The controls for the heated seats in my SAAB each contain two tiny bulbs. They appear to be filament rather than solid state and have a coloured silcone cover. Each bulb is mounted on a removable carrier. I've put a couple of very poor (sorry macro photography is not my forte) pictures here:
TIA
Richard
The message from Richard contains these words:
Use the little mouldings and solder an LED in instead. You'll need a dropper resistor unless you use self limiting LEDs, but they'll outlast the car.
RS Components do small pea type bulbs in various voltages.
Dave
Model shop - tiny bulbs are used in model trains. (also look at Maplin) They are also common in car stereos - a repair shop will probably have a selection in stock.
selection in stock.
is a pain to find
Thanks. I had a stare in the Maplin catalogue and online but without success. Maybe I should try harder.
I like the LED route but access is a bit tricky to incorporate a current limiting resistor - each switch has a pair of these bulb thingys poked through from opposing sides of the PCB - maybe 12V micro LEDs is the way to go.
Thanks all.
Richard
In message , Richard writes
They look very similar to the ones used on Saab dashboards, should be worth going to your dealer and asking them. The wattage is usually coded by the colour of the plastic bit so they should be able to work out what they are easily. You can buy LEDs with a built in series resistor for 12 volts if you want to have a go at replacing them but you need to make sure the viewing angle is wide enough for your application and it'll be fiddly.
Probably worth checking the battery volts if the bulbs have blown. They should be underrun for a many thousand hour life. Anything above about 14.5v with engine running might indicate a regulation problem (though I am not an battery expert).
john2
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