Heater control lightbulbs

[masterhacker]

I have a digital heater control on my expy. I went to replace the light bulbs in it to find that they are soldered in, no big deal my only question is does anyone know what kind of bulbs those are, or at least what voltage. I tried a mag light bulb, and it burned out in a few seconds so i can rule out it being 3.5V so im thinking 6v or 12v Ive tracked down some bulbs online, but like i said i don't know the voltage, and My voltmeter took a crap a while back so i cant check it. I was thinking of putting led's in there but It would involve me hot gluing things in there, also i cant find a small enough led with a built in resistor, so I kinda said screw it

 

[walnuts4x4]

wait for Thermo or PM him... he would be your best answer for this one

 

[flyin]

I am assuming that they are the same as the tiny ones that used to be in the radios. Take on to a dealer and have them match it up. They should have it in stock.

 

[masterhacker]

I asked a guy i know that works at a ford dealership he said he couldn't get them. he said he bought some from some store (Granger or some crap) i could try a different ford dealer though. i can say for sure that they are not the same as the ones in the radio (Ive never taken apart a old radio, so could be the same int there), I thought i could steal dome from there, but im pretty sure they are led's in the radio ( i pulled the radio apart). I was thinking of pulling one off and seeing if it will work

 

[Thermo]

master, in short, unless you are really proficient with a soldering iron, I would find another radio. If you do want to tackle this project, what you will need to do is to tear the heater panel apart and locate a good bulb. Using a multimeter, measure the resistance of the bulb. Divide that number into 150 and that is the wattage rating of the bulb you need to look for (ie, if the bulb measures out to say 310 ohms, that is 0.48 watts, so you would be looking for a 1/2 watt bulb). Odds are, the bulbs are 12V bulbs. You should be able to pick up some bulbs at a local hobby store. Just be aware, they come in numerous voltages, so, you need to make sure to get the 12V bulbs.

As for LEDs, that is going to be more of a heartache than you are willing to deal with. The major issue is that LED lighting is directional. So, you would have to mount the bulb to face the way you want the light to come out of the panel. This is normally easier said than done. If it tells you anything, "I" would think twice about it!!!!!!!

ANything else, let me know. Once you get the resistance of the bulbs, let me know and I have a few connections for getting bulbs and might be able to help you out. Getting a few measurements of the bulb (ie, bulb diameter and length) will help me find the correct bulb.

 

[masterhacker]

I freaking rock with a soldering iron
Ill get the measurements and the resistance and all that for ya, only hting with that is I only have 1 good light bulb left in that damn thing right now, so i need to be very careful

 

[flyin]

sorry, I didn't read that they were soldered in

 

[masterhacker]

I need to get the resistance/size of em yet, I have no free time, im working 6 day a week and 12 hour days. there is talk of working 7 days next week screw Tyson....

 

[masterhacker]

I ordered some bulbs off of ebay (50 for $8 shipped), the ones at my local hobby store were all too dim. Once I get em ill do a write up of the install

Thanks for the help Thermo. I couldn't track down one of those little bastards without knowing what they were called, once i figured out what they were called i had no problem finding them. in case anyone is wondering they are 3mm 12V grain of wheat bulbs