Replacing ashtray light bulb

[dbaxRonin]

So since I got my 01 i30 last week, it seems every time I get in the thing I notice more interior bulbs that are burned out. I didn't even realize that the ashtray had a bulb until I took my HVAC unit apart to inspect its burned out bulbs. I don't use the ashtray but I am finicky about having everything in my car work.

So, I did a search to find where I could get a replacement bulb. I looked at autolumination.com, where I purchased my clock and HVAC bulbs, but their site is goofey and I didn't have any luck. I searched on this forum and google but still, couldn't find anything. So, I headed over to RadioShack and looked through their assortment. I wasn't able to find a clear bulb that would fit and could handle the 12v load, but I did find a close fitting red LED (only color they had in stock...which I suppose is fiting for an ashtray). I figured for $1.49, it was worth a shot.

Honestly, removing the old bulb was the hardest part of this whole job (Unless of course you have never disassembled your radio cluster before, which is required to get at the bulb). Since the leads of the bulb are just soldered to the recepticle that holds it, I had to use a combination of my soldering iron, some desolder to get the bulk of the solder off, and a small pick to pry the lead off the contact. The problem is that once you heat up the solder to release the lead, it cools down so fast that you don't get much time to work with the lead. After a few minutes I got everything undune and the old bulb just slid out.

I found the new bulb was a bit large diameter wise and would not fit in the recepticle. It also has a small flange on the bottom making it even wider. I used a file and took off the flange, then found a wide enough drill bit and bored out the recepticle. It then fit perfectly. I soldered up the leads and plugged it in and while a little dim, works fine.

I guess the point of this post is to direct anyone who may be looking for a bulb for their ashtray to give the one I used a try. Minor surgery is involved true, but anyone with a few basic tools can do it, and it's cheap.

Here is a direct link to the bulb I used (RS SKU# 276-0209):

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... Id=2062567

Finished product (hvac bulbs are on order ):

[chillin2345]

Gosh...I really wish I remembered the bulb number for the ashtray light. I bought it down at Kragen's/O'Reilly...it's a common bulb (unless you're going for the LED replacement). I'll dig around to see if I can find it in my garage.

As to your HVAC button light...I too had the same problem. It's a weird proprietary bulb & socket assembly. I just sucked it up and went down to my Nissan dealership and asked for the Maxima bulbs. They were $12 a piece, 50% cheaper than if I went to the Infiniti dealer to ask for the same bulbs from them for my 02 I35. You could also buy them from infinitipartsusa.com...but the shipping is high. Also, I had a gut feeling these HVAC button lights were the same as the clock lights, but I may be wrong on this (never had both lights go out at the same time to compare)

But if you got the LED bulbs working for you, then kudos! I tried doing that and just gave up because it didn't fit when I tried it.

Now my next challenge...to fix the burnt out light behind the CD6 button in the radio.

[dbaxRonin]

I actually used the same bulbs for the HVAC that I did for the clock (LEDs from autolumination.com...$3/ea). They are bigger in height than the stock but they still fit OK. Regretablly, they are too bright and I don't like how they turned out. I took the blue caps that were on the stock bulbs and put them on the replacements, thinking it might soften them down a bit, but now I have two very distinct tones of light between the HVAC and the radio and the HVAC is still too bright. I may redo them someday but for now they are better than nothing I suppose.