[Richard]

The controls for the heated seats in my SAAB each contain two tiny
bulbs. They appear to be filament rather than solid state and have a
coloured silcone cover. Each bulb is mounted on a removable carrier.
I've put a couple of very poor (sorry macro photography is not my forte)
pictures he http://richard2808.fotopic.net/c1050691.html

Suggestions as to source of replacements would be much appreciated.
New switches are prohibitively expensive.

TIA

Richard

[Guy King]

The message
from Richard contains these words:

Suggestions as to source of replacements would be much appreciated.
New switches are prohibitively expensive.

Use the little mouldings and solder an LED in instead. You'll need a
dropper resistor unless you use self limiting LEDs, but they'll outlast
the car.

--
Skipweasel
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.

[gort]

On Sun, 13 Aug 2006 13:05:57 +0100, Richard wrote:

The controls for the heated seats in my SAAB each contain two tiny
bulbs. They appear to be filament rather than solid state and have a
coloured silcone cover. Each bulb is mounted on a removable carrier.
I've put a couple of very poor (sorry macro photography is not my forte)
pictures he http://richard2808.fotopic.net/c1050691.html

Suggestions as to source of replacements would be much appreciated.
New switches are prohibitively expensive.

TIA

Richard

RS Components do small pea type bulbs in various voltages.

Dave

[Mike Harrison]

On Sun, 13 Aug 2006 13:05:57 +0100, Richard wrote:

The controls for the heated seats in my SAAB each contain two tiny
bulbs. They appear to be filament rather than solid state and have a
coloured silcone cover. Each bulb is mounted on a removable carrier.
I've put a couple of very poor (sorry macro photography is not my forte)
pictures he http://richard2808.fotopic.net/c1050691.html

Suggestions as to source of replacements would be much appreciated.
New switches are prohibitively expensive.

TIA

Richard

Model shop - tiny bulbs are used in model trains. (also look at Maplin)
They are also common in car stereos - a repair shop will probably have a selection in stock.
www.cpc.co.uk probably do them as they supply repair shops, but their website is a pain to find
stuff on..!

[Richard]

Mike Harrison wrote:




Model shop - tiny bulbs are used in model trains. (also look at Maplin)
They are also common in car stereos - a repair shop will probably have a selection in stock.
www.cpc.co.uk probably do them as they supply repair shops, but their website is a pain to find
stuff on..!


Thanks. I had a stare in the Maplin catalogue and online but without
success. Maybe I should try harder.

I like the LED route but access is a bit tricky to incorporate a current
limiting resistor - each switch has a pair of these bulb thingys poked
through from opposing sides of the PCB - maybe 12V micro LEDs is the way
to go.

Thanks all.

Richard

[Clint Sharp]

In message , Richard
writes
The controls for the heated seats in my SAAB each contain two tiny
bulbs. They appear to be filament rather than solid state and have a
coloured silcone cover. Each bulb is mounted on a removable carrier.
I've put a couple of very poor (sorry macro photography is not my
forte) pictures he http://richard2808.fotopic.net/c1050691.html

Suggestions as to source of replacements would be much appreciated. New
switches are prohibitively expensive.
They look very similar to the ones used on Saab dashboards, should be
worth going to your dealer and asking them. The wattage is usually coded
by the colour of the plastic bit so they should be able to work out what
they are easily. You can buy LEDs with a built in series resistor for 12
volts if you want to have a go at replacing them but you need to make
sure the viewing angle is wide enough for your application and it'll be
fiddly.

TIA

Richard

--
Clint Sharp

[raden]

In message , Clint Sharp
writes
In message , Richard
writes
The controls for the heated seats in my SAAB each contain two tiny
bulbs. They appear to be filament rather than solid state and have a
coloured silcone cover. Each bulb is mounted on a removable carrier.
I've put a couple of very poor (sorry macro photography is not my
forte) pictures he http://richard2808.fotopic.net/c1050691.html

Suggestions as to source of replacements would be much appreciated.
New switches are prohibitively expensive.
They look very similar to the ones used on Saab dashboards, should be
worth going to your dealer and asking them.

I think the OP was hoping to get around what he thought might be rip off
dealer prices



--
geoff

[john2]

Richard wrote:
The controls for the heated seats in my SAAB each contain two tiny
bulbs. They appear to be filament rather than solid state and have a
coloured silcone cover. Each bulb is mounted on a removable carrier.
I've put a couple of very poor (sorry macro photography is not my forte)
pictures he http://richard2808.fotopic.net/c1050691.html

Suggestions as to source of replacements would be much appreciated. New
switches are prohibitively expensive.

TIA

Richard


Probably worth checking the battery volts if the bulbs have blown. They
should be underrun for a many thousand hour life.
Anything above about 14.5v with engine running might indicate a
regulation problem (though I am not an battery expert).


john2

[Richard]

raden wrote:

In message , Clint Sharp
writes


They look very similar to the ones used on Saab dashboards, should be
worth going to your dealer and asking them.


I think the OP was hoping to get around what he thought might be rip off
dealer prices



I was advised by the bod wot spanners the car that replacement bulbs
come with a free switch ;-) but I guess that there is no harm in asking.

Regarding rip-off prices: I was startled to discover that a replacement
headlamp wiper was £200!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Rgds

Richard

[Clint Sharp]

In message , raden
writes
In message , Clint Sharp
writes
In message , Richard
writes
The controls for the heated seats in my SAAB each contain two tiny
bulbs. They appear to be filament rather than solid state and have a
coloured silcone cover. Each bulb is mounted on a removable carrier.
I've put a couple of very poor (sorry macro photography is not my
forte) pictures he http://richard2808.fotopic.net/c1050691.html

Suggestions as to source of replacements would be much appreciated.
New switches are prohibitively expensive.
They look very similar to the ones used on Saab dashboards, should be
worth going to your dealer and asking them.

I think the OP was hoping to get around what he thought might be rip
off dealer prices
Yes, but the price of a comlete switch, my point was that the bulb looks
very similar to one which is used on the Saab dashboards and is
available cheaply, if the OP were to ask in his local dealership for
dashboard bulbs he may be pleasantly surprised.




--
Clint Sharp