Volvo Radio Light Bulb for S40

[drvolvo]

I saw the detailed directions on
the radio bulb replacement page for Volvo models S70/V70/850/960/S90 with SC-816 Radio.

I have an HU-415 Radio (2001 S40). Do these directions apply to my radio model?

Thanks

[MadeInJapan]

No, those instructions do not apply to your radio, but if you are gutsy enough to take yours apart, you might figure things out. If you do this, make sure to take pictures so others can learn from you. Good luck and let us know what you find.

[drvolvo]

Hm. I do have guts.
Do you think the bulbs would be the same? I guess there is only one way to find out. Thanks for the reply!

[instarx]

Hm. I do have guts.
Do you think the bulbs would be the same? I guess there is only one way to find out. Thanks for the reply!

Micro-sized light bulbs are common industrial items ordered by manufacturers for products, so there is a fair chance they are the same.

[drvolvo]

So I was bored tonight and got up the guts to take apart the radio. Unfortunately I didn't have a camera on hand. What I can say about the HU-415 Radio is that it slides out from the dash easily if you move the shifter back to L, then the radio slides out nice. Removing the back cables is easy and they are color coded, so you can't screw them up unless you can't tell green from gray (could be a problem for some ) The face plate came off after taking off three screws on each side of the unit, much like the pictures/directions for the 850 elsewhere on the site. You have to release clips on the side and bottom of the face plate. Unlike the 850, there is no cable to detach. The connections are made when the face plate is in contact with the rest of the radio unit (male to female) and when you separate the face plate from the radio, they simply unplug. These connections are at the bottom of the radio below the tape deck area.

One problem I had was I could not remove the volume button or the other two buttons (station and source buttons) to get the "green plate" from the back of the face plate. Any advice on how to remove these buttons would be helpful.

Regardless, my lighting problem is that I cannot see the LCD numbers indicating the radio station. The buttons are all illuminated. Apparently fixing my problem requires more work that I am capable of according to this post take from the 850 instructions

The bulbs (I didn't need to replace since they worked) appeared to be the same as in the pictures (blue and of the same size by visual inspection). So if someone needs to replace their bulbs, I'd say it might be worth it to try it (but I didn't buy the bulbs so I can't confirm if they will fit. )
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No replacing the 5 won't and Yes, unfortunately there is one single light bulb under the aluminum housing that surrounds the LCD display. I replaced mine but it is a bit of work. You need to know how to solder small electronic items. Take your time and you can do it.
Here goes:
1) You have to remove the circuit board that has the 5 light bulbs. There are about 10 screws. This is show in the step where it mentions disconnecting the connector
2) Remove the 3 slider controls with pliers covered with cloth to prevent scratches.
3) Hard part 1 - you have to unsolder the two top corner holders that hold the silver frame around the LCD to the circuit board. You can then pry up the metal housing, Dont worry if you bend it. It will go back. Be careful not to break any of the tiny switches. There are also two twisty aluminum holders at the top that you have to loosen.
4) Hard part 2 - you can see the blue light on the side. You have un-solder the light from the circuit board. It comes out pretty easy. Leave two holes open after you remove it.
5) Remove the light bulb but keep the black housing and the blue cover.
6) You can use the Radio Shack 272-1092 bulb. Run the leads through the black housing and put back the blue cover. Carefully solder the two thin wires back. Dont over heat them. Just a tiny bit of solder to close the hole and then blow air on to cool it so you dont damage the bulb.
7) Now push the metal housing back and resolder the two corner connectors.
If you have never replaced the bulbs before, this is a good time to replace them with the 5 mentioned in the article.
9) Put back screws and sliders and you're done!

Bad design by Volvo to solder it in instead of making it removable, but it can be replaced.
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[MadeInJapan]

Good job! I'm pinning this in the repair database.
MIJ