...
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Post by MoparNeonMan » Tue May 29, 2007 7:33 pm

Pics are comming. I also chose blue as I was unable to get a blue needle set (I was gonna do red numbers). I am awaiting delivery of the leds


74 for the HVAC
194 for the cluster
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Post by 01WhiteNe0n » Wed May 30, 2007 1:03 am

Just did mine today looks hot :D Got the cluster and the hvac done.. Still need to do the defroster and the shifter... had 2 left over 74's and took apart center consol to find out I need a 194 for it.
I'll go take pics quick.

Image
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And in the hvac dont go through the trouble of taking it off your can take out the bulbs w/o removing.
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Post by BigDutch » Thu May 31, 2007 12:26 pm

Good Write up! I did that to mine about 6 months ago - I couldnt figure out how to take the whole assembly out with-out f'n something up so I just worked in a tight space.

for bulbls I ordered 74 LED's and took them apart to make them fit properly into the socket holder(if you will)
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Post by 02goldse » Fri Aug 17, 2007 2:23 am

i put red ones in and some are bright and some arent and then i put one in the shifter and its dull as balls

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Post by SteelBlue » Thu Aug 23, 2007 6:00 pm

Great write up! :thumbup:
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Post by neonperformance88 » Thu Dec 13, 2007 10:09 pm

awesome!! now im gonna order my wleds!!! wooh
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Help with this

Post by latief » Thu Feb 07, 2008 6:40 pm

Do i Have the wrong bulbs? these will not fit .........

these are 74-b

Image

Need a response ASAP...

thanks,

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Post by latief » Thu Feb 07, 2008 7:24 pm

UP

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Post by tommigun » Thu Feb 07, 2008 8:07 pm

Very good write up, just did mine today. My friend couldn't believe how easily the center console came apart.

And to latief: mine were from Autolumination and they looked almost the same. My friend modded them to get them to fit so they weren't drop-in replacements like the cluster leds. Not sure what he did but he used a dremel (not sure if that's what it's called in English) to kind of cut more wire to show from the bottom and then we just put them back in like the bulbs were originally. The leds were still higher then the bulbs but nontheless fit well and lighted up okay.

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Post by Danteneon » Thu Feb 07, 2008 8:26 pm

I don't think so. The bulbs I got from VampofVegas had bulbs like that, but in a smaller base. He didn't list the bulb number, and I don't see the correct type on Superbrightled's site. However, I did come across this...

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Might want to check this site out...a lot more info and selection

http://autolumination.com/srt4.htm

Hope this helps.
If I could just figure out how to meld the Outback and the Neon into one car...

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Post by latief » Thu Feb 07, 2008 9:28 pm

http://www.superbrightleds.com/specs/74_t15.htm

this seems similar, anyone have further info about this?

i will try to retorfit the ones i have tomorrow, lets see what happens....


Edit: Fixed it, mainly looking at the (B8.5D Twist Lock lamp)
Last edited by latief on Thu Feb 07, 2008 10:56 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Danteneon
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Post by Danteneon » Thu Feb 07, 2008 10:18 pm

Link is broken :(.....
If I could just figure out how to meld the Outback and the Neon into one car...

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Post by latief » Thu Feb 07, 2008 10:57 pm

fixed it

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Post by Danteneon » Thu Feb 07, 2008 11:05 pm

Cool. I saw that too. None of the bulbs they show there look like what I used. Mine looked more like the Autolumination ones I linked. Doesn't help at the moment, but I can pull one of mine out, take a pic, and post it here tomorrow night :-k
If I could just figure out how to meld the Outback and the Neon into one car...

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Post by latief » Fri Feb 08, 2008 9:03 pm

so i managed to retorfit these to work, they look like crap . i need to buy a new set...

so can someone please show me/ let me know what 74 bulbs to buy? they have to come with sockets since mine are destoyed now ...

also , what is the deal with the rear defrost bulb? is that 74 also ? it looked very strange today and differnet than the other HVAC bulbs ...

thanks,

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Post by jT » Sat Feb 09, 2008 1:24 am

latief if you need new socket things too just get the ones from autolumination

get the 10mm Neowedge LED ones for 2.99 each.. do not get the regular glass Neowedge 74 bulbs because its dull as crap.. i just got my order today of the LED and the bulb and its no comparison.. bulb sucks, LED is as bright as my original LED + resistor method of doing it

as for that B8.5D Twist Lock lamp you mentioned, if you were asking if that would work.. i think it might work for 2 of them, possibly, but the one in the middle of the hvac has that metal piece that moves behind the bulb socket so that B8.5D would stick out too far and would be in the way.. the Neowedge base fits like OEM (and like i said, the 10mm is what you need)

now for my problem

can anyone tell me how the gear thing for the fresh air/recirculate knob is supposed to be.. i messed something up tonight (and i didnt even take the whole thing apart like this how-to) and the gear just turns and pushes in and out, im not sure what its supposed to be attached to / turning to actually function properly
Last edited by jT on Sat Feb 09, 2008 1:30 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by Danteneon » Sat Feb 09, 2008 1:27 am

jT wrote: now for my problem

can anyone tell me how the gear thing for the fresh air/recirculate knob is supposed to be.. i messed something up tonight (and i didnt even take the whole thing apart like this how-to) and the gear just turns and pushes in and out, im not sure what its supposed to be attached to / turning to actually function properly
Well, not 1000% sure, but I don't think you can buy that gear drive separate if it is broken, Chrysler sells the whole control head. I won't be able to confirm this until Monday though :(

As far as if it just not in place right, I would have to see a picture.

On another note, not to knock the original how-to, but I thought I'd post the FSM method of the vent removal...

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Pull the vent downward

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By pulling from the top, remove the outer side (it comes out easier)

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And remove

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While I was there, here is where I installed my center duct LED's

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Last edited by Danteneon on Sat Feb 09, 2008 1:36 am, edited 1 time in total.
If I could just figure out how to meld the Outback and the Neon into one car...

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Post by jT » Sat Feb 09, 2008 1:36 am

yeah i just knocked it around too much and detached it from whatever its supposed to be doing.. not broken (i hope)

i gotta play with it tomorrow in the daylight.. i put my new bulbs in in the dark.. never good to do anything to the car in the dark.. .heh

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Post by Danteneon » Sat Feb 09, 2008 1:38 am

:lol: no, it isn't. I have broken many a thing working in the dark. You know, that just sounds bad.....
If I could just figure out how to meld the Outback and the Neon into one car...

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