470hpGS400

iTrader: (1)

OK, being the anal retentive perfectionist that I am, I was getting very annoyed with the burned out bulbs in the RL. It just screamed cheap and I was reminded of this almost everyday. I had bulbs out on the moonroof switch, seat heater switch, and climate control. The seat heater switch has been discussed before in the TL section (good luck on using the search function though). It has three bulbs, two outer and one inner, all of which are available at the dealer for around $5.00 each depending on the dealer and their supposed list price. The sunroof bulb is the same as the center seat heater bulb. All of the bulbs here can be replaced using a generic Radio Shack bulb part # 7219 or 272-1092. Some of the OEM bulbs have little colored covers on them that need to be swapped over. Below are a few pics of the climate control bulbs. The center console does need to be loosened though not removed completely, just pulled out enough to access the 4 phillips screws from the rear hold the climate control unit to the bezel.

Once you disassemble the climate control unit (4 small pihillips and some snap locks) you can see the 5 bulb holders. Using a flathead, twist them a ¼ turn and pull them out. Put in the new bulbs.

Anyhow, here are a few pics.









Link to the bulbs
http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=2103780

470hpGS400

iTrader: (1)

OK, well, due to the 5 minute editing rule here on this forum (which explains why I do not post more DYI threads) I apologize for the spelling errors above and also wanted to add that I did take the climate control bulb to the Honda and Acura dealers and they could not match it up or pull it up. As I have little confidence in the parts guys at Honda/Acura dealerships this part may or may not be available and the generic bulb option the only way to go.

CFoote

Thanks for the info. I just had the bulbs on my Climate panel replaced and I believe the part # for the bulbs is on the repair order. I'll see if I can dig it up.

I'm curious to see if the '09 Climate panel would work on our '05-08s....it has fan speed buttons right on the panel which is nice so you don't have to go into the NAV to change it.

Chris

See3p0

470hpGS400, thanks for this . Being the dense person that I am I was wondering if you can provide a little more detail regarding the removal and re-installation of the panel? I have had the radio out in my '05 but am not sure about the panel you speak of. My "Auto" and "Dual" buttons are dark on the climate panel.

socal28

From this guys thread, the part # for the bulb is: 80629s04003

Looking it up on CurryAcuraParts.com parts section...
http://www.trademotion.com/partlocat...&siteid=214999

socal28

How does the non-oem bulbs light up to the rest of the interior lights?
My concern from using the bulbs from Radio Shack would be if the brightness is the same as the ones from Acura.
Thanks.

470hpGS400

iTrader: (1)

My very concern as well. The OEM lights on other parts of the center console are already not evenly lit so eventually I will just replace them all. So much for OEM. These are actually the same uniformly with exception to a few OEM lights that do not match other OEM lights. If that made any sense.

470hpGS400

iTrader: (1)

Removing the stereo assembly is the most difficult part. Since you have done this, the rest is easy. Once out, the climate control module is located up top and is held onto the bezel (front face) with 4 phillip screws on the side. Remove those and the climate module comes out with the front buttons. Separate those two and the board pictured above is readily available.

mj4328

Could you give some more detail about the steps required to remove the stereo assembly and any other parts that are neccessary to get to the climate control module. Thanks

Chas2

This is great info! Thanks for doing this. Now, if we that are all thumbs, can only figure out how to remove the radio....

See3p0

Sweet! Now I understand. I was just quoted over $200 to replace all of the bulbs. They advised doing all of them since the biggest expense is the labor in getting to them. I think I'll do that and reward myself with around $200!!

hawnr6

not sure if people were aware of this.. but if you go to the acura estore, select accessories --> there is actually a whole bunch of install instructions for every accessory.. so i'm guessing the ipod cable install instructions would be helpful in this case..

mj4328

The estore install instuctions for the ipod cable were great(very detailed). thanks for the tip. had to go under the 2006 rl accessories as the ipod cable was not listed for the 2005 rl.

socal28

Yeah, great stuff.
Here's the link...
http://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/pubs/AI/BII31183.pdf

dep378

I tried this yesterday for my OFF & Recirculate buttons. Got everything apart & finally got the stereo out & replaced the bulbs, but now the car won't start. What have I done. I thought maybe the battery was dead as the seat wouldn't move at all & the windows barely went back up. The gear shift is also in lock mode. I tried jumping it off this morning, but go nothing. When I originally got the bulbs in & the unit hooked back up, the defrost light blinked. I hit auto & the auto & dual blinked. I tried starting it w/ the stereo hooked back up & w/ it unhooked, but nothing. What have I done?

gogogoldrl

I have a light out in my instrument panel and waiting for a few more to go out before I take everything apart. I wonder if dep378 got his car put back together or was he a dealer rep trying to discourage the diy crowd .

DeadLock

Bringing this back. I took everything apart, but i could not move the center stack out at all, any ideas of what might be holding it? Are the cables or haness caught on something? How do i get it out?

