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AC Panel Bulbs quick question

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Old 12-06-08 | 03:16 PM
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AC Panel Bulbs quick question

Does anybody know what size (or type) the AC Panel bulbs are?
I have already blown 15 $ for bulbs that are "almost the same", but don't fit.
The one in the car seem to be exactly 5 mm diameter while all the ones I can find are a hair bigger.
Please help....

(Naturally, I have searched quite a few times).
Old 12-07-08 | 05:32 AM
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I've been trying to figure out the same thing
Old 12-07-08 | 07:14 AM
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Originally Posted by DMoneyRX-7
I've been trying to figure out the same thing
Like I said, I have already blown 10/15 bucks on bulbs that are about 0.2/0.3 mm larger in diameter. I was able to stick them in, but they push the sides out and the light bulb assembly doesn't fit in its hole any longer.

I measured their diameter and it should be 0.5 mm.
I have resorted to call Mazda tomorrow morning, they must have some to give me or some to order.

One thing I can tell you: they are not 37, 74 or 73. These are all a wee bit larger.
Old 12-08-08 | 04:01 AM
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I'm glad you blew that money before I did. haha
Old 12-08-08 | 06:13 AM
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Originally Posted by DMoneyRX-7
I'm glad you blew that money before I did. haha
grrr.... I will possibly let you know the size today, when I contact Mazda
Old 12-08-08 | 08:36 PM
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For all of you interested, you won't believe this...

I called Mountain Mazda (Hamilton Mountain Mazda dealer). The parts guy was very helpful, however, he told me that -in spite of the fact that he has a part number- the light doesn't have a "north American" corresponding matchable light (eg 194, 74, 37, or whatever). He also told me that he checked and there are none available in North America! He told me he could order them for me and tomorrow he should be able to tell me when he'll be getting them.
Is this f u c k i n g possible?

If you have any suggestion, by all means, chime in, 'cause I'm extremely pissed.
Old 12-08-08 | 09:23 PM
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I am almost 100% positive that its a T5 14v 1.4w bulb.

Last edited by RLaoFD; 12-08-08 at 09:23 PM. Reason: more info
Old 12-08-08 | 09:43 PM
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Originally Posted by RLaoFD
I am almost 100% positive that its a T5 14v 1.4w bulb.
I wish you had been here earlier on... However, better late than never...
I'll see if I can find them tomorrow.
Thank you very much.

PS I looked at the size and it seems to be right about what I measured.
I'll see what I can do.

Last edited by gio64; 12-08-08 at 09:48 PM.
Old 12-09-08 | 09:39 AM
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How about this:

I found out the same T5 bulb for Honda (part number: 35505-S30-003)
I'll see if these fit.
I'll let everyone know this afternoon.
Old 12-09-08 | 10:04 AM
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Originally Posted by gio64
Is this f u c k i n g possible?
I was thinking the same thing... Is it f u c k i n g possible that someone could be here for 3 whole years and still be simple enough to call their local dealership for parts?

If you need RX-7 parts, and you call your local dealership, one of two things will happen. One, they will have no clue what an RX-7 is and to save face they will say whatever you are looking for doesn't exist or has been discontinued. Two, they know what an RX-7 is and they think it's a ******* Ferrari. They will charge you 3-4x list price.

How you could be around for that long and not know this is beyond me. Anyway, what you want to do is call this guy:

Malloy Mazda , Ray Crowe is the parts manager, gives great prices to RX-7 owners, quick shipping:
(888) 533-3400 , (703) 490-8170 , fax: (703) 490-3864 , hmkparts@aol.com

He gets parts that other dealerships don't, he gets discounts that other dealerships don't, and he doesn't price gouge. He has an RX-7, all you have to do is call the number, ask for Ray, and describe the part you need to him. He'll know what you're talking about.
Old 12-09-08 | 12:32 PM
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Thanks for the help... yeah, right

Originally Posted by SLOASFK
I was thinking the same thing... Is it f u c k i n g possible that someone could be here for 3 whole years and still be simple enough to call their local dealership for parts?
I did, if you read the post, they said they don't have them in the entire North America. Plus, since -and it is a proven fact- it is the same bulb that other manufacturers use in their cars, why would my first instinct be to run to Mazda to get a part I should be able to buy at Wal-Mart?

