levilz Posted August 8, 2009 Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 (edited) The Seek and Volume lights were out on my SSS when I bought it. The actual function still worked fine on both, but being a little bit of a perfectionist, it just looked unbalanced at night without the lights glowing and it drove me nuts. I came searching here for the correct bulb size only to find that pretty well the only option was to replace the control. I had to fix the steering wheel lights in my Trans Am a while back, so I figured this couldn't be that much different. Turns out it wasn't, so I thought I'd share. I hate to see anyone here spend that much for a new control when it usually isn't necessary. On to the process. As far as tools, really all you need is the following: * a small flat head screwdriver (a butter knife will work too) * a soldering iron + a little solder * something small to cut the wires to remove the old bulbs (I used finger nail clippers, lol) * a 50 mA 12 v pin lamp (I used part #272-1154 from Radio Shack) #1 Removal of the Control. First of all, it isn't necessary to remove the steering wheel in order to remove the controls. All you do is simply pop the controller out of the housing with a flat head or a knife. You do need to be careful as there is a plug in the back of the control. It is pretty short, so if you have larger hands, you may need to use the knife or screwdriver to push the release button on the plug. The good news is it is facing the easier side to get to. #2 Disassembly Now that the control is out of the steering wheel, it will need to be completely taken apart. To do this, you will notice 4 small clips on the back side. If you face back of the control, there will be grooves on a couple of the clip areas so that you can fit the screw driver/knife in to pry the white plastic backing out. With this out, you will then be able to slide out the control panel that the bulbs are connected to. Be sure to keep the buttons facing down for this part as there are 4 red pegs that set loose between the buttons and the control panel. After the control board is removed, the blue light covers can be taken off to expose the bulbs. to remove the bulb/bubs, you will snip the soldered wire that connects them to the board. Be sure to only cut the two wires so nothing else is damaged. When the bulbs have been disconnected, remove the plastic boxes that were below the bulbs and set them and the old bulbs aside as you should no longer need them. #3 Replacing the Bulb The next thing to do is hook up the new bulbs. All you do for this is solder the ends of the new bulb onto the portion of the board that the old bulbs were connected. #4 Reassembly When everything looks to be back together on the board, place the blue covering back over the bulbs and place the board back into the main housing. Next, Press the white plastic backing back onto the control until it snaps back into place. Finally, hook the plug in the control housing back up to the control and press the control back into the steering wheel until it snaps into place. Hopefully, at this point, all the lights work again. The bulbs I used are a perfect match to the stocks. The color and brightness seem to be spot on. The part number is listed above. This job took me about 10 minutes total to do, so it should be very easy for anyone. There are always potentially unforseen circumstances though, so do this at your own risk. If you have any questions feel free to let me know. Hope this helps! Edited August 8, 2009 by levilz (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superslowss Posted August 9, 2009 Report Share Posted August 9, 2009 Awesome write up! I only have 1 light out now so I think I will wait until a few more go out to tackle this one! lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jond983 Posted August 9, 2009 Report Share Posted August 9, 2009 all mine are out except my volume..this is an excellent write up man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcairns Posted August 10, 2009 Report Share Posted August 10, 2009 Very cool. Thanks for the write up and photos. Should we take up a collection to buy you a new screwdriver? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
levilz Posted August 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2009 (edited) Yeah, that screwdriver was a little shabby. I Left my good ones in the garage and that one was already outside by the truck, so I just grabbed it. It took less time to do that and have it completely out than it would have taken to walk to the garage to get the pretty ones. I'll manage with the tools I have, but if you want to take up a collection for a Magnacharger... I'll gladly accept!!! Edited August 10, 2009 by levilz (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadillacbob Posted August 12, 2009 Report Share Posted August 12, 2009 SAAAAHHHWEEEET! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireman31 Posted August 13, 2009 Report Share Posted August 13, 2009 Nice write up. I am going to try this sometime soon, the entire right half of my steering wheel is burned out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadillacbob Posted August 15, 2009 Report Share Posted August 15, 2009 Doing this repair today on 3 burnt out bulbs... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK04SS Posted August 15, 2009 Report Share Posted August 15, 2009 anyway to replace it with different colored bulbs? i'd like mine to match my deck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcmahan Posted August 16, 2009 Report Share Posted August 16, 2009 great write up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
levilz Posted August 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2009 anyway to replace it with different colored bulbs? i'd like mine to match my deck. If you can find colored bulbs, or at least bulb covers, there is no reason that wouldn't work. They'd have to ne tiny though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lerbud Posted December 13, 2009 Report Share Posted December 13, 2009 Thanks for the write up. I fixed mine this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96vteccd5 Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 Man I need to do this. The bulbs on part of the my steering wheel are out along with my front windshield defroster and a few others. GM could've used better parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearhead6s Posted December 27, 2009 Report Share Posted December 27, 2009 Anyone know if these bulbs will work in the clusters? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
levilz Posted January 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2010 I would have to think they would. I haven't had the cluster out for a while, so I'm not sure if they are the same size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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