Accessing the bulbs behind the AC console

[porkchop]

I want to change the lighting of the interior of my car from vomit green to calm blue. Accessing the bulbs in the cluster seems easy enough. It seems to be just a few screws and pulling it all out and removing 5 bulbs.... and another in the Odometer...

However the HVAC console looks tricky. I think I remove the plastic panels by popping them out and then I should get access to some screws...? Where should I start when popping these panels so that I don't break anything? Is there a guide or can somebody share some steps? Is it as easy as I think it is? Or will it be difficult to access these bulbs?

BTW... it's an '05 hatchback

[ontarian_frog]

To make it easy:
1. Pop the trim off the side of the radio and hvac controls
2. Remove radio
3. You should be able to change the bulbs without removing the screws from the hvac controls. There are 4 of them. Bulb #74

Of course make sure your radio doesn't lock when it looses current. Or that might be a trip to the dealer.

[porkchop]

Thanks a lot for that.

Okay, I did it. Just a few more things for people in the future who stumble onto this thread via Google or the search function...

- It's a lot easier to access the bulbs if you remove the radio and the shelf, however if you can't, you will need skinny fingers. I could not remove the radio... I had a rather elaborate deck installed and I chose to just tough it out and do it with the radio in. Taking out my deck would be a huge pain in the ass...
- There are four black sockets you will need to twist counter-clockwise, they are a little tough to reach since you can't pull out the HVAC console very far. The top 2 twisted with ease, the bottom 2 were a little more difficult and took a finger from each hand to access... meaning I could only reach it with the tips of my fingers to twist the socket...
- Once you got access to the bulb, the bulb is simply pulled/yanked out, not twisted. You will notice the tiny bulbs have green condoms on them, making them a lot easier to grip in the process.
- Put the LED in, and check for a light by turning on the headlights each time you insert a new LED to ensure you've inserted the LED correctly... I'm pretty sure there's a positive and negative to these LEDs so if it does not light up, simply rotate the LED 180 degrees and insert it again.

I'm pretty sure this would have been a little easier if I was able to take out the radio but oh well. It's done, looks a lot better too.

[daug1502]

Good information. Pics woudl be nice as always, but that's a nice little how-to.