We all know that Volvos and lightbulbs are a painfful mix, but why is it that the really important bulbs are the only ones to burn out? Right now, at night I can't tell what gear I'm in unless I tap the letters next to the shifter a dozen times (I used to just tap on the D, but that stopped working. Now i start at R and make my way all the way down to L and back until it lights up). But that's not the one I wanted to ask you guys about...

Last night, the LCD screen on the factory stero went dark, and no amount of tapping has been able to bring it back up. The numbers and letters appear just fine, but the screen is no longer illuminated. This is odd, because all the other lights on the stereo the stereo buttons work just fine. But the screen that gives you track listings and radio frequencies is dark. Any fixes?

(BTW, I have the 1998 stock CD, cassette, AM/FM, CD changer unit)

Oh - one more thing. I've noticed that on my 960 the headlight knob switch has not been making good contact and causes both the ambient temp gauge lcd back light as well as the radio's lcd back light to go out and flicker on ocassion. Try rocking the head light switch back and forth a bit and see if this helps.

Mr. 960

Thanks. I'll give that a shot before I attempt full-on surgery.

Hope this helps. Also, see Huston's post on the 900 board.

Mr. 960




From the FAQ re: LCD bulbs:
[Tip from Colin Roberts :applies to UK cars] I posted a msg here some time ago about my radio LCD display not being lit up, seems other people had similar probs, all the buttons were lit, but not the lcd, i have now stripped the radio down and found out how to replace the lights, Well, no one could help me, so out came the radio! All that is behind the display is 2 capless bulbs (12v.) Here is the method for those of you that are good with a soldering iron and can do very fine work.
First obtain 2 or more 12v very tiny capless bulbs, these are about 4mm long with just wires coming out from the bulb, ( i have these as I work for a company that used lots of different types of bulbs) Remove the top and lower panels, and also the facia panel , (after removing all the knobs and tape button). Disconnect the 2 plugs from the tape unit, then remove the 2 bulbs (could have yellow wires on) from the front of the tape unit. Remove the tape unit complete, on the front main inner panel there are 3 screws that have to be removed, this allows you to pull the panel out from the chassis, (not too far though) on the back of the pcb there is a black plastic panel, this has to be eased away from the pcb as well. NOTE : the pcb will only come out about 1/2 inch as it is connected to the main pcb by 2 ribbon cables, DO NOT OVER STRETCH! Now for the tricky bit, look at the lcd display, it has a box round it, this has 4 tabs holding it to the pcb, carefuly prise the tabs up and then remove the box, and you will see the 2 bulbs !
It is a bit of a job to desolder the bulbs, but it can be done and fresh bulbs fitted, the old bulbs will have a green rubber cover on them which should be put onto the new bulbs before they are fitted. If you feel that it is a bit too tricky to replace these bulbs, I would think that a local radio repair shop could do it, if the radio was stripped down right up to the point when you can see the old bulbs, all he would have to do is de-solder the old bulbs and fit new ones, then you could re-assemble the radio yourself. PS: If you took the radio to a local repairer, not stripped down, he would probably say it could not be done as it needs special bulbs. But I now know better!
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See the 700/900 FAQ under 'Select Link' button on the top right.