$300 light bulb

[PeterG]

When I spotted this situation, I hoped my first thought would be wrong. However, I was proven right. ...And it's bad to be right on something like this.

My '99's in-dash radio/CD unit has a burned out bulb. It's the bulb that illuminates the '3' and '6' buttons. My dealer -- who do I trust -- says the only way to replace the bulb is to remove the unit and send out for repair. That will cost $300 since the repair includes a refurbishing of the unit.

It does not need a refurbishing -- only a bulb.

I am still smiling, shaking my head, and wondering why and how GM engineers might design a unit like this requiring so much work just to replace a light bulb.

I would appreciate any ideas about any other ways to replace this light bulb.

Obviously it's not a big deal -- I can live with it. Many other genuinely bad things could have happened, but if there is a simple repair, I'd like to learn about it.

Thanks,
Peter

 

[68Roadster]

Just searching I found this.....
http://www.corvetteradios.com/Page7.html

They have the bulbs and may even give you some advice for replacing, looks like they are soldered in.

Good luck, let us know how you make out......never too old to learn!

 

[c4cruiser]

Dealership don't have any method of doing electronic unit repairs. Thei service techs are trained to remove and replace components. They can remove the radio and send it out as they mentioned. but you pay for the labor for R&R of the radio (which can be a bunch given that some dealers are charging close to $100 per hour). Then you pay for the shipping charges and repair of the head unit itself plus any markup the dealer wants to charge for 3rd party service work.

Adding the "refurbishing" to the charge is just another way for that 3rd party shop to make money and for the dealer to make a few extra bucks on the markup. Does the radio need "refurbishing"? Most likely not but they should at least clean the CD lens and adjust everything. If you don't use the CD player a lot this is worthless work that you pay for.

Any competent car stereo shop can do the work for you at a price much lower than the dealer will charge. The C5 center console trim is not that hard to remove and once that is off, the radio will come out easily (just remember to turn off the anti-theft feature before you disconnect the power to it!!).

While most rcar adios are not supposed to be user-servicable, if you have decent skills with a soldering iron, the bulbs can be replaced.

 

[rwpeders]

I had a similar problem with my '96. The light that illuminated the information strip that gave you the time, channel, etc. was burned out. I had several recommend Doctor Don's http://www.doctordons.com/delcoradios.htm, who for a flat rate would clean, adjust, replace bulbs, replace drive bands, etc. and get the unit back to you right away. The price was reasonable. If you are interested, check out his web site.

 

[Rain]

agreed - its tough to find a dealership service center that can dedicate the time to troubleshooting or repairing ANYTHING. They learned years ago that more vehicles will get thru the doors if they just replace, replace, replace.
Ends up costing the car owner more (or their insurance company).