Sniffles

Check out this thread :
https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-rl-audio-bluetooth-electronics-navigation-90/need-detailed-steps-how-remove-radio-please-842906/

White05rl shows the 2 nuts that hold the center in..assuming you removed the 6 screws and connectors...

DeadLock

Ahhhhh, thanks, I saw that before but didn't understand, now how the hell am I going to get them out! I'm going to try again now, are they 8mm or 9mm?

white05rl

I used a 9mm socket, but it had a loose fit. You'll also need a very long extension. Putting the bolts back in place was definitely the challenging part.

thedream21479

I just did this last week on my RL since I too was tired of having light bulbs on the climate controls out. I used the Radio Shack bulbs to see how closely they match since they are so much cheaper than the OEM Acura bulbs. Bottom line is that yes, they do match each other (color uniformity across the bulbs), but they don't match the factory lighting very closely at all. I'm going to order the OE bulbs since it's annoying me.

On a side note, I did put these bulbs in the heated seat switches and down there, it's not as big of a deal. They look close enough that nobody will notice.

Supreme

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for this post. Thinking of changing mine to white but it sounds like a lot of work to replace everything. The 05 lights look a little yellowish

gogogoldrl

The radio shack bulbs look good, a little brighter than the OEM bulbs, for the price difference why not replace all the climate control and radio bulbs with radio shack the big part of the job is taking apart the center console.
I found a ten pack of led bulbs at Tristate electric in Illinois that look like they will work, I think the pack of bulbs was about $10.00
I will give them a try when I get up the courage to take everything apart.
Thank You for the post and the great pictures this is motivating me to take things apart.

03tlwdp

Are there bulbs located behind the rocker switches for the passenger and driver temperature control or are thoes switches driven off of a couple of the 5 bulbs on the ckt. board?

IanVS

Yes, the two outermost of the 5 are for the temp rockers.

03tlwdp

Thanks for the info, that's what i thought by looking at the pictures. Also for the folks using the Radio Shack bulbs, they might not last as long as stock given that the stock bulbs are 14v 40ma bulbs. The radio Shack bulbs are 12v 60ma which will be brighter but not last as long.

acurod

trying to replace console bulbs and wanted to view "how to" from this link. it doesn't let me access it. any ideas?

thanks!

acurod

swake457

Giving this thread a bump.

Anyone have the PDF with instructions on how to pull this apart the right way? Half the bulbs on the climate control panel just went out last night on my '05, driving me nuts already. I looked at the eStore for a document related to the iPod accessory install, but it looks like they pulled that as I couldn't find it.

thanks!

oo7spy

Did you check the service manual here?

swake457

Yep. First place I looked. The Service Manual seems to be mostly about how to inspect electrical components and debug electric issues with voltage testers, etc and not as much about how to get to those components. In the Audio unit PDF, page 94, there is a reference to removing the audio control and climate control units, but they refer back to another document for trim removal that doesn't seem to exist anywhere publicly. E.g. (see CENTER TRIM REMOVAL/INSTALLATION). I read there is an iPod installation document that might have this detail, but that link back to the eStore is also dead now :-( I'm sure that center trim part pops off at certain points, just don't want to try and then crack it.

swake457

Ran through this installation today. Went well and really had only a few tough points. I thought the two bolts down and under the console would be hard, but they turned out to be fairly easy. Just go slow and you probably won't drop them The hardest part was removing the four self tapping screws behind CC panel. Those buggers are in there tight! Just as hard putting them back in too

There is a very slight tone difference between the old and new, but not enough that it jumps right out at you so I'll keep the rest as is for now.

I may look to get an '11 CC unit to get the fan speed controls at some point too.

Next on the to-do list - drivers door actuator replacement....

30CL

Do RadioShack bulbs go out like stock ones? What's the lifespan on these?

Gwr51

Anyone have any pics on removing the climate control panel to replace the lights. There is one post with 4 pics but they will not open or download. Thanks!

Gwr51

Good Morning. I was wondering if you could re-post the pics on removing the climate control panel. I cannot open the pics on your thread. If you still have them you could send them to gstrat@charter.net. Thanks so much!

oo7spy

Your best bet is probably a PM since that will mirror to the registered email address.

Gwr51

I'm still looking for some photos and instructions to remove the temperature control panel. Do you have to remove the side trim panels first; and if so, how do you accomplish this? I've seen bits and pieces on this subject but nothing from start to finish. I know once I do it it won't be a big deal. Changing the lights won't be a problem; just getting the panel off is my objective. Thanks in advance for any posts or help on this

isaacmaestre

awesome thread!

Türk

Catch this...

Türk

And this bird dick is the bulb.

Fugakyu007

Anyone know what the universal size these are? Are there any LED alternatives? I figure if I'm going to take it apart and replace the bulbs, might as well use leds.