Dashboard centre panel removal, radio swap, cigar lighter replacement, lighting switch removal/repair and bulb replacement

Problems have been building with the centre panel in my car: I had always known that the cigar lighter was dodgy to unusable- not that I want to light cigars but as a power source for my sat-nav it just wasn't working, it also doesn't illuminate when the sidelights are on. However I have also discovered that the tape player in the radio cassette didn't work and the lighting switch only worked when it wanted to- sidelights were more a matter of confidence than reliability so the switch must need some sort of attention. In fact it seemed loose at the base so I suspect has been removed once already. Finally the back-lighting behind the heater controls was poor. The dash in this car is the early pre 86 type, the radio isn't fitted with the ISO standard wiring connectors or mounting sleeve so all of this has led to the need to remove this panel and attend to the various problems. I was putting up with everything until I could find a suitable replacement radio... and then eBay provided in the shape of an exact model match- Sparkomatic 309F. I don't have a wiring diagram for this radio (or even an instruction manual and if anyone has one please PM me!). There were a few differences in that the radios had different sized multi-plug connectors but basically the wiring was exactly the same.

The workshop manual makes this seem an easy task;

The book states the job is done by:
Removing the gear knob and lever gaiter tray,
Remove radio,
Remove heater control knobs'
Pull out the two face level vents, and, reaching through the vent holes undo the two butterfly nuts that hold the aluminium face plate on.
Pull the fascia plate forwards and down to disengage from the dash.

Sounds simple enough- but  it isn't straightforward and there are a few pitfalls- my experience and suggestions follow!

The gear lever and gaiter are straightforward.

Unscrew the gear knob

Lift up the rear of the gear lever tray and slip it off over the gear lever.

Removing the Radio

 Despite the instruction to remove the radio- this can't be done until the dash is off, so I first just disconnected the the knobs

 Pull off the two control knobs...

... and the tone levers beneath. The radio fascia frame just pulls forward so I got a hook and pried it all around to release it.

Pulling the fascia frame

... and lifted it away.

 The two knobs beneath are secured to the dash with 13mm nuts-

There's little room for a spanner so I removed them with a wall-drive through the socket.

 
 The radio is then loose but can't be removed until the main fascia panel is off!

 Face Level Vents

The book says that these should pull out- they don't. This is a difficult and time-consuming job that will take a couple of hours! It will also shred your hands. The vents will not pull out because they are secured from behind by two spring clips. The only diagram I could find suggested that these are at each side of the vent- they are not. In my car at least they are fitted to the top and bottom of each vent. They can just be reached from each side if you remove the inboard knee panels and reach up behind the dash. If you have very long and strong fingers you can probably squeeze the clips together and pull/push the vent forwards- not many of us are built like this! The clips are tight because they are hard up against the material of the console from behind- they tend to dig in to the softer plastic and then can't be pushed down.

I found it was best to start with the top clip- press it down using a lever if necessary, and tip the vent forwards so that the top slips out.  If you then try to release the bottom, the top will clip back in, so I laid an aerosol can spray extn tube along the top of the vent to prevent it from popping back into place.

Aerosol extn tube (white) in position across the top of the vent

 Then working from beneath, push one corner of the clip upwards and pull that corner of the vent forwards, work your way along pressing the clip upwards and swivelling the vent horizontally to release more until the whole clip has passed over the dash panel

 You can then pull the vent forwards and out.

Vent released, note wide clips on top and bottom

Vent removed. The hole does provide extra access but I found I had to remove the other kick plate anyway.

 This turned out to be a brutal process. It could have been simple if the vents had been designed with front access mounting clips- but hey this is a Lotus! I did manage to scratch the plastic quite a bit before I hit on the above method and this will need making good before I can refit the vents.

Scratches on vent surround from abortive attempts at levering.

