e36 Radio Display VERY Dim

Does anyone know a fix a very dim radio display without changing the
whole unit? The radio is the standard U.S. Alpine-built cassette
unit(with trunk CD controller and WX band)in cars from 1996 until the
end of e36 cars. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!!
'96 318i
106,000 miles, not too powerful, but still gets 32 mpg on the highway,
25 mpg combined hwy/city.

wrote:
> Does anyone know a fix a very dim radio display without changing the
> whole unit? The radio is the standard U.S. Alpine-built cassette
> unit(with trunk CD controller and WX band)in cars from 1996 until the
> end of e36 cars. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!!
> '96 318i
> 106,000 miles, not too powerful, but still gets 32 mpg on the highway,
> 25 mpg combined hwy/city.
>

The display on these are backlit lcds, so in all likelyhood, you just
lost one or more of the backlighting bulbs.

--
The Malt Hound
"You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline - it
helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons,
but at the very least you need a beer."
-Frank Zappa

To reply you must first remove all *spam*

Thanks for the info. Can you be more specific about what the bulbs are
and how to replace them? Although I can remove the unit from the dash,
I can't seem to open it up...even by removing all the screws.

Malt_Hound wrote:
> wrote:
> > Does anyone know a fix a very dim radio display without changing
the
> > whole unit? The radio is the standard U.S. Alpine-built cassette
> > unit(with trunk CD controller and WX band)in cars from 1996 until
the
> > end of e36 cars. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!!
> > '96 318i
> > 106,000 miles, not too powerful, but still gets 32 mpg on the
highway,
> > 25 mpg combined hwy/city.
> >
>
> The display on these are backlit lcds, so in all likelyhood, you just

> lost one or more of the backlighting bulbs.
>
> --
> The Malt Hound
> "You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline -
it
> helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear
weapons,
> but at the very least you need a beer."
> -Frank Zappa
>
> To reply you must first remove all *spam*

Malt_Hound wrote:

> The display on these are backlit lcds, so in all likelyhood, you just
> lost one or more of the backlighting bulbs.

I have the same problem. What is the part no. for the bulbs? How
difficult is it to replace them?

wrote:
> Thanks for the info. Can you be more specific about what the bulbs are
> and how to replace them? Although I can remove the unit from the dash,
> I can't seem to open it up...even by removing all the screws.

I just found an article on it:

http://www.boston-bmwcca.org/bimmer/2002/10/radio.asp

And a more detailed one:

http://www.azbmw.org/index.php?name=...ic&p=1342#1342

BTW - Is there someone in MA or NH area that can do this for me?

wrote:
> Thanks for the info. Can you be more specific about what the bulbs are
> and how to replace them? Although I can remove the unit from the dash,
> I can't seem to open it up...even by removing all the screws.
>

I don't know precisely as I have never had the "opportunity" to pursue
the problem, but I would guess that there is a wire going to the radio
for illumination. First step would be to ensure that is hot.

The wiring diagrams from either the ETM or a Bentley manual may help in
your pursuit.

--
The Malt Hound
"You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline - it
helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons,
but at the very least you need a beer."
-Frank Zappa

To reply you must first remove all *spam*