Factory Radio

[emac]

hi does anyone have a factory radio to suit a '94 xj limited

see attached pic.

mine works perfectly, buuutt the display illumination doesn't work.

and no its not simply a bulb, the display screen is almost a sealed unit

so im wanting to get a factory unit with a working illumination to the screen

thanks

[Sobek]

I've got the same radio, and from what I've discovered over the years very few still have working illumination. Ours suddenly died around 1999/2000 (it's a 95 XJ), and last year was the first time I bothered to disassemble it to take a look. I'm pretty sure the actual LED itself that drives the backlight fails rather easily. I broke out the multimeter and worked out what each pin did and where power was meant to go, and even injecting the appropriate voltage directly to the backlight pins (as I had identified them) did nothing... I don't recall all the specific details, but ultimately my conclusion was the LED itself had failed, and it would be such a pain to try and repair that I didn't even bother. I still think about giving it a go from time to time, but I just never got around to it. I really do miss it though, I have nice memories of going places at night with mum, and the nice soft blue glow coming from the radio gave me a really nice feeling. It's a very specific shade of blue!

[awg]

am I being too simplistic, or would soldering in a blue led in the area behind the screen be enough to give a decent replica of the original ?

[emac]

yep i thought that to, but the display is a sealed panel that connect via pins on its back side, it doesn't allow room for an external light source.

that said i think im going to have to revisit that option some how as i really want the display working and i don't want to swap out the radio, i hate the look of modern radios in older vehicles

that's just me though

[Sobek]

I'm pretty sure you could squeeze a couple of tiny slimline LED's in there somewhere and get them illuminating, although it will likely look a bit ugly as the factory lights are built flush against the frame of the glass that makes up the display, so it gives a very uniform, bright and consistent glow. Adding other LED's should still light it up, but it will be splotchy and have a dark center most likely.

You know what, I'll be the guinea pig for this. I have heaps of various blue LED's and all the tools I need to try (I do a lot of electronics stuff on the side for fun). I've been meaning to take another jab at my radio, so I'll disassemble mine again soon and do some experimenting. Give me a week, I'll get back to you on how it looks

[eksjay]

I loved that radio. It was connected to a factory CD 6 stacker in the back that might have seen three repairs before it got binned. I replaced the head unit in 2016 after it lost its LED. I now have a Pioneer unit with bluetooth, Aux and a USB port. No more CD damage when doing trails! [XJ 95 Sport Classic].

[emac]

yep still got the CD changer in the back, still working, although now i mostly listen to that 6 cylinder rumble ( extractors and full length 2.5" system)
better than any music.
oh and the wind noise and the tyre noise, i could do without that tho