I made a mental note to file the opening a little to make the job just a bit easier if I have to do this again.** I think this difficulty arises from the clip fastening... Its held by just a single rivet and this means it can swivel during installation. If it does this one corner comes forward and digs into the GRP of the dash... It can't then fold downwards easily to let the flv pull forwards. It might be worth fitting a second pop rivet to prevent this in future.

Removing the Fascia panel

The panel is held on by two butterfly nuts, one each side of the fascia, and accessible through the FLV holes- tricky to photograph but they are in there!

One butterfly nut just visible towards bottom left side 

 They remove easily, but are likely to be a little stiff. I will use some copperslip when I refit.

Butterfly nuts removed

 The heater control knobs need to be removed... but here again I had a problem. I started with the centre knob- this was a simple pull/push fit and held on with some really sticky black goo! I needed to lever the knob from behind using a trim pry tool. This did scratch the back-plate a little but only where it will be covered by the knob when refitted. This led me into a false sense of security as I then assumed that the other two knobs will also be push-fit...mistake!! They had a latch button on the switch stalk itself which springs into a hole in the side of the knob. I had looked for these but not found them. Push the button in before pulling on the knob! I think I found an explanation for the centre knob being different later on...

I removed one of the panel dimmer knobs- this was VERY tight and stuck on with black gooey stuff. I gave up removing the second!

LHS directional control knob. Note spring-loaded button on knob stem... and damage :-{ to backplate.

 The knob has a hole to receive this button- visible below- poke the button down with a punch or similar before pulling the knob off forwards.

Hole in knob into which the spring loaded  stalk button will clip

 Once all three knobs are off, the fascia panel will pull forward- but you need to pull the bottom forwards first so as to lower the top and allow the locating lip to pop out from behind the dash.

Top lip on dash fascia panel. Note switches come forward with the panel, as do the two panel light control knobs.

 Looking behind the fascia panel, the heater back plate that fits over the light box was clearly at some time edged with foam. This had now deteriorated to such an extent that it showered everything in crumbly debris.

 More fragments in gear well and all over the radio! Yukk!

Lighting, HRW hazard warning and rear foglight switches 

The four top switches are clipped into the fascia panel and come forward with it. However they have to come off in order to remove the panel. They have a plastic latch on top and two lugs beneath. In my case the lighting switch lacked the two bottom lugs. The switches are made in two black plastic parts and are surrounded by a white fibre-optic collar for illumination. They join the loom via white multi-plugs at the rear. There is actually only one multi plug per switch- it just looks like two.

Switches still fitted in fascia plate. Note white multi-plugs to rear and fibre-optic collar surround. 

 I labelled each multi-plug to prevent confusion

Retaining latches at the top are visible.

 Pressing the multi-plug latches inwards top and bottom allows the plugs to be withdrawn.

 ... and the fibre-optic collars can then  be eased off using a probe to gently ease them over the retaining lugs

 Finally depress the mounting lugs and the switches can be pushed forwards and through the fascia panel. This is the lighting switch- the contacts didn't look very good inside.

Similarly connections to the panel light dimming switches also need to be removed  I numbered the three connector spades to the left hand panel light switch 1-3 from the top- note top contact is vacant.

... before removing them.

I did the same to the panel light connections on the right- these join the two centre contacts.

Two connectors removed form RHS panel light dimming control.

Cigar Lighter

The cigar lighter was badly corroded both inside and out. There were two connections to the back and a single wire connection to the  light ring.

Connections to rear of cigar lighter- two to the lighter itself and one for the illuminated ring.

 The bulb holder just pulls out of the illuminated ring and the terminals pull off the rear. I couldn't remove the bulb from the holder which was corroded solid. Not surprisingly the bulb wasn't working but as a new one comes with the new part I just cut it off. The fascia panel was now free and could be removed from the car.

The lighter was corroded in place but could be loosened and eventually the metal sleeve pushed outwards through the light ring

... and the light ring itself came away when it was squeezed across the mounting latches

Parts removed.

 I bought a generic replacement from Halfords, its exactly the same size although I did need to modify the wiring slightly.

