Factory Radio Display

[vibe63]

OK fellas, I need the electronics wizards on this one. I have an LCD backlighting problem. I had the unit apart to replace a burned out bulb. Now, even though all 3 bulbs are working (bench tested), they won't light up when I plug the unit in. Other than that, everything else works perfectly. What the heck did i do to mess up the circuit that controls just those 3 bulbs. Does anyone know where I can get a circuit schematic, so maybe I can fix this somewhat rare radio (m-t, xm, cd/mp3)? Or does someone out there know what's wrong? I've been reading this forum since I bought the car in '05, and there's too much Vibe talent out there, for someone not to have a fix.

[wonderdog]

I have a similar but different problem, removed radio and after reinstall it stays on when I turn car off. Might be similar issue, might not. I'm thinking power is being cutoff at ignition but who knows, certainly not me.

[ParknVibe]

OK fellas, I need the electronics wizards on this one. I have an LCD backlighting problem. I had the unit apart to replace a burned out bulb. Now, even though all 3 bulbs are working (bench tested), they won't light up when I plug the unit in. Other than that, everything else works perfectly. What the heck did i do to mess up the circuit that controls just those 3 bulbs. Does anyone know where I can get a circuit schematic, so maybe I can fix this somewhat rare radio (m-t, xm, cd/mp3)? Or does someone out there know what's wrong? I've been reading this forum since I bought the car in '05, and there's too much Vibe talent out there, for someone not to have a fix.

Just a thought......On the 2009 Vibe...The dash light dimmer knob is the reset trip mileage push buttom. Just turn it to adjust the brightness of all the lights. Maybe that is your problem. But I don't know about the older Vibe Models.

[joatmon]

Just a thought......On the 2009 Vibe...The dash light dimmer knob is the reset trip mileage push button. Just turn it to adjust the brightness of all the lights. Maybe that is your problem. But I don't know about the older Vibe Models.

on the 1st gen vibes, the dimmer is in left of the steering wheel, next to the power mirror adjustment controls, but if were the dimmer switch setting, it would affect all the radio's button backlights. Also, if it were the dimmer switch setting, the radio lights would come on when the car is first started, and not g dark until the DRL module turned on full headlights, usually at least a few second's delay.

I don't know of anywhere to get a schematic of the interior of the radio. There are various schematics around showing the external connections to the radio, but none of them were changed to cause the problem.

What bulb did you use, and did you compare the illumination signal voltage in the car to that in the test bench?

[vibe63]

Just a thought......On the 2009 Vibe...The dash light dimmer knob is the reset trip mileage push button. Just turn it to adjust the brightness of all the lights. Maybe that is your problem. But I don't know about the older Vibe Models.

on the 1st gen vibes, the dimmer is in left of the steering wheel, next to the power mirror adjustment controls, but if were the dimmer switch setting, it would affect all the radio's button backlights. Also, if it were the dimmer switch setting, the radio lights would come on when the car is first started, and not g dark until the DRL module turned on full headlights, usually at least a few second's delay.

I don't know of anywhere to get a schematic of the interior of the radio. There are various schematics around showing the external connections to the radio, but none of them were changed to cause the problem.

What bulb did you use, and did you compare the illumination signal voltage in the car to that in the test bench?

I used the same bulbs from Radio Shack that you indicated in your posting on the repair procedure. I probably fried something in the circuit between the terminal on the back and the bulbs. Traced the circuit as far as I could on that board, but it the problem may be on the other board. I have no way of knowing without an internal radio schematic. It's really frustrating, because my original intent in taking the radio apart was to try to change the radio display color, which is virtually impossible (I have a real problem with RED). I guess, in the process, one of the bulbs which I'm guessing was marginal, decided to cash out. In my original bench test I was using the terminals on the back of the radio. I may have inadvertently either touched the 12v to two terminals at once (easy to do) and overloaded the circuit. It just seems unusual that the only thing being affected is those 3 bulbs. I'd been looking into an aftermarket radio, but wasn't planning on replacing the oe unit yet. Seems I have no choice now. I'd like to fix the problem, even if I do get another HU, since this particular radio is relatively scarce. I just hate the fact that I'm the one who broke it and can't find a way to fix it, without having it sent out for repair at major expense. And, from what I've heard, I may not get my original radio back, but a substitute that might have its own problems.

