Hello everyone, its been awhile. I have a small problem that I would like to ask input from helpful members. Thanks in advance.

My radio light for the field for the time/clock does not work well. How can this be replaced. Do I need to tear everything apart in the console to get at it (kinda looks like it does).

This is not a big deal, but I would like to correct it. Any sage advice before I tear into this is welcomed.

Thanks guys

 

You have to remove the radio from the dash. This requires you to disassemble the console (remove the center console door, shifter bezel, etc) and remove the radio/HVAC bezel. With the radio out of the dash, you'll need to disassemble/remove the front face of the radio.

The radio uses micro bulbs that are available from any local electronics store. You'll need to de-solder the old bulbs and solder in the new ones since they're not socketed.

The Factory Service Manual clearly shows how to remove the radio. To replace the bulbs, you're on your own. A dealer would either replace the unit or send the old unit to a shop to be refurbed. This is one of those tasks that can go really wrong really quickly if you're not used to working with small parts and electronics.

 

The radio has to be removed from the dash and the front removed to get to the circuit board with the bulbs. There are six "grain of rice" sized bulbs soldered to the circuit board and it is common to have a few burned out by now. My 96 had only one working. There are two different size bulbs used and I don't remember the source but a search on the internet will turn up a supplier that can furnish the correct replacement bulbs. Some will recommend Radio Shack and they will have something close enough to work but not exact and they are made in China so the quality would be questionable. Personally, I wouldn't want to go through that much work to install Chinese bulbs if I was going to keep the car. I fixed mine and while the job seems complicated it was not really all that hard. You will need a solder sucker and a low wattage soldering iron to to a proper job due to the delicate nature of working with printed circuit boards. I think there may also be some tips on C4 radio bulb replacement in the C4 tips & info section.

 

I found this info that may help. I don't know who the contributor is but the info is pretty accurate I think:

Steps for Removal Of the Delco-Bose Radio:

Before doing anything, take a good look at your unit at night and determine where the dark areas are. This will help you understand which bulbs require replacement once you get the radio apart.

If your car is equipped with an automatic transmission;

With car sitting on a level surface, apply emergency brake and select neutral with shifter.
Turn ignition switch to off.
Pry shifter button out of shift **** by inserting a thin blade screwdrivers on each side of button.
Use a pair of straight nose snap ring pliers to remove spring clip on shifter ****.
Pull shifter **** off of shift lever.
Remove shifter trim plate by first removing two screws inside console. Pull corners of carpet up to reveal screws.
Remove screw that is found inside cup holder.
Gently lift up trim plate until you can unplug shift indicator light. Rotate light socket to disengage from plate.
Unplug cigarette lighter socket by prying the two tabs and slide socket off of lighter receptacle.
Leave rear deck release wiring attached to button, and swing trim plate to the passenger seat.
Lower steering wheel by tilting to the lowest position.
Remove two phillips screws in A/C duct, and remove grill
Remove radio trim plate by first removing two screws at bottom of plate and one at top right. Be careful when removing trim plate because there is a spring clip on left side. Pull straight out to disengage clip.
Radio has 4 screws that hold it into dash. Remove all 4 screws, being careful not to drop any. They are hard to find once you drop them.
Remove radio from dash, by sliding out and at the same time prying the trim away to allow room for the radio attachment ears. If you are not careful, you will scratch the trim work.
When radio is out sufficiently, unplug the two electrical connectors. Don’t worry, they are keyed so you can’t mix them up when plugging back in.

Take radio to workbench, or table, and lay a soft cloth or cardboard down to protect both the radio and counter top. Remove the top cover of radio. There are about 13 small screws located on the top, back and sides. With top off, remove the volume, balance, and tone ***** by pulling off. These ***** are specific to each function, so don’t mix them up. If you do, no big deal, you just have to sort it out.
Next, you want to remove the faceplate. This is done by gently prying the tabs that are located on the top and sides. The face will rotate out at the top first. Continue rotating until you can disengage the tabs on the bottom side. Pull the plate out far enough to disconnect the two connectors on the ribbon cables going to the back of the faceplate. Once the cables are disconnected, the plate can be taken completely removed from the radio.

There are 4 small socket head screws on the circuit board that hold the circuit board to the face plate. Lay the face plate face down and remove the four screws. Gently lift the board away from the face plate. Be careful and don’t accidentally dump out all your face plate push buttons, cause then you won’t know which button goes where…unless you have a better memory than me. My savior was a picture of the radio in the MidAm Catalog. Need I say more? Now, where were we?

You will see 3 lights around the display, and four lights in the pushbutton area. The 3 lights around the display are identical to the ones you bought at Radio Shack. Unsolder the old ones and replace. The 4 in the pushbutton area are not an exact match in size, but they work, and are easy to solder into the board.

When all lights are replaced in the board, set it aside and look at the two light bulbs by the volume and balance controls. The top light is replaceable, and can be removed by grasping with your fingers and pulling out. Replacement bulbs are available at AutoZone or at the dealer. Don’t ask the dealer to look the part up on his computer, cause he won’t show it. Just show him the bulb. The bottom light is hard soldered and if you must replace it, use one of the bulbs you purchased at Radio Shack. Again, the bulbs won’t be an exact match, but they work just fine.
Re-assembly is pretty straightforward. Be careful, and when re-installing into the dash, slide the unit in far enough to hook the two connectors up, then try the lights prior to final assembly.

 

Thank you everyone.

Greg, a big thank you to you. That was a lot of effort to place all of that information there.

What I might do is wait until I redo the while radio and speaker system. The system is the original unit. At some point I am going to replace the player with a rebuilt unit and with the best speakers that will fit within the current interior set-up.

My 95 LT1 with 164K miles when I bought it last year will never be a show car. It is a great daily driver. So, keeping to original parts, as long as it looks good and professional, is not critical to me. Example, while Bose I believe were the original, Boston seems to have a set up that works better sound quality wise. As long as appearance is the same, seems cool to me.

I might just fix the light problem then

 

ok, I have a 93 LT1 with 83,000 miles, stock radio, I want to use the CD player, but it does not want to suck it in like other cars? I have to force it in, but I did not force it because i do not want to get a CD stuck in there, is this normal?

 

Mine sucks it in like all the others I have dealt with so I'm going to say no its not normal.