 The old light had a single lead to the bulb. The current returned to earth through the body of the cigar lighter itself via a small peg that connected to the ring to the body. This arrangement is very sensitive to corrosion and when the contact is broken then the bulb will not light.

Old light ring- note metal peg projecting from the bulb holder that earths the bulb to the lighter body.

The new light has two leads

The red power lead can be connected to the original power lead for the light, and the earth is connected to the lighter body using a piggy-back spade so that the original earth lead can still be connected.

Piggy back spade connector on black earth lead to preserve contact point for lighter earth.

I connected everything temporarily to check function and everything was in order.- care the lighter gets hot in use!

Repairing the lighting switch

The pins at the rear of the switch looked fine

But looking inside the contacts appeared dirty and discoloured.

Base of switch- poor contacts inside. Note the two spring-loaded plunger resting on the centres of each rocking contact.

top of switch- dirty copper inside.

The switch is in two sections held together by a pip-and-strap on each side. These just lever away from the body and allows the contact block to be withdrawn.

The switch has two rocking contacts inside, each held down by a spring-loaded plunger- both were very dirty.

The rocking contacts should make and break contact with these buttons in the rear section of the switch. These were also very dirty

Sorry about the poor focus but the muck on the contact studs is clearly visible.

The switch flick button pulls off the rear section with the contacts and all could be removed for cleaning

Contacts after one has been removed and cleaned... does it show?

Contact studs also cleaned

I could then reassemble the switch and  reconnect it to the loom. I temporarily connected the battery so I could check that it worked and it appeared to do so. There were however no panel lights because both panel dimmer rheostats were disconnected.

Renovation of fascia panel.

The light box provides illumination behind the heater control knobs. Its fronted by a translucent panel stuck to the fascia panel and edged with foam- presumably to stop the light from straying.

The translucent panel is held on by two 8mm nuts and is easily removed for cleaning.

I had a bit of an accident with this and the plate was damaged. It seems virtually impossible to replace- it isn't even shown in the parts list and so has no part number, so I will have to carry on with whatever I have left.

The light box back itself remains in the dash. This has a reflective backing and contains 3 2W instrument bulbs BA7S. One is far left, one centre (enters from an angle above) and the final one is at the extreme right. In my case the centre bulb was broken and the right hand one inoperative. I will replace all with new ones as I don't want to be doing this again soon!

 Face level vents

The edges of the vents were scratched in my attempts at removal. I filled the scratches with stopping and let it set

Before rubbing it down with 380 grit paper until only the scratches still held filler.


I could then just dust over the frame using black plastic spray paint.

 I did the same with the fascia plate itself. This was sprayed with three coats of black paint and one of VHT crackle effect.

All painted items were left for 24 hrs to dry.

 Wiring the radio

It was obvious that there was a lot of debris behind the dash- years of sedimented sweet wrappers, dust, and grit. I vacuumed all out carefully revealing a large rusty metal plate (unknown function but I suspect important) and- surprisingly a spare heater control knob. This one had the spring contact hole and I suspect it was once the centre knob in my panel but was dropped behind the dash at some point. Rather than retrieve it, it was simply replaced with a non-standard knob. I will see about reinstating it when I rebuild! 

The radio could be lifted out

... to reveal the expected mess of wiring... and a very rusty radio case.

 Apart from the aerial connection there are two major wire bundles. Two earth wires connect to the centre nut, and a bundle of wires emerges from the other side to enter the multi-plug.

 A single red wire connects separately but doesn't for some reason pass through the multi-plug.

Note 4-pin multi-plug on existing radio.

 In fact both red wires eventually join to the same fused power supply. I suspect that one of these is supposed to be a permanent positive feed and the second fed via the ignition switch accessory position. In my case both connections are permanently live which probably explains why the radio worked even without an ignition key!
NOTE ADDED LATER:
This setup is WRONG! It will result in a large battery drain because the clock isnt supposed to be displayed unless the ignition is on. The red/white wire is a permanent live but the red should be a switched live. I was forced to revisit this when I kept going through batteries. This will be covered in a later blog so please see here.

