How to Replace your HVAC Control Backlights:
I was having a hard time finding a good article or description that would give me an idea of how much I was going to have to remove in order to replace these lights. I don't have a lot of time to do work on my car, so I wanted to know that I could do this quickly. It's actually really easy, but hopefully this will help somebody in the future.
Plan to give yourself about 30 minutes to remove, replace, and reinstall this things. Add or subtract depending on your level of experience.
About the HVAC Controls:
This How-To article is going to describe how to replace your HVAC Backlights. My car is a 2003 Spec-V, but this information should be standard for all b15's I believe. The factory HVAC controls knobs (and surrounding icons) are each illuminated by a single bulb. The buttons for rear defrost, AC, and recirculate have independent lighting that I have not investigated. I expect these are probably lights soldered to the circuit board, but I could be wrong. The HVAC Lighting may blow from an electrical problem, or they may just die since they are incandescent bulbs. The bulbs are covered with a blue rubber skin. The rubber skin is glued on and does not come off without tearing it. Each bulb is removed and installed with a half-turn of a flathead screwdriver. The long bulbs are for the far-left (temperature) and far-right (vent-location) knobs. The small bulb illuminates the center knob.
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Removing the HVAC Controls:
I'm going to suggest that you disconnect your negative battery terminal before removing any electrical connectors and removing the radio, as it is easy to short something out. This is up to you though; the job can be done without bothering with that. I'll also assume that you've verified that it is the bulbs that are bad and not the circuit board itself, or something else.
I'm going to assume that you can remove the stereo. In short – remove the top console bin by pulling on it, then remove the lower trim piece that covers the lower DIN. Remove the six screws holding the stereo in and disconnect the plugs. Set this aside.
The HVAC Controls are held in by 4 Phillips head screws. Remove them. Once you're at this point, you need to figure out how you're going to get that unit out of that tiny hole. Look behind the unit and disconnect the two electrical connectors with a flat-head screw driver.
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The temperature control knob (left) and vent location knob (right) actuate their mechanical parts with cables that need to be disconnected. You can move the unit around at this point, but you won't be able to remove it from the center console with the left cable connected (circled). Luckily, these are easy to remove.
![Image]()
Just lift up on the left side of that black metal clip and remove it. Then, maneuver the HVAC Control unit so that the end of the cable disconnects from the unit (it is a simple Z-shape connection).
![Image]()
At this point, you can remove the unit from the center console (it takes a little bit of maneuvering, but you can do it without breaking anything). The controls will still be connected by the other control cable, but you can't remove this until the unit is pulled out since it is attached from underneath. You can see the underside of the unit here with the clip partially disconnected. Again, disconnect this control cable and you're home free. The unit will come out.
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Replacing the Bulbs:
Replacing the bulbs is as simple as unscrewing them and reinstalling them. The only purpose of this section is to provide some figures illustrating where they are located for somebody who has never seen the back of the unit.
This is the back of the unit once it has been removed. I've pointed out the location of the three backlights with arrows. The small light is in the middle, and hard to see in this figure.
![Image]()
Here is a close-up (blurry) of the circuit-board area where the middle-light gets installed:
![Image]()
That's it. Just install the new lights, and repeat the procedure. Connect the vent-control knob first, then maneuver the HVAC Controls back into the console. Reconnect the temperature-control knob. Reconnect the electrical connectors. Reconnect your battery (you DID disconnect it for doing electrical work, right?). Turn your lights on and check that your knobs illuminate.
Congratulations, you now have working lights again!
I was having a hard time finding a good article or description that would give me an idea of how much I was going to have to remove in order to replace these lights. I don't have a lot of time to do work on my car, so I wanted to know that I could do this quickly. It's actually really easy, but hopefully this will help somebody in the future.
Plan to give yourself about 30 minutes to remove, replace, and reinstall this things. Add or subtract depending on your level of experience.
About the HVAC Controls:
This How-To article is going to describe how to replace your HVAC Backlights. My car is a 2003 Spec-V, but this information should be standard for all b15's I believe. The factory HVAC controls knobs (and surrounding icons) are each illuminated by a single bulb. The buttons for rear defrost, AC, and recirculate have independent lighting that I have not investigated. I expect these are probably lights soldered to the circuit board, but I could be wrong. The HVAC Lighting may blow from an electrical problem, or they may just die since they are incandescent bulbs. The bulbs are covered with a blue rubber skin. The rubber skin is glued on and does not come off without tearing it. Each bulb is removed and installed with a half-turn of a flathead screwdriver. The long bulbs are for the far-left (temperature) and far-right (vent-location) knobs. The small bulb illuminates the center knob.
Removing the HVAC Controls:
I'm going to suggest that you disconnect your negative battery terminal before removing any electrical connectors and removing the radio, as it is easy to short something out. This is up to you though; the job can be done without bothering with that. I'll also assume that you've verified that it is the bulbs that are bad and not the circuit board itself, or something else.
I'm going to assume that you can remove the stereo. In short – remove the top console bin by pulling on it, then remove the lower trim piece that covers the lower DIN. Remove the six screws holding the stereo in and disconnect the plugs. Set this aside.
The HVAC Controls are held in by 4 Phillips head screws. Remove them. Once you're at this point, you need to figure out how you're going to get that unit out of that tiny hole. Look behind the unit and disconnect the two electrical connectors with a flat-head screw driver.
The temperature control knob (left) and vent location knob (right) actuate their mechanical parts with cables that need to be disconnected. You can move the unit around at this point, but you won't be able to remove it from the center console with the left cable connected (circled). Luckily, these are easy to remove.
Just lift up on the left side of that black metal clip and remove it. Then, maneuver the HVAC Control unit so that the end of the cable disconnects from the unit (it is a simple Z-shape connection).
At this point, you can remove the unit from the center console (it takes a little bit of maneuvering, but you can do it without breaking anything). The controls will still be connected by the other control cable, but you can't remove this until the unit is pulled out since it is attached from underneath. You can see the underside of the unit here with the clip partially disconnected. Again, disconnect this control cable and you're home free. The unit will come out.
Replacing the Bulbs:
Replacing the bulbs is as simple as unscrewing them and reinstalling them. The only purpose of this section is to provide some figures illustrating where they are located for somebody who has never seen the back of the unit.
This is the back of the unit once it has been removed. I've pointed out the location of the three backlights with arrows. The small light is in the middle, and hard to see in this figure.
Here is a close-up (blurry) of the circuit-board area where the middle-light gets installed:
That's it. Just install the new lights, and repeat the procedure. Connect the vent-control knob first, then maneuver the HVAC Controls back into the console. Reconnect the temperature-control knob. Reconnect the electrical connectors. Reconnect your battery (you DID disconnect it for doing electrical work, right?). Turn your lights on and check that your knobs illuminate.
Congratulations, you now have working lights again!
