348tb console backlights question

I'm doing some basic winter maintenance and today I was looking for burned out bulbs. I noticed that my "interior ceiling light" button isn't backlit at night. This little module looks difficult to disassemble without breaking any plastic so I don't want to tear into it if there's no point. Is the lower left button supposed to be backlit at night? I have a 1992 348tb, and I don't think this button is present on the targa or spider. Maybe they didn't backlight it.....
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Well because my iPhone posted the pic sideways it's actually the lower right button in the pic. When oriented correctly, it's the lower left button in the console though.

 

Thanks for the info Mike. I guess this means I'll be pulling it apart... It looks like the back cover is partly held on by plastic pins that were heated and then "mushroomed" out to hold it in. I hate when manufacturers do **** like that. It makes it so much harder to service...

 

Well it turns out this has been done before:

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/348-355-sponsored-bradan/259891-348-center-console-lights.html

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/348-355-sponsored-bradan/175667-348-console-button-led-light-fix-conversion-multi-post.html

Interestingly in both cases you can see that plastic was marred/broken in at least one spot. It goes to show that this is tricky to do without leaving marks. I went ahead and took my switch box apart. It wasn't fun. The plastic is more on the brittle side and the clips have a lot of "grab interference" so you really have to jam and twist the screwdriver to get them out. I only cracked the plastic in one part but i did gouge up all kinds of stuff around the clip areas. In addition, they have those stupid mushroomed out black pegs. Those I had to melt with the soldering iron very carefully. Again, not fun. After all that, I did find that the bulb was burned out as expected. The problem is that the bulbs are soldered onto the PCB. This was clearly not designed for servicing ever, which is very annoying. Regardless, it annoys me even more to have a burned out bulb. I don't like LEDs, so I'm going to replace this with a stock bulb and when I reassemble I may file down the retainer clips or just take them off completely and figure out how to screw the bottom on. My switch box is already messed up because someone stripped the retaining thread for the console top and just decide to force in a screw about twice the size...Looks like my ultimate downside is about $267 if I really mess it up.

149546 PUSHBUTTON PANEL - Ricambi America, Inc.

Long story short I HATE PLASTIC STUFF. It's easy to break/crack/scratch and you cant really restore/paint it like with metal. Also fastening methods are usually DFA (design for assembly) style, which usually means not designed for servicing.

 

As one of the linked threads recommended, Radio Shack part number 2721092 appears to be a correct replacement for these center console button backlights.

https://www.radioshack.com/products/radioshack-12v-microlamps-2-pack?variant=5717331205

Of course since Radio Shack is a horrible company, I went after work Thursday to one whose online inventory said they had these lights in stock. When I got there it turns out they didn't. I learned my lesson and called another one today to make sure they really had them. Had 3 packs of 2 so I bought the store out for a grand total of $6.57 after tax. These lights do seem to be a perfect match. I am going to have an electronics tech at work desolder/resolder them for me this week. I'll try to take pics. Before reassembly I may file down the tabs a bit to make it easier to take apart for next time one of the lights burns out.
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I can't stress enough how much it sucked to get that black switch box apart for me. Be really careful. It took me over an hour with multiple small flat blade screwdrivers and I still cracked it in one spot.

 

Well I finished the repair and the backlight works again. I decided to let one of the electrical techs at work do the desoldering/soldering since they have a fancy soldering station and desoldering wick and if I try with my $5 soldering iron and mess up I'm out $267 for a new part. It took the guy about 2 minutes to make the repair. You can't even tell anything was ever done. Before reassembly, I toggled the bench grinder to get moderate speed in the grinding wheels and ground the tips of the plastic clips down some. I then finished them off with some light sanding. I also sandpapered the 3 black pins down to a smaller diameter so they wouldn't hold the white clamshell assembly as tightly into the black plastic switch box. This will make the next bulb repair easier to do, and the remaining meat on the clips is more than enough to hold it all together.
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