 As I am replacing with an identical model of radio the wiring is very similar- the main difference is that the multi-plug used in the original was a 4 pin and that in the replacement is a 6 pin- although in both cases the same 4 wires only are joined via this connection.

I swapped the multi-plugs using soldered connections so that the new radio can plug into the car's loom. I fitted bullet connectors to join the loose positive leads and temporarily connected the radio to check it. It seems to work well with good quality loud sound so although I haven't yet tested the tape player, it seems the connections are good so I removed it again to press ahead with the rebuild.

 Reassembling the Fascia Panel

I refitted the light box panel by slipping it over the two retaining studs and tightening the 8mm nuts- but only loosely.

The translucent panel was originally edged in foam strip, I used foam sticky tape to edge it as I refitted it.

 The end result at this stage is a reasonably firm but movable panel as you will need it to move to align the heater control knobs later on. I think in an ideal world you would do a couple of test fits and tighten the nuts fully when its right- life is too short so I compromised- you don't have to!

Panel refitted- firm but has some slippage movement. Sadly note the damage I did to the thing by putting it down on some unset filler!- Can't remove that but as the part is obsolete I'm stuck with it.

Once the panel was back together, refitting is, as they say, the reverse of disassembly.- Except its not exactly that, because I found the new radio had some extra parts that the old one was lacking. For a start there were these nice little rubber dish washers that cover the nuts below the tone and frequency selection tab controls.

 There was also a plastic gasket fitted just below the radio frame. I wondered about this but it looks very home-made so I decided not to use that.

Finally there were these two large metal plates that go over the control knob studs and presumably brace the radio against the rear of the dash panel. My radio didn't have these but I did discover one loose and rusty one when I cleaned out behind the dash - so I'm thinking it did have them once!

This also meant that I needed to experiment with the various fittings to get the right method of installation- and I still don't think I have it right. What I opted for in the end was this...
Fit the metal tabs onto the knob stalks and above the first ring nut. Insert the radio through the upper opening and drop it down so that the knob stalks now protrude through their holes.

inserting the radio

further...

lower it and..

Pull forward to allow the knob stalks to project forward. Note the plates fitted behind the GRP

Holding the radio firmly against the dash from the inside check that the front piece projects through equally on both sides. If it doesn't, adjust the nuts behind the plates to equalise fore/aft projection both sides. The rest of the fitting has to wait until after the fascia plate is fitted but I recommend checking for function at this point - I didn't because its a faff to have to keep connecting and reconnecting the battery- I wish I had though because in my case function had ceased and I had to strip everything out again! This also goes for the switched by the way.

At this stage replace any bulbs in the light box that need changing- I fitted three new ones. You can then start to fit and wire up the switches etc on the fascia panel. I started with the cigar lighter- straight forward when you follow the instructions! Insert the light ring first (bulb holder at top). Insert the lighter body (large slots horizontal) and then twist it clockwise to lock into the light ring.

Inserting light ring

Body inserted and locked, wiring completed

insert element

 I next inserted the switches and

Fitted the fibreoptic rings and multiplug connectors. However- do not click the switches fully home because that will leeave insufficient clearance to fit the top of the fascia plate under the dash lip. Leave them loose at this stage- I had to unclip mine later!

 Wire up both panel light dimmer controls.

With the four control buttons loosened and pulled forwards, offer up the panel to the dash. You will need to keep the bottom forward against the gear gaiter and slip the retaining lip under the dash at the top. You can then ease the bottom of the fascia panel backwards making sure that the radio controls emerge through their respective holes as you do so. The heater control knobs also need to project through the  holes in the translucent light box frontspiece but will probably not be central at this stage. 

Dont forget to check and change any of the tiny capless bulbs that are used as indicators inside the hrw and foglight control buttons.

