850 Climate Control Bulb Replacement

Post by **renns** » 26 Feb 2009, 13:50

The three bulbs in the climate control unit of my '94 855 all failed over this winter season. I had a chance to pull the unit out today, and took the bulbs in to the local auto parts store. They did not have an exact match, but did have a similar bulb, GE #74/BP2. These bulbs are rated at 14V 1.4 Watts, the same as the original, but are just slight larger in diameter and socket length (about .025" larger in each of those dimensions). The socket width is the same as the original.

With some very minor tweaking they pop right into place, and work just fine. Here's the quick and dirty repair sequence:
1.) Pull radio - push release tab on each side of radio, and pull it out. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE RADIO CODE BEFORE UNPLUGGING! If you don't have the code, you can probably perform step 2 with the radio just pulled out as far as the harness will allow.
2.) Reach in the radio hole, and push the climate control unit back out the front of the dash. It should pop out quite easily.
3.) Using Philips screwdriver, pull the four screws on each side of the climate control unit, and remove cover. See pic below with screw locations circled.
4.) With the cover removed, you can easily see the three bulb sockets. Give them a 1/8 turn, and pull them out of the housing.
5.) Pull the bulbs from the sockets, and modify the sockets as shown below.
6.) Put in the new bulbs, and reassemble!
With all parts available, it's a 30 minute job at most.

If you can get the correct bulbs at a decent price, that's obviously the way to go. If not, grab these GE parts, as they should be std fare at any auto parts outlet, and try the mods listed above.

Post by **billofdurham** » 27 Feb 2009, 11:32

Thank you renns.

I love seeing modifications which help to reduce the dealers' profits. This is going into the Repair Database.

Bill.

Post by **matthew1** » 27 Feb 2009, 11:49

^^^ Agreed! The Volvo dealers of the world are very angry, Renns. Good writeup.

Post by **renns** » 27 Feb 2009, 12:15

I'm glad this info can be of some use. Before I started this job I did a quick search, and didn't find any info about these lamps specifically. I decided to just give it a go, as I was getting tired of the darkness in that area of the dashboard!

The guy at the auto parts place looked at them and said "Looks like 74's to me". We checked his stock, and this GE 74 bulb was the closest match we could find from his stock. I guess they are very commonly used in North American-made vehicles. If they are in stock in rural Ontario, they should be available just about anywhere.

Post by **schigara** » 22 Oct 2009, 18:25

I just replaced the bulbs today and found a bulb at Orielley Auto Parts that is a perfect fit with out having to modify the sockets. It is a #37 Mini bulb.

Post by **Sperry** » 22 Oct 2009, 19:34

That's next for me, too.
I've had the ECC out a few times. The quickie ghetto method?
Pull off the knobs, and give a gentle jerk of the pots with ChannelLocks.
The ECC pops right out [mine does, at least].

wjhandy850 · Post by **wjhandy850** » 18 Nov 2009, 21:38

This info should have been in the owners manual. Thanks!

And yes, its more than the average owner might want to do, but the information may allow the dealer to atleast sell the bulbs. Now we buy them from an autoparts store. Volvo is out. Thats ultimately why I think automakers are getting it all wrong. Assumptions.

Post by **renns** » 19 Nov 2009, 08:08

Replacing this bulbs, though not hard at all, is likely considered one step beyond what the 'average owner' is willing to tackle.

Sperry, I'd be a bit nervous using that ghetto method you describe. The radio pops out in 10 seconds or less, so pushing the ECC out from behind is perhaps a safer method.

Pianoman702 · Post by **Pianoman702** » 03 Jul 2010, 22:20

FANTASTIC write-up renns. I am sick of not being able to see the climate controls. My "independent Volvo mechanic" said it is difficult job to tackle but this seems simple and easy to accomplish on a weekend afternoon. Hopefully, I'm not being blissfully unaware of some important step though

Post by **vjaneczko** » 06 Jul 2010, 10:08

It's quite easy! The dashboard lights is a more difficult job than this; maybe your mechanic had that in mind...

If you have any of the dash switches with burnt bulbs, they're very easy to handle, too. You could probably take care of the ECC and the switches within an hour total.