I have a 97 850 GLT. The instrument panel back lights are burning out. Can I replace the lights or do I have to replace the entire panel?

The AM radio reception is very poor. Is there anything I can do?

 

Instrument panel meaning the guages and what not correct?

The bulbs CAN be replaced and while you're at it, remove the service bulb too (since it's really a "do nothing" bulb). Unforunetely, you're gonna have to wait a bit until someone comes along and tells you which bulbs.

I do know they can be bought at Radioshack though...

About the AM reception, does your antenna come out all the way?

 

Greetings.

To replace the cluster back light bulbs, the top dash cover has to be out of the way. Some people seem to undo the Torx screws only on the left half of the dash top, while I undid all of them and removed the entire top cover for cleaning, etc... Disconnect the negative battery cable when you do this and be careful with SRS. Also, if your 850 has turbo, disconnect the pressure gauge hose on the back of the cluster assembly before undoing the cluster assembly. 850 uses either VDO (German) or Yazaki (Japanese) cluster but the procedure should be the same. If you have another car, I would bring the bulbs to an auto parts store and compare the size & wattage/voltage.

This shows you a part of the procedure:
http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/odometer_fix.php

I removed the top cover completely to remove the cluster assembly for bulb replacement (the cluster has 2-3 electrical harnesses on top, pressure gauge hose for turbo (if so equipped) & is held by 2 snap on clips). I would replace as many bulbs as possible, since the bulbs are cheap and you don't want to go back in there, after replacing 1-2 bulbs and another one burns out shortly after. Sometimes the plastic bulb holder is deformed due to heat, in which case I would replace it as well. The bulbs for the main gauges are of 3W (about $5 each at a dealer), but I used generic 5W and it actually improved the brightness and has not affected anything. I bought the bulbs at an AutoZone, 2 bulb-package for $2.

In this particular case, Haynes' manual was helpful.

As to the radio, see if you can remove the antenna base mounting (held by hex nut) and inspect the inside for corrosion. Or, take the radio out and disconnect the coax (radio) cable, clean with electrical contact cleaner and reconnect it to see if it fixes the problem.

Good luck,


JPN

 

Hello again,

The dash top is held by many Torx screws and some of them are covered with tiny plastic caps. To remove the air conditioner vents, gently pry them out. Whatever you do with the dash, be gentle as you can easily crack some trim pieces.

Cheers,


JPN