1993 Camry Radio

I have a 1993 Camry with the original radio. The radio still works great, but the lighted display is out. The station presets are displayed, but it not lighted. Does a fuse control the light of the radio or does the radio have to replace?

Reply to
bjd
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there are LED's or "Grain of Wheat" bulbs that light the display. A good electronics tech should be able to fix it but it will most likely cost more than it's worth. if you can put up with it don't worry about it otherwise it most likely will be cheaper to get an aftermarket radio.

Reply to
Nick Bourne

I had the same problem with my '92 Corolla Wagon and fixed it with a good thump to the front panel.

No guarantee, but worth a ....

Reply to
Scott in Florida

The price is right...

Reply to
Bonehenge (B A R R Y)

If memory serves me correctly, many times there is a separate power feed to car radios intended to power the lighting inside the unit. This is connected to the car's dashboard lights, etc. so that the car radio lights up while driving at night, brightens & dims when you turn the dimmer knob, and so forth.

I'd suggest that maybe there is a poor connection to the power source for the lights which shouldn't be too hard to trace before tearing the radio apart, junking it for a new one, etc.

Reply to
Justa Lurker

LOL...yes it is.

I was just thinking....what a horrible reliability problem.

A '02 Rolla Radio light goes out in '07...LOL

Reply to
Scott in Florida

replace the light bulb.

Reply to
someone

The display is usually lit by a small bulb that can be changed out. Most radios use a non-standard bulb that you'll probably have to buy over the dealer counter. Why not do this, go to the dealer and ask about the bulb and how much it costs. Tell them to show you the picture on the computer.

The free online repair guide from Autozone should help get the radio out. Then it's a matter of taking off the faceplate of the radio and changing out the light bulb next to the display.

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Reply to
johngdole

Car radios have a separate power feed but not for the display lights. One power feed is to power the radio operation, display, etc. and the second power feed is to retain the station pre-sets.

Reply to
Ray O

Hey! Ray is not infallible! Alert the media! ;-)

There are /three/ power input lines on most radios - the two you cover are the ~3A for radio operation, ~1A (but actually drawing only a few milliamps) for the clock circuit and preset memory retention...

But there is a separate illumination line (or lines plural) on most radios. All the decent aftermarket radios I've ever dealt with (and most of the factory ones) have two lines (+ and -) coming out of the radio from the lamps, to allow for different car maker practices.

Some car makers (mostly Detroit) provide dimmed +12v variable for the dash lights and each lamp goes to chassis ground, and others provide straight switched +12V to the lamps and the dimmer rheostat is on the ground line.

The second wiring method allows for some lights that stay on full brightness regardless of the dashboard dimmer position should you choose to wire them that way. And if you're doing a stand-alone radio (like in a dune buggy or tractor) that's hooked up "Always On", you can loop back from the blue antenna/amp output line to the illumination line, and the radio will light when it's turned on.

And to the OP: If you can do it yourself, great!

You can open the radio and change that lamp, but it's a pain to tear the radio out and open it up to do it - and then you have to go find the right size and voltage grain-of-wheat lamp. You'll need the usual small hand tools, and a 20W soldering iron with all the accessories (tip cleaning sponge, solder, rosin flux, solder wick or a sucker bulb) to go with it. Might need some Superglue or silicone sealant to mount the lamp. And be careful, there are delicate things in there.

But if you have to pay someone to do the work, I would seriously consider getting a new radio installed and be done with it - you go through all that trouble, and then the left channel output dies...

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Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

OOPS ! My bad! ;-)

Even monkeys fall out of trees some times

Reply to
Ray O

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