Button Fix for P2 V70 S60 XC70 Radio HU-650 HU-803 HU-613 HU-603

[DavidE7]

I acquired a good condition HU-803 radio but two of the buttons didn't spring back and didn't feel like they operated correctly. I found an easy fix using parts pulled from a defective radio. The face screen printed circuit board (PCB) needs to be removed from the radio to access the electronic buttons. The top of the button pops off and the little conical rubber/silicon spring can be swapped with a replacement part. This picture shows the bad button before disassembly:

The lower left button wasn't springing back after pressing it. The little white cap on the button can be carefully popped off with a small screwdriver or knife tip inserted into the small gap at the base of the moving part:

The good rubber spring is visible on the left and the worn out rubber spring is on the right. You can see how the defective part isn't popping back up to the full height compared to the good part. There is a small metal contact plate partially visible under the rubber cones that makes an electrical connection when the button is pressed. This little metal disk is very easy to loose so be careful when popping the white cap off. The switch won't work if the metal plate is installed upside down. The flap part needs to be away from the PCB and this flap is pressed down when the rubber cone is crushed. Small tweezers or small pointy nose pliers are helpful for putting the replacement parts into position. Then the white cap will snap back on top with gentle pressure:

All the instructions for removing the radio from the car and disassembling the faceplate from the radio can be found on YouTube videos or elsewhere on this website. I just wanted to share the trick for fixing these buttons when they stop springing back. If you don't have access to a spare/scrap radio, the rubber springs can be swapped from buttons that are not used.

You can see there is an ugly solder joint next to the lower right button in the top picture. I tried replacing the entire button before figuring out that the square cap can be popped off. The buttons are attached to the PCB with an adhesive and two solder joints. Unsoldering the joints is very difficult because they are so small and the PCB is very easy to damage if the adhesive pops loose before the solder is molten. Regluing the switches to the PCB is also difficult. Disassembling the switches and swapping the guts is much easier than replacing them.