850 v70 gear selector / Hand brake light LED replacement.

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Hi Guys. My selector light has been died for years. My wife hates that she can't see what gear she is in when backing up in the dark. So I pulled the console and did this small mod with an LED as the OEM bulb is a bit pathetic and expensive for what it is.

Remember I put the LEDs in the rear license plate bulbs and then replaced them. I used the old LED in the selector and it works well even if its a little too white in comparison to the rest of the illumination in our Volvo's.

I will cut and paste the direction for removal from VCA



1. Block wheels, engage emergency brake, transmission in Neutral, Ignition off (putting the transmission in neutral gives
you room to remove the console)
2. Pull emergency brake bezel (the cover in the console that the e-brake's leather boot is connected to) towards driver's
seat until it is loose
3. Remove emergency brake cover and leather boot (they're one piece), pull leather boot off emergency brake

4. Disconnect two white electrical connectors now visible
5. Open center console storage area, remove plastic cover near front for hand brake adjustment.
6. Remove 2 x 8mm hex screws.
7. Remove 2 smaller Hex screws just under the OBD port. The console will not come out without these being removed.
8. On either side of the console, pull gently from the bottom out near seam between console and dashboard, this
disengages two clips that hold the plastic to the dash.

9. Lift console out at an angle from the back and slide it towards the rear of the car


Now you have this filth to contend with. If your hand brake is lose you can adjust it here with easy. I did and saved myself the hassle of buying new shoes for Parking brake.

Hand brake area

parking brake adjustment bolt

Then you simply pull the gripper washer off the off-white light housing using a long nose pliers or hack at it with a small flat screw driver and work it off. It will come off and when it does you must use precision drilling or cutting as seen in this image below.
I know what you are thinking. It is unbelievable I did this without the use of lasers or a lathe. A drill bit and a wonky chuck is all I used.

precision cutting

No its best t keep the bulb holder so you can use the original power wires without splicing and terminating. I cut the old bulb off and exposed the metal pins. I then pushed the resistor legs down the sides and soldered them on. I had no idea which side was positive or negative so I did a quick test in the car as you will do no doubt.

LED soldered onto bulb holder.

without solder

This is the LED ready for precision insertion. I used blue tac to hold it in place and small tissue under the connector to make sure it won't fall out over some bumps.

with solder

After all that skilled work this is the result.

Result

N selected

Now my wife can see which gear she is in. Result.

The reason I hacked up the hole is because the broad hat type LED gives a wide beam angle which is great for this application and I didn't have a 5mm LED sitting around and Radio Shack are way over priced. if you use a 3 volt led buy two 680ohm resistors and solder them on a leg. Chinese seller give them away for free.

I think the LED cost 99 cents? over all it was fast cheap and effective.