Originally Posted by SLOASFK
If you need RX-7 parts, and you call your local dealership, one of two things will happen. One, they will have no clue what an RX-7 is and to save face they will say whatever you are looking for doesn't exist or has been discontinued. Two, they know what an RX-7 is and they think it's a ******* Ferrari. They will charge you 3-4x list price.
Neither of them happened. They don't have the part and they ordered without charging me Ferrari prices, however, they have no clue when/if they are going to get one, as a matter of fact -since you indirectly solicited the information- they asked me to call again tomorrow and MAYBE they will know what is going on with it

Originally Posted by SLOASFK
How you could be around for that long and not know this is beyond me.
I am not sure what you mean with "this". If "this" is call Ray for whatever you need (or whatever you need that you cannot find), I will say this:
1) If I need a part and I can get it locally within a couple of days (which has always been the case so far), why would I call a guy in the US, pay custom duty shipping, loose 25% on the dollar exchange, pay sale taxes on it (just like I would in Canada) and then wait 2 weeks at best to get what I need?
2) Given the above, what is the logical thing to do is to go to a parts store and find the little light bulb. When that doesn't work, you call Mazda. If that doesn't work as well, then you call Ray. Unless, that is, you live in a place that makes it convenient for you to call Ray first. That, my friend, is not the case here.

Had I called Ray first, I'd still be waiting for the lights to come, instead, I have them in my coat pocket.

What is beyond me here, is that when people ask pretty simple and pretty clear questions, there are people who don't have an answer for the question but time to bitch about other people's problems, that feel that it is a good thing to make (not so) smart remarks instead of helping.
If I didn't need help, I would not be on this forum.
And if this forum is not meant to help, then this forum has no point in existing.

Take care,
Giovanni
Old 12-09-08 | 12:39 PM
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Originally Posted by gio64
What is beyond me here, is that when people ask pretty simple and pretty clear questions, there are people who don't have an answer for the question but time to bitch about other people's problems, that feel that it is a good thing to make (not so) smart remarks instead of helping.
If I didn't need help, I would not be on this forum.
And if this forum is not meant to help, then this forum has no point in existing.

Take care,
Giovanni
Could not have said it better myself. This is like the "where did you mount your turbo timer" thread. Their is only about 2-3 people that answered the question and about 20 others who just said "don't use a turbo timer." Just answer the damn question!!
Old 12-09-08 | 03:05 PM
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Wfiw

I got home and tried the "Honda" bulbs.
They work like a charm. I need to install the panel back in, so I haven't yet tried to put the lights on.
HOWEVER:
The T5 light bulbs I purchased are identical in dimensions to those that were in the car.
The ones in the car have the following stamped on them: 14 V 1.4 W.
The 33505-S30-003 Genuine Honda bulbs are T5 14V 1.4 W.
As far as I can tell, they are a perfect match in size, wattage and voltage to those I replaced.
FYI, I paid 4.16 CDN each plus taxes. Steep, but done nonetheless, without spending more than 20 $.
BTW, I returned the wrong bulbs, so in the end I only blew 4$ on the failed attempt.

Last edited by gio64; 12-09-08 at 03:08 PM.
Old 12-09-08 | 03:37 PM
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you can get size #74 from superbrightleds.com, if you want leds of course. but dont get the ones that look like a circuit board...they dont work. ask me how i know. lol
Old 12-09-08 | 03:39 PM
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how do you know? I was about to get those because they have an angle of 360 degrees
Old 12-09-08 | 05:36 PM
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ok i am interested. apparently a couple of these bulbs went out in my car.


