Pioneer SX-838 Lamp replacement

This afternoon lamps were changed in the second Pioneer SX-838 restored on this site. I get many emails about lamp replacement and the difficulty varies by unit and which lamp is out. In this case three dial lamps, the speaker A indicator, and FM selection lamps were out. The dial lamps are all the same 8v/50mA fuse style lamps. The speaker and source selection lamps are small bulbs with leads. For all lamps contact Dave at dgwojo.com he is a great guy and can get you exactly what lamp you need.

First the dial lamps as they are the easiest to replace. If you look down at the receiver there is a metal plate behind the dial held on by two recessed screws. Remove the plate and you will see a long narrow PCB with one screw in the middle holding it down. Remove the screw and pull up on the board should expose the fuse style lamps. Simply remove and replace like a fuse. The meters for tuning and signal strength are the same bulb and only require you to remove the metal plate above them.

The speaker and source selection bulbs are a bit more tricky. They are under the dial in a strip where the bulb is on leads. The bulbs are pushed into a rubber housing which they can be easily pulled out of. Next, you need to decide if removing the leads from the board is doable or sniping the leads, splicing in the new bulb, and insulating with heat shrink is the only way. I did the former for the speaker selection bulb as the leads went to pins on the PCB. The FM bulb was spliced and heat shrinked.

Once done the receiver looks great.