My dash heater control lights on my 1985 240 wagon are out.How can I change them and how hard of a job would it be for a novice? The local volvo dealer wants $100.00 to do it.They said its an hours work, any advice would be great.

It will probably be an hour's work for you too. I would venture a bet the dealership no longer employs anyone with recent memory of how that particular job goes. They can sell you the lamps at the parts counter for a few dollars.

First, as mentioned, make sure it is only the heater control lighting that is out-- other lights on the same dimmer circuit light the rocker switches on that same panel (shine down upon them), the automatic transmission selector, and the instrument cluster illumination.

Supposing it is only the lamp replacement you are undertaking, do the following to find them:

1) Remove the large Phillips screw (might be Torx for those of you with 90's bricks) in the console's side panel, both sides.
2) Remove the plastic fastener near the bottom - 1/4 turn to the left bayonet fashion.
3) At the bottom of the console face, remove two Phillips screws just about buried in the carpet, to release the console plastic.
4) Very gently pull back on the console face to the point you can see behind it. There's a green-tinted silver and clear light pipe with bulb sockets pressed into it. Look for brown and black wires leading to the sockets. There are two in there for the heater controls and another up high to shine on the rocker switches. The bulbs just pull out.
5) The tricky part is to get the face back on without the sockets falling or being tugged back out of position. Just be patient and use up the rest of your $100. hour carefully reassembling the face.

I think the enjoyment of a car is inversely proportional to the number of minor unfixed faults. If you get to 10 or more, you want a new one.
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore Crrrrazy Ray's!

For what it's worth, here's a pre-prepared response that I typed up in October of 2003. It describes a portion of your task with pictures!

Times have changed since the original posting. The '77 is no longer with me, and my '80 has 440K on it now.

Here you go:

"Go to Autozone, or whatever your local "neighborhood" parts place is, and pick up some replacement bulbs... The type I found that work are Sylvania brand, # 2721 (W2.1W). Simple 12 volt, 2.1 watt bulbs. I believe the stock bulbs are 2 watts, but 2.1 watt bulbs will last a good amount longer, and won't be that much dimmer.

Move the 2 front seats to the all the way forward position. On either side of the E-Brake cover you will see a screw (shown circled in red in photo below.) Unscrew both of them. Don't loose the little black washers.



Next, Remove the ashtray... Push the metal tab down in the center and pull it out. Now, remove the back part of the ashtray, starting from the bottom, as shown here:


Brings us to here:

Now, with the ashtray out of the way, you can reach in and pop out the "FASTEN SEAT BELT" light and that little white piece of plastic. They come out fairly easy, just apply even pressure. Be Gentle. You don't want the pieces flying out of there, otherwise the wires can break.

(Pictures now come from my '80 wagon, because I had the cover off for other work I was doing.)


Now, to get the "FASTEN SEAT BELT" light apart, just pull the bulb out from the bottom as shown here:

Replacement of that bulb should be straight forward. NOTE: This bulb is of a different type then the others. I don't know what kind of bulb it is off hand, but I know it is the same light used to light up the glove box.


Now, you can put the bulb back in through the hole it came out of... To get the White plastic out of the way, turn it side ways, and push it inside. This gets the wires out of the way for when the cover is removed.

Now, with nothing connected to the E-Brake cover anymore, carefully lift it up from the back... Do it slowly. The front is held down by a little metal tab. Just push the cover forward a little bit, and it will break free.

Now, you should be here, with the cover completely removed.



To replace the light that illuminates the front seat belt release buttons, turn the plastic piece 90 degrees either direction. (I circled and pointed to the piece with in red in the above picture.) Pull the thing out:


Now, pull the light bulb out from the holder. Put one of the new bulbs in it's place. (It won't matter which way it goes in. Either way will work). Replace the socket in reverse of how it was removed.

Now, on to the white strip light... similar as above. Only difference is that your car may or may not have a bluish-green piece of plastic around the old burned out bulb (if there is even an old bulb there). You can easily remove it and put it over the replacement bulb. It's easier to do this before you put the new bulb in the socket. Some like to have the blue/green look for the light coming out, while others like it to just be white. It's up to you, either way makes no difference other then your preference.

Be a bit more careful when you replace this bulb. Make sure the bulb is going in-between the metal contacts, not on top of both sets of contacts. (It's real easy to damage the contacts if you don't replace the bulb carefully here.)

Now, test everything. Make sure no wires anywhere are touching a metal part of the car... Turn the parking lights on. Both the seatbelt release button light and white strip light should come one...



(Note: For the above picture, I turned the Key into the II position with out starting the car just to test the "FASTEN SEAT BELT" light.)

If everything works, Great. Turn off the lights, and put it back together in reverse... Make sure when you put the E-Brake cover on that you get the metal tab in the front under the parking brake lever to hook before you lower it...

To replace the ashtray, set it at the top, and snap it in on the bottom.

Hope this helps! (By the way, the reason I have one blue seat in my '77 on the drivers side because I got a good deal on it... It was actually a passenger seat which is why the reclining knob is on the wrong side, I couldn't figure out how to move it. As for the seats in the '80... 419K miles of use will do that to any seat. I haven't had Lumbar support since I can remember.)"

Hope this post helps.
--
If you listen to the radio in Portland, OR, you may know me as 'Portland's Favorite Soul Brother!'

I especially like the seat belt buttons lighted. One of these days I'm going to rewire them to come on when the door is opened, like the dome light can, so the buttons are lighted before turning on the headlamps.

It seems to be habit that has us buckling up before starting the car and turning on the lights.

Nice pictures!
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore Crrrrazy Ray's!

Thanks for the quick reply , i will give it a go and see if I can get them working. The cluster and gear shift lights do work. thanks again.

that will be a rip off
this is a typical DIY ! !

there are several diff small bulbs in behind the dash
when all your lights are gone
= one point in the wires interrupted

probably your fuse(left of your left foot when seated in the drivers seat)

otherwise the reostate(the dimmer of yr interior) light is broken
is sits behind this reostate know

good luck
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240 '88 B200K 275+kkm virgo,Phoenix Gold ampli, Focal door speakers, debadged, 6 rear red lights