so you just went to your local Honda dealer and asked for part #33505-S30-003? is there any type of replacement bulb that we could get from wal-mart or an auto parts store?
Old 12-09-08 | 05:41 PM
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Originally Posted by silverTRD
you can get size #74 from superbrightleds.com, if you want leds of course. but dont get the ones that look like a circuit board...they dont work. ask me how i know. lol
they do work, i have them in my dash right now.
Old 12-09-08 | 05:41 PM
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Originally Posted by DMoneyRX-7
how do you know? I was about to get those because they have an angle of 360 degrees
because i have 6 of them. hehe they are too wide at the base. but if you look at the picture, there isnt much there. only the terminals, 1 on each side. i'm going to try to shave them down to make them work. why would i go to all this trouble? because these are the only bulbs this size that i can find that have a 360 degree pattern.
Old 12-09-08 | 05:44 PM
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Originally Posted by gio64
I got home and tried the "Honda" bulbs.
They work like a charm. I need to install the panel back in, so I haven't yet tried to put the lights on.
HOWEVER:
The T5 light bulbs I purchased are identical in dimensions to those that were in the car.
The ones in the car have the following stamped on them: 14 V 1.4 W.
The 33505-S30-003 Genuine Honda bulbs are T5 14V 1.4 W.
As far as I can tell, they are a perfect match in size, wattage and voltage to those I replaced.
FYI, I paid 4.16 CDN each plus taxes. Steep, but done nonetheless, without spending more than 20 $.
BTW, I returned the wrong bulbs, so in the end I only blew 4$ on the failed attempt.
Old 12-09-08 | 05:46 PM
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The plastic clear LED's don't quite fit either. ask me how i know.

i had to squeeze the middle with pliers and they finally fit. No 360 angle though.
Old 12-09-08 | 05:47 PM
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Originally Posted by jacobcartmill
ok i am interested. apparently a couple of these bulbs went out in my car.


so you just went to your local Honda dealer and asked for part #33505-S30-003? is there any type of replacement bulb that we could get from wal-mart or an auto parts store?
Yes, I did go to Honda and did that. I even told the parts guy why I was there.
As far as the replacement auto part, I don't know what to tell you.
I would imagine that, since there is a rack full of bulbs at Canadian Tire (local store), there must be a generic replacement for it. But I have no idea what that is.
The Mazda guy said that he only knows them by part number. The Honda guy said to me (when I asked) that it was a T5 bulb.
Interesting thing is, I purchased some LED lights at superbrightleds.com and they have a link to the Sylvania website for you to go and get the exact bulb type (number) you need for your specific car. If you go there and look for replacement bulbs for a 93 rx7, most light bulbs I can think of are there, but not those. So, I am not sure what you can make of this, but these are the facts.
FYI, on that LED site they have no T5 bulb that I could find to replace those...
I hope this helps
Old 12-09-08 | 06:29 PM
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it would be VERY handy if we could find some LEDs that would be a good replacement for these bulbs.

i did some searching on google and verified that you're correct about that honda part# 35505-S30-003.

i am going to go by my local honda dealer tomorrow and see if i can get a few of these.

also, giovanni. do you know how many bulbs are in the A/C panel? i'd like to replace all of them
Old 12-09-08 | 06:35 PM
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i found some T5 LED bulbs via google search, but i'm not sure if these would work. and the company is in australia...
http://www.ledshoponline.com/automot...rd_bulb.htm#T5
Old 12-09-08 | 06:52 PM
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4 bulbs. just replaced mine last night.
Old 12-10-08 | 08:36 PM
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Grrr...

Hi everyone.
As you know, I was replacing bulbs as a result of "extending" my EBC installation.
I replugged the instrument cluster back in place tonight and just put the lights on to test everything before I push it back in place and screw it down.

Well, well...
I might not have mentioned this to you, however, I purchased 194 LEDs to replace the main back lighting of the cluster.
Unfortunately, there is a bit of a problem with the result.
The cluster area closer to the lights is now yellow, while the areas that are further away from the lights are brighter amber, as well as the AC panel I replaced the lights of.

I guess the easiest way to resolve this is to simply buy 4 194 regular bulbs and to replace the LEDs I purchased.

Any other ideas?
I know that somebody has worked at the cluster and has placed some more smaller LEDs in other areas to make it more uniform, but this involves soldering things in and I am not too happy with that idea. The other problem with this is that this would make the cluster colour more uniform, however, it would remain different from the one of the AC panel....


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