[vibe63]

Whelp, I tore the radio apart and traced the circuit further. It took me to the main board. So out comes the CD unit and what do I find..... a 5" length of track that's burned. (Guess I accidentally put voltage to something I shouldn't have when I was bench testing ). Fortunately, though the board coating had burned off, all but about 1/16" of the copper was still intact, so I put it back in place sealed it with some RTV and veerrryyy carefully put some solder in the break. Checked continuity, put everything back together, plugged it back in and..... WE'VE GOT A NICE BRIGHT DISPLAY!!

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[ParknVibe]

Whelp, I tore the radio apart and traced the circuit further. It took me to the main board. So out comes the CD unit and what do I find..... a 5" length of track that's burned. (Guess I accidentally put voltage to something I shouldn't have when I was bench testing ). Fortunately, though the board coating had burned off, all but about 1/16" of the copper was still intact, so I put it back in place sealed it with some RTV and veerrryyy carefully put some solder in the break. Checked continuity, put everything back together, plugged it back in and..... WE'VE GOT A NICE BRIGHT DISPLAY!!

yahoo.gif

Glad you found the problem and was able to repair the circuit. But did the radio and all other functions work before you fixed this?

[vibe63]

Yes, everything else was working. That's what was puzzling me. Apparently that one circuit controlled only those 3 bulbs. One thing I might mention: the replacement bulbs recommended by Joatmon are smaller than the o.e. bulbs and, as a result are not as bright. The display is difficult to see during the day. It may be worth paying a little more to get an o.e equivalent.

I intend to replace the radio, in the near future, with an aftermarket HU that I can actually read (larger display and NOT RED). Whether I replace these bulbs with brighter ones, in the interim, remains to be seen. It's not difficult, just time-consuming.

[joatmon]

Glad you got it fixed, and a big for tracking it down to a burned run.
sorry the new bulbs aren't bright enough, but to be fair, what I said in the other thread was

The only place near me to get a solder-in bulb like that is radioshack, and they have a 12V bulb about the same size, but it's specs make me think it would not be bright enough.

I think if I were to have bulbs burn out again, I'd replace them again, however, back when I first did it, if I knew that I'd still have the car this long, I probably would have replaced the HU for one with bluetooth and a real AUX input.

[vibe63]

I wasn't, in any way, critiquing your excellent instructions for replacing the bulbs. And, I must have missed the comment about the bulbs not being bright enough. If it weren't for your instructions, I might have assumed the (costly) display burned out and trashed the radio. There seem to be a number of places to get the solder-in bulbs. The problem is finding the right size & output and one that will last. If I get ambitious enough to pull it apart again, I'll hunt for a bulb and let everyone know what works. I still have one of the original bulbs in the radio (the clock/station, the most important one), so at that time, I'll pull it out and try to match it up.

I agree with you, regarding keeping the car. I've never owned a car this long, but, as it stands now, I have no intention of getting rid of it. In fact, I just bought a set of new sneakers for it. The has a few shortcomings, but it also has some major pluses, two of which are excellent mpg and fold-flat rear seats & passenger seat. You can really pile stuff into that puppy when needed. I've moved twice with my Vibe - it was a mini moving van. I also like the opening rear window (you Gen 2 owners got screwed). And one last item - bodyside moulding (Gen 2 screwed again). As for the radio, while I hate that red display, has a lot of good features. I don't know of any aftermarket HU where you can set the EQ for each individual station. Also, a lot of aftermarket HU's don't have the RDS feature, although more are beginning to show up now. If I could adapt a USB port to it, I'd probably keep the factory radio. Although, as many of you probably know, wearing polarized sunglasses presents an perplexing problem viewing the display. And, living in FL, I wear them for 8 months of the year. You Gen 2 owners, it's not all bad - I'd like to have that telescoping steering column.