worleyburd

Hate to tell ya this bud but it's probably back behind some stuff, your probably going to have to take apart your dash to find the hook ups

BimmerJeeper

Since there is no slack in the faceplate, I can't really see behind it. How do you think the bulbs went missing? The PO said he never tried to replace the bulbs b/c he knew how the controls worked by memory. I will just leave it and move to the next project. I am not taking apart the rest of the dash just to find the bulb socket.

worleyburd

Well it could have been a messin at the factory, or maybe someone before him. Who knows. I know they all come with them though, and yeah that'd be smart, maybe by the time you need something replaced inside the dash you'll remember and find em

BimmerJeeper

I read that some faceplates have the bulb soldered into the circuit board, and others have a traditional bulb that unscrews. Do you know which a 1998 should have?

cranesrule

As stated before, they go in those hourglass shaped holes. Push in and twist. Just gotta find em.

BimmerJeeper

Ok, here is a photo of behind the heater faceplate.
As you can see, there are NO bulb sockets anywhere!
Do you think the XJ just didn't come with illuminated heater *****??

cranesrule

Ok, last time... The hourglass holes shown in your previous pic receive the bulb sockets. The bulb socket and bulb is on the end of a wire, push it in to that hole bulb first until it seats and then twist to lock it in.

BimmerJeeper

There is no bulb or socket anywhere behind the faceplate.
Look at the last photo I posted. See behind the faceplate?
No bulb or socket!! Do you see one? I don't!

The Rooster

pull the radio out... it will give you easy access to all the wires in that area...

cranesrule

That picture doesn't show anything. Mine was lost back behind the radio. Dig, you will find them.

BimmerJeeper

OHHHHHH ! There is no wire! Mystery solved!
I see the copper contacts now.
So, the most likely story is that the bulbs just fell out !

I need part #4, but local dealer wants $4 per bulb.
$8 seems a bit steep.
Can I get something at the local hardware store?
Anyone know what universal bulb type these are?


Why are only 2 items labelled in the diagram?
Yet, there are 10 parts listed, and all the unlabelled ones have a negative number?

BimmerJeeper

I think the heater bulb is generic bulb "74" or L000PC74 or PC74 (5003281AA)

Does that sound right?
Will anything in here work?

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...ier=16841_0_0_

http://motors.shop.ebay.com/i.html?_...&_sop=15&_sc=1

BimmerJeeper

Do all 74's have the same "base"?
Will they just screw into the HVAC face plate?

Wait, the bulbs on the AutoZone site don't even have a base.
How do I order a "base" ?
All I have is a hole in the HVAC plate. No bulb, no base, no nothing.
Bulb and "socket" are missing.

BimmerJeeper

I was able to replace the heater faceplate bulbs today. About $8 for 2 bulbs at the dealer. Ordering online would be the same after shipping. The ones at Autozone did not have the base, oddly. It took me about an hour to replace the bulbs. It was slightly inconvenient to work with the center dashboard with while sitting in the driver's seat since the steering wheel kept interfering with my left arm. Since the HVAC plate has almost no play, and does not pull forward at all, it was not easy to twist lock the bulb into place from behind. So, I also tried to turn the bulb glass itself from the front. I was able to get no leverage from behind with a micro-screwdriver either.

Instead, I had to use a needlenose plier to twist the bulb into place from the front. The trick was to line up the pliers behind the notch so it would have something to push against, and not just slip. It was also tricky to get the bulb down into the 2nd hole on the bottom right, since that side of the HVAC plate has almost zero play.



I would have loved to remove the white HVAC faceplate entirely, but the 5 black clips wouldn't give way, they'd just immediately snap right back into place. You'd need 5 arms and 5 screwdrivers to pull that off.