Mini dash lights ... where to buy?

i have had to get mine @ the dealer...they are funny little bulbs.......

I've been shoppin' around in my wee town today, and sure enough, no auto-parts store carries these bulbs. Guess I'll have to go straight to Volvo.

Thanks

Allan

What do they look like? I regularly replace oddball bulbs with LED's, they never burn out again.

They're very (very!) small - well, I guess the same size as an LED. I believe they're referred to as 'capless bulbs'.

In the Volvo, they are actually clear - but you slip on a soft-rubber (blue) shieth which gives it a softer colour when illuminated.

I suspect (so far as I've found to date) that all of our illuminated switches, dash components, etc... are all powered by these little bulbs.

And they're quite easy to replace! Just, a little difficult to find online.

I'd like to buy a WHACK of 'em so that I can go through my car and replace and/all bunrt-out bulbs. Right now I'd estimate that I have about 10 bulbs burnt-out.

Allan

... and James Sweet spake, saying:

Sounds like a "grain of wheat" lamp, try doing a search for that, also look on ebay. Those are the same type I've replaced with LED's in Saab window switches and similar stuff, if you use the little 1/8 W resistors they fit quite nicely, just mind the polarity.

You mean something like these?

I spent several hours shopping for those bulbs online and was never able to find them. I did realize a small chance that you could remove the bulb from the cradle and replace it with a bulb from autozone, but i didn't risk it. I paid $9.81 at the dealer for 1 bulb.

Vadis lists three PN's for the bulbs: 9459780, 9472403, and 9472549.

Yup, that looks like 'em.

I've learned a few specs about the specific bulbs I'm looking for:

- 4.6mm (height, I guess) - 1.2watts - 12volt (well, I guess that's a given) - generally referred to as 'capless bulb'

... and from experience, I know that you can buy either the bulb by itself or with it's plastic/twist-in enclosure. However, while in my '98 you can easily remove and re-feed-in a new bulb into these enclosures, I don't think you can in the newer models (2000+ ?) since they have melted two spots on the back of the enclosure to keep the bulb leads in place (for no reason, I'm sure - other than to prevent misers like me to reuse what's not broken ).

The wattage seems significant ... as the other 'grain of wheat' lamps I've found can be VERY low wattage (e.g., for model railroad use), yet I think we need 1.2 watts for that soft/gentle illumination and yet,

I think $1-2 per bulb is a little steep ... don't you all? I'd like to buy in bulk and get 'em for .50 ea, or less.

Maybe I should look to my model railroad store and see if they have slightly higher wattage bulbs! I'll keep you posted.

Thanks

Allan

... and dragon spake, saying:

there is small.....then small small....then damm small.... then there are these volvo bulbs....."mini bulbs".....the good news is it is the 1st time i have swung by the dealer for parts and not dropped a butt load of $ on the counter for whatever i needed .....

Just left a message at a local Volvo dealer (well ... for me, 'local' is

Allan

... and ~^ beancounter ~^ spake, saying:

ipdusa.com

great place for all kinds of Volvo supplies and parts

I just replaced several of these in my '99 S80 T6. There are two different bulbs, one with a gray socket and one with a white socket, and yeah...they are $10 bucks a piece....what a ripoff!

"bgarver" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@localhost.talkaboutautos.com:

IPD has a great catalog and all, but for a lot of parts, I much prefer FCP Groton's prices and selection. I'm not affiliated with them, just a customer.

I buy most of my parts from Nick at FCP, but I don't think they sell the mini bulbs...

RS

I buy 12volts X-Mass tree lightbulbs a dozen for 2$ after x-mass and adapt them to the socket

Rusty a écrit:

Curious ... what's the wattage on those bulbs? Might then not be too high? If so, I'd worry about heat-build-up over time.

And, are they really that small? Never having a Xmas tree myself, I don't have any in the house - so don't really know them.

Allan

... and Alfred spake, saying: