P38A Gear shift illumination

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cornishboater

cornishboater

Well-Known Member
Posts
571
Location
Poole, Dorset
I have hunted about on here but haven't as yet found anything on the shifter lights. I am hoping to swap out the old climate control for a refurbed unit and am going to change all of the various bulbs. I was under the assumption that the gear shift had one that bulb lit all, however, all of the gears are lit with the exception of P, D & 1. Are there 2 bulbs doing the lighting or is there another issue? If it is just bulbs anyone know what bulb type I need ? I can then do all of the bits and bobs at the same time

Cheers

BTW 4.6 HSE 1997
 
I do not know for sure how it is lit, but the gear position indicator is AMR3764 and they are serious money. https://rimmerbros.com/Item--i-AMR3764 You would have to strip, if you can, the one you have to confirm this but i think it is lit by LEDS. Plenty of S/H ones on Ebay for next to nothing though.
 
Thanks wammers,
As per P38 spec not as straightforward as a simple bulb change then :)
If you are not sure I am not sure anyone else is!
I have never delved into the changer unit but I assume it must be a sealed unit from what you are saying?
 
cornishboater said:
Thanks wammers,
As per P38 spec not as straightforward as a simple bulb change then :)
If you are not sure I am not sure anyone else is!
I have never delved into the changer unit but I assume it must be a sealed unit from what you are saying?
Click to expand...

As said i don't know, never played with one. But the impression i get is that they are LEDS. Unless i am going blind I can find no bulb call up for that unit. Mind you Microcat is down at the moment. So cannot double check.
 
They are all surface mount LEDs on one PCB board.

I changed mine out for different colours for the forward gears a few years ago, so had mine in pieces then.
From memory, there were 3 or 4 of them all in series, and maybe a couple of blocks of them, to be able to light the whole thing evenly.

My best guess is that one of them has failed, and in series wiring, will have caused the other ones in that chain to stop working too.

So no light bulbs/easy swap I'm afraid. I could probably repair it - but for the cost of second hand ones, it's not really worth it!
 
Definitely individual LEDs on the PCB. 2 rows on Hi, 1 on Lo
(Quiet day in the workshop today, so took a spare apart!)
EDIT- beaten to the button by Marty
 
martyuk said:
They are all surface mount LEDs on one PCB board.

I changed mine out for different colours for the forward gears a few years ago, so had mine in pieces then.
From memory, there were 3 or 4 of them all in series, and maybe a couple of blocks of them, to be able to light the whole thing evenly.

My best guess is that one of them has failed, and in series wiring, will have caused the other ones in that chain to stop working too.

So no light bulbs/easy swap I'm afraid. I could probably repair it - but for the cost of second hand ones, it's not really worth it!
Click to expand...

Thanks Marty that confirms my thoughts on it.
 
Cheers all, as everything works mechanically I don't think it would be worth getting another one, just one of those things you look at and isn't really overly important.
If I got a S/H one who knows if it will be a goodun or how long it will stay lit. Methinks I will leave well alone!

Again many thanks
 
The gearshift pcb:
U66zdKj.jpg
 
That is great! I assume the LEDs are the ones on the right hand side of picture, any ideas on the type and where they can be obtained? It looks a bit easier than I thought to desolder and install replacements

Many thanks, I don't want to go to the torch on the gear shift, I might find other things to fix in the illumination ;)
 
I think they are standard SMD LEDs - they won't be anything like the newer super bright ones - just standard ones.

They come in different sizes, so would be best to measure up the ones that are there and then match the sizing when ordering replacements.
Depending on which ones have actually failed, it could be one LED or multiple LEDs. Also could be a bad track on the circuit board if it's had any moisture in it. No real way of telling without opening it up though!
 
Thanks Marty,
I think I may get a used one for cheap and see what the deal is inside, saves me cocking up the one in there. Any pointers on removal or is it straight forward?
 
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