Push the knobs back on- lining them up with the projecting stalk buttons and push them in. You will need to move the translucent plate a little so that they go home smoothly. I moved on then to the rest of the radio...

Adjusting fore/aft projection, washers over knob stalks

Place a washer over the switch stalks to cover the slots and follow that with the plastic front plate. I placed another washer above the front plate and then the second ring nut. I then tightened that up to hold the radio. I am not sure that both of these washers are strictly necessary since both radios only came with one each side but I didn't want to over-stress the plastic frontspiece. Finally slip the thin black washer over the stalks and refit the tab controls before pushing the knobs back home- check function again (believe me I know!).

Add frontspiece and fix with ring nuts covered with rubber dished washers

Finally refit all control knobs

Then refit the butterfly nuts and any control knobs you've missed. Lastly refit the FLV, they will push in easily enough- BUT- make sure everything is right before you do this because getting them out again will be  a joy and a delight!

Dash fascia reinstalled.

Overall I think that the fascia panel is improved and the damage I have wrought has been disguised! The lighting button and cigar lighter are now functional and  all the lights work. Although it seems the radio wiring has come adrift at some point, at least I know how to reconnect everything- sadly a re-strip will need to wait a few days though and I will just have to put up with the lack of a radio for the time being.

Addendum...

Of course refitting the gear lever tray and trim panels is straightforward- except that I found a split in the gear gaiter...

Oops! I found the gear lever gaiter was split... another job for later!

... and one of the knee panel pop fasteners had failed. I was able to reattach the head using a pop rivet but I don't expect this repair to last.

This is the inside of the popper fastening that holds the knee panel to the centre tunnel below the dash. Sadly mine pulled apart and although I'd like to replace it I need to find an original fitting. Its an important fastener and needs to be secure. In the pic you can see that I have pop rivetted the head back as a temporary fix.

Fibre-optic sender and radio fix

I think I mentioned that I will need to tackle this job again to fix the radio. I eventually got around to it and was pleased to find that this time the stripping out of the centre fascia was pretty quick, taking only about 20 mins- largely because the face vents were much easier to remove.

I needed to address the non-working radio- which turned out to simply be an incorrect fuse- it needs two 5a; and also to sort the fibre-optics which, despite my earlier confidence, appeared not to work when tested!

The fibre-optic sender was visible through the top cutout in the dash as an octopus like structure screwed onto the scuttle or bulkhead. It resembles a mini distributor- a silver base and a black plastic cap. This is in fact exactly  what it is as its simply an enclosed bulb holder fitted with a cap that contains lenses to focus the light onto several openings into which are inserted fibre-optic cables. In some forms the lenses are also coloured so a different colour can be fed along each cable.

Fibre-optic source screwed to bulkhead. Note silver half section to left and black cap with optic cables emerging on the right.

There are lots of pictures of this unit on-line, but nowhere did I find any description of how to take it apart and check the bulb. In fact the bulb holder is a simple push fit in the silver end of the unit. I had to remove the whole thing to work this out as there isn't enough access to pull it with any force until it can be pulled forwards.

Fibre-optic generator unscrewed and rotated (right) to show the end into which the bulb holder (left) is a push fit.

Pulling the bulb holder forward to examine it showed that it was in poor condition. The bulb and cap had separated (although this might have happened during the dismantling).

using a screwdriver to lift the bulb-holder for photography- note the glass bulb has detached.

The bulb itself was cloudy, I suspect this was intentional, but it has to be admitted that an enclosed unit like this, the usual 6W bulb  must get very hot! I decided to swap the bulb for an LED to keep the heat down. Its a BA9 fitting.

LED fitted into bulb holder- tested for illumination.

Reassembly was for once, the reverse of dismantling! I have to say that I can still not see much sign of illumination in the daytime- the same goes for the instruments- all of whose bulbs have now been swapped for LEDs. I hope to get a better and more visible display if I ever drive at night.