Hi I have just had another heater panel from ebay and suprise it doesnt work! I work for Audi and have found out that the panel is no longer available from VW. Is it possible the change the bulb? / LED ? Thanks kelvin
yes it possible...you will need to bust it apart and match up a led best you can several how to's about on the net
depends on the manufacturer of the panel. some makes are very tight with the glue, some are very generous! one type it was just impossible for me to split it without destroying the panel in the process
Try this process. With the panel off cut around the bulb holder (large grey plastic on the left of the switch connector). Don't cut too deep though. Once you have cut all around you should be able to free it. You should now have the panel and the grey bulb holder separated. Now work lose the black bulb holder from the grey housing. Gently pull the pins out and remove the bulb. You will need to grind the pins down a little as you will be attaching the legs of the LED to them. Slide the LED into the holder and sqeeze the pins in. Again check the polarity and makesure the LED works. Apply some solder to the pins/legs and then cut the excess legs off. Insert the black bulb holder into the grey housing and glue/ melt the housing to the back of the panel. Reconnect to the car - job done! Looking at the panel with the switch and connector on the right I think the positive is the left hand pin - BUT check! As there is a green filter on the panel you can use either a green or white LED. Some LEDs require resistors some don't.
trouble with that is you'll end up eith the far side being dark, leds are directional so the light wont diffuse well. what I did was to add another led to the far end, that did the trick
The light spread is no different than the standard bulb set-up. I supose it could depend on the LED used. If you want to be really trick - you can open the panel and have surface mount diaodes along the length and a red one for hot and blue for cold.
erm no, the light spread is very different. compare a std bulb to an led and you'll immediately see the led lights up pretty much only directly ahead, while a proper bulb lights up in all directions pretty evenly. try fitting led dash bulbs to a MK2 and the problem becomes obvious when it comes to the MFA/clock bulb. LED = no light at all, bulb = lit up brightly. The trouble here is there isnt a direct path for the light, it all has to reflect round the sides of the MFA to light it up. since LEDs only shine light forwards, bugger all light can get round the sides. Been there, done that
I can see your point (no pun). I've got LEDs on my heater panel and switches. The clocks are still bulbs. I didn't find the area on the right-hand side of the heater panel to be too dark. There are some LEDs available designed for a wider spread.
Thank you everyone for all your advice. I now have a spare panel I bought from ebay, I was told it worked but it didnt ! So atleast I can try the method above. If anyone knows of an internet link with pictures on how its done, that would be great. Cheers Kelvin
it is all down to how good you are with your hands if you have pigs tits for fingers then i can imagine it is probably hard
yeah theres much harder jobs on a mk2 than getting the heater slide apart...id call it a one spanner job
you've both been lucky then like i said some of them are really well glued together and wont split without destroying the panel in the process. Been there, done that!
yeah but if you cut with a dremel it wont go back together snug. im not talking a few spots of glue here, I'm talking all the way along the middle between the sliders and the outside, tons of the stuff
