Switch Illumination 1993 960

[Rob Guenther]

Hi.

Earlier this week I was driving the 960 at night (and a few days before to
work, early in the morning) and I couldn't find the defrost switch easily...
Nothing was illuminated for the sunroof or defroster switches... had to get
a good look when I went under a streetlight to see which was which.... both
days its was raining and miserable outside, I so I did not want to have the
sunroof open by accident.

The switches on the other side of the steering column (for foglights,
antenna) are illuminated... No one in the family can remember if those
switches ever did light up, but we suspect they did.... Can anyone shed some
light onto the subject.

How difficult are they to remove and change the bulbs in them, if possible?
Should be pretty easy by the looks of it, just don't want to damage the
console - this car is easy to work on everywhere else, I imagine this job is
simple as well.

 

[Peter K L Milnes]

The switch panel should be able to be pulled clear of it's clip (plastic)
mountings with care. Start at right hand edge of heater/a/c controls and
gently wriggle it away from the steering column end. When clear the lighting
for the switches should be very visible. Check that the connections are on
and tight and that the bulb(s) are serviceable. They should have a good
connection to the dimmer and ground. The bulbs are plugged into plastic lens
shifters which enable all four/five switch legends to illuminate. From the
dealer they are quite expensive (£3-4 UK) $6-7 US.

Cheers, Peter.

 

[Rob Guenther]

Thanks for the info.

7 bucks is a little much for a lightbulb in general - but I mean its been
running for 12 years, and will run for another 12, so it won't bother me
that much.

I'll check the connections of course... Shouldn't be anything wrong with
them tho I wouldn't think, Volvo electrical systems seem quite solid and
well thought out - I'm used to worse (VW, and even they are good I find).