2005 caravan HVAC control replacement light bulbs

Posting here because the Dodge groups seem to be basically abandoned.
2005 Caravan SXT HVAC control pod has 3 of the 4 light bulbs burned out.
Bulb is same size as a 74, but it is fastened into a base which is NOT
interchangeable with the PC74 bulbs the owners manual implied would fit.
Dealer says the bulbs are not available seperately- if they burn out,
apparently Chrysler will only sell you the whole assembly.

Anybody know a source for these bulbs? Or am I going to have to do
microsurgery and transplant generic 12v grain-of-wheat bulbs in there,
and hope I can bend the leads into the slots on the base correctly?

Talk about ****-poor engineering- there was plenty of room to use the
pc74 bulbs like the main instrument cluster uses, and those are easy to
find. But no, they had to use some weird specials that look very much
like the lights embedded in an old analog radio.

Only other option I can think of is to (when warm weather hits) start
cruising junkyards and harvesting bulbs from wrecks, and hope they work.

--
aem sends...

aemeijers > wrote in news:lY-
:


>
> Only other option I can think of is to (when warm weather hits) start
> cruising junkyards and harvesting bulbs from wrecks, and hope they work.
>


That's the #1 source for odd stuff like this. Chrysler minivans are
ubiquitous in wrecking yards. Those bulbs will be available by the
millions, and for pennies apiece. I exaggerate of course, but not by much.

Harvest a bunch and keep them on hand for future use.


--
Tegger

aemeijers wrote:
> Posting here because the Dodge groups seem to be basically abandoned.
> 2005 Caravan SXT HVAC control pod has 3 of the 4 light bulbs burned out.
> Bulb is same size as a 74, but it is fastened into a base which is NOT
> interchangeable with the PC74 bulbs the owners manual implied would fit.
> Dealer says the bulbs are not available seperately- if they burn out,
> apparently Chrysler will only sell you the whole assembly.
>
> Anybody know a source for these bulbs? Or am I going to have to do
> microsurgery and transplant generic 12v grain-of-wheat bulbs in there,
> and hope I can bend the leads into the slots on the base correctly?
>
> Talk about ****-poor engineering- there was plenty of room to use the
> pc74 bulbs like the main instrument cluster uses, and those are easy to
> find. But no, they had to use some weird specials that look very much
> like the lights embedded in an old analog radio.
>
> Only other option I can think of is to (when warm weather hits) start
> cruising junkyards and harvesting bulbs from wrecks, and hope they work.
>

Just don't visit the yards near me, I hit them about every 3-4 weeks
just to get the oddball bulbs used in some of todays vehicles.

It's getting kind of hard when they use 3-4 different bulbs across a
dash panel just to keep the levels even...

--
Steve W.