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Radio Removal to repair back light - also dash bezel removal

23K views 21 replies 15 participants last post by  JPSmall007 
#1 ·
I will warn you ahead of time that this will be a long post with quite a few pictures.

Some background – My 02 Trailblazer has the factory AM-FM-Cassette-CD player. The majority of the display / button back lights are burned out. I thought I would remove the radio and find a few bulbs to replace. Well after getting the radio out of the dash I found out the lighting must be part of the circuit board as there were no bulbs to be found.

Prior to removing the radio I searched here and found an article with a picture of how to remove the instrument panel bezel and radio. While this provided the necessary information for me to do the job I figured I would post my pictures.

First you will need a medium size Phillips head screw driver and a ¼ ratchet with a long extension and 9/32” socket.

In the first four pictures I am including the document I found on our fourm. Again this gave me all the information but I figure the pictures cannot hurt.

For my step 1 I had to remove the lower panel just below the kick panel under the steering wheel. I have a trailer brake controller and that is where it is mounted. It is held in place by two 9/32” bolts, one near the console and one near the door. Sorry but my sd card was full so this is the only picture I do not have.

Next I removed the kick panel just below the steering wheel. This is held on with 4 9/32” bolts, two below (you will see in one picture) and then two just below the dash. These are easily seen by the cutouts in the upper part of the panel.

Once this panel is out of the way you will see the three Phillips head screws on the lower panel. You can see these screws in the pictures here.
 

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#2 ·
Next you remove the two screws at the top of the bezel. I am showing the screwdriver in the one slot. The second slot is on the opposite side of the steering wheel. There is one more screw right next to the cigarette lighter adapter. In all there are 6 phillips head screws that hold the whole bezel on. From here you can ‘gently’ snap the bezel away from the dash.

Mine is a 4WD with rear wiper so I removed the wire connector on these switches. The 4WD switch is on the top and the rear wiper is just below it. Next I removed the wires to the two 12v power adapters in the dash. This is all I removed as I just flipped the bezel out of the way.
 

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#3 ·
With the bezel out of the way you can see the three 9/32” bolts that hold the radio in place. I removed these 3 and slid the radio out. I pulled off the power/volume, tuning and balance knobs. I carefully pried off the radio bezel by lifting the tabs out of the way and this is when I found out there were no bulbs. So I just reinstalled everything and wrote this up as to have done something productive.

Next step for me is to purchase a decent after market radio for the Trailblazer. I never cared for the sound of the factory radio in my car so I will use this ‘excuse’ to buy an upgraded stereo. I already installed aftermarket speakers so I am set.

If anyone knows a way to repair the back light in the radio please let me know because I would still like to fix this.

Thanks for the bandwidth and I hope this helps someone out.






Keith
 

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#4 ·
Awesome write-up! I found it helps to lower the steering wheel and to put the truck into 1st gear prior to removing the dash :yes:
 
#6 ·
I've taken mine off way to many times. I can now take the whole dash off in about 2 minutes :D The first time I did it, i accidently engaged th high beams and drained the battery :crazy:
 
#19 ·
Similar to burnt out radio lights, just n A/c

I read the replies of how to replace the back lit of the radio, which is great info. But in my 02 TB my a/c back lights to the manual adj is out. Dealer told me to replace the light, the whole a/c head unit would have t be replaced. Tuh, no such thing as none servicible parts(quoted). Any one have an idea, or been there-done that?
 
#20 ·
I read the replies of how to replace the back lit of the radio, which is great info. But in my 02 TB my a/c back lights to the manual adj is out. Dealer told me to replace the light, the whole a/c head unit would have t be replaced. Tuh, no such thing as none servicible parts(quoted). Any one have an idea, or been there-done that?
What do you mean the manual adj is out?

If you have the digital HVAC controls there's a write up in the articles section.
The article says the analog slider controls can't be opened the same way, but it can be done as others have posted about it but be extremely careful as the sliders are very easy to break, mostly not worth the risk.
 
#21 ·
Ya, I was referring to the analog not the digital. It’s just the one slide that’s out. I realize its going to be a tough job, but I'm going to "practice" my hand at some other mods such as installing Blue LEDs in the window and door lock buttons. I've privately asked a few users on their input or instruction. I know it’s not a major problem, but a major pain to restore, but I want my TB cherry. I got time, got a lot of payments left.
 
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