I recently have undergone the challenge of trying to fix my shift light that hasn't worked for years. After slowly taking it apart, I decided to first try the bulb. It looks burnt out. I have never seen a bulb that looks anything like this. Does anyone know where I can get the bulb? On it, it says: OS 12/1.2 n
The incompetent people at Radio shack didn't know anything. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Patrick

 

Hi,

As to the bulbs, are they all shot? I usually apply 1.5~3V with a conventional battery to a bulb to see if it responds.

Did you bring the bulb to RS and compared with what they have? They usually have a shelf where you can go through to see if there is one that is similar/close in size & voltage, wattage, etc... But I assume you've already done all these.

The dealer probably wants $5 each for a tiny bulb, so I would try on-line search. If I have time today, I'll see if I can find something useful. Gotta go grocery shopping, bookstore, etc...

BTW, please specify your model, so we can better help you.


JPN

 

wow. You must bein a different country, or atleast the west coast. East coast here in Va, its almost 1 in the morning.

I have a 1987 240dl. No, I didn't do any of that at radio shack. The clerk made it very clear he had no interest in helping and I had no idea where to start. I'll try the battery test, although if you look in the bulb, the fillament doesn't appear to be connected. I'm 80% sure its shot (especially on a 20 year old car). I don't really mind paying $5 from the dealer, as long as they have it. I tried an Ebay search earlier and NOTHING came up. I think this is some really unknown special European bulb? Who knows. Them crazy swedes! gotta love em. Also, how can I find the wattage and voltage? On a bulb this small, I have no idea where to start guessing.

 

Hi Patdon10, and Kanji,

I found the Sylvania website has a lot of miniature lamps. I've
forgotten what it was listed under, but I do remember there
was a search function that listed the car make/model and
the appropriate lamp number for all the interior and exterior
lamps. Then you can go to (or call) your local auto parts
store and see if it is in stock.
Anyway it worked for me on my 850.

Best of luck, John

P.S. If your old bulb is in a plastic base you may have to remove
it and solder the new one to the pins on the base.

 

Anytime I replace a bulb in any of my cars I put some bulb grease on it. I got it at Autozone for $.99. I was blowing bulbs in my S60 like you wouldn't believe. They recommended it and I haven't blown a bulb since.

 

Hi,

You probably need a very tiny bulb, as indicated by J Telectro. I would bring the bulb to a RS and go through their "shelf" to see if you can find a close match.

Or, you may be able to find an LED that matches in size & power requirement. Should you take this route, note that LEDs have polarity, so if plus & minus are reversed, they won't light.

I hope this is of some reference to you.

BTW, I live in Japan, though I consider the States as my homeland.

Good luck & let us know if you need further assistance.


JPN

[IMG]local://upfiles/6892/6CFA75BF8EFA4E20BD30123921C79A64.jpg[/IMG]

 

I went to the Sylvania site and tried to track it down for you. I believe it is a 2721 bulb. With that said I went to do a search on their site, no such thing even though they listed it. So I went to their online parts catalog. I found this. I could be wrong, but I gave it a try for you.

2721 GREEN
W2x4.6d 12 0.1 0.11 C-2V 600 39 [align=center] [/align] 7 2721MF
B8.5d 12 0.1 0.5 C-2V 1,000 41
8 2721MF/ JF
BG8.5 - 5.5d/26 12 0.1 0.6 C-2V 1,000 43
9 2721MF8
B8.3d 12 0.1 0.5 C-2V 1,000 42
10 2721MFX
BX8.5d 12 0.1 0.5 C-2V 1,000 41
11 2721RED
W2x4.6d 12 0.1
C-2V 1,000 39
T-1 1/2 bulb type

 

Hi jks2, Kanji, and S70driver,

The 2721 is what was used in my 850. The auto parts stores should
have that bulb, it's very common. I paid about $2.50 for 2 of them.
The stores in my area only stock the bulb itself, not the type with
the plastic base. I cut the wires on the old bulb, unbent the leads
on the new one and soldered them to the wires left in the plastic
base. The pins on the plastic base do not accept solder so you
need to leave a little of the wires on the plastic base, scrape the
enamel coating off, and solder the new bulb to them.

Kanji I have been wanting to try LED's as I think the original
bulbs only have a rated life of 1000 hours. That is a good
suggestion.

S70driver, excellent job, I didn't have time to go to the Sylvania
website and find the bulb.

Jks2 what is bulb grease? Is this used to maintain a good connection
to the bulb?


John

 

Hi John,

>S70driver, excellent job, I didn't have time to go to the Sylvania
>website and find the bulb.

Agreed.

LEDs are quickly replacing conventional filament bulbs (I feel sorry for Tom Edison). They have longer life, are more impact-resistant andemit futuristic light with unique tint of white, blue, etc... I think LEDs could be a great alternative for instrument illumination use (I noticed some German & Japanese cars are already using them for certain illuminations). However, I noticed that for long-distance application, halogens/Xenons still seem to be a lot more effective. LED flash lights are extremely bright, if you look at the bulbs (should be avoided, though, as it canharm your vision), but their light patterns get dispersed and are not very effective so they are good for close-distance applications. Lately, 3W seems to be the highest power for an LED, but even with 3W LED, the lens has to be precisely designed for long distance, spot-light application. I think Luxeon (Lumileds) Star/Emitter is the top-notch LED mfg (USA) at the moment, followed by Nichia Chemicals (Japan).

Ona side note, an engineer at Nichia has invented blue LED(GaN or ZnO), and the company only paid him mere $10,000 for his world-class innovation. Infuriated, the engineer sued the company and in the end he ended up as a college professor at University ofCalifornia (Santa Barbara?).

Anyway, when it comes to illumination technology, I get excited.


JPN

[IMG]local://upfiles/6892/6B8B38A75B974BA3A8FD7CF93FA1B3EA.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/6892/1E49CD9E243E45739AC7B8870EC48391.jpg[/IMG]

 

Hi Kanji,

Wow, the designer of the blue LED deserves a lot. That opened the
door for the white LED's used in flashlights and multi-color LED's
that can achieve whatever color you desire.
I don't have much time to keep up with the newest advances in
lighting, most of the engineering magazines we get end up in the
trash before I see them.

John