Replacing Your GL 1500 Radio Light Bulbs

The AM-FM-Cassette player on your GL 1500 has four "twist in" light bulbs and two "press in" light bulbs. The four "twist in" bulbs illuminate the keys on the keyboard and the two "press in" bulbs illuminate the vol-ic vol-mute-avc-tone indicator strip.The bulbs are available from Panasonic Co. West, OEM/AP Service 16 b-9 650 Katella Ave., Cypress, CA 90360. You can order your replacement bulbs by calling Panasonic at (714)373-7500.

OR

The radio bulbs are available here: * NOTE: Some model years take 3 XAMR011SA bulbs and others take 4.
3 or 4 of http://www.partstore.com/PartNumberSearchResults.aspx?PartNumber=XAMR011SA
and
1 of http://www.partstore.com/PartNumberSearchResults.aspx?PartNumber=XAMR001SA

You will need 1 XAMR001SA lamp and 4 XAMR011SA lamps.

You'll find the Panasonic model number, such as rm 1500a, on a sticky-back label on the outside of the radio's chassis. Refer to this number when you talk to the Panasonic people in California.

When you receive your bulbs, remove the radio from your Gold Wing. Refer to your service manual for this procedure.

The service manual doesn't tell you how to disassemble your radio, but here's how to do it. Lay a soft pillow on your worktable. Label and remove the five knobs for vol, ic vol, mute, avc, and tone. If you have a cassette in the cassette player, eject it. Lay the radio upside down on the pillow and remove the 9 screws that hold the bottom panel on. One of the screws is hidden under a rubber pad. Pry the pad away just enough to expose the hidden screw. Carefully remove the bottom panel, using a pocketknife or a suitable flat tool to pry the front of the panel to clear the chassis.

If the rubber pad is totally removed from the chassis, simply glue it back on with some Honda Hand Grip Cement, available from your Honda dealer, when you're ready to reassemble the radio. Unplug the 9-pin connector cn103 from the brown printed circuit board. Remove the four screws that secure the keyboard assembly to the chassis. Press the cover release button at the back of the radio and remove the keyboard panel. You'll need to feed the cn103 connector through the opening in the chassis to free the keyboard panel. You'll see the four gray "twist in" bulbs on a brown printed circuit board. Twist them counter-clockwise to remove them. You may need to use a flat head screwdriver to twist them to the unlocked position. Install the new bulbs by twisting them clockwise to lock them in place. To replace the two other bulbs, unplug the 6-pin cn702 connector and replace the bulbs, wires, and connector as an assembly. Reassemble the radio in the reverse order that you disassembled it. Refer to your Honda service manual to install the radio on your Gold Wing.

This article only applies to the 1988 and newer Gold Wings, Aspencades, and SEs. It doesn't apply to the GL 1500 Gold Wing Interstates!

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January 5, 2006

Replacing Your GL 1500 Radio Light Bulbs

The AM-FM-Cassette player on your GL 1500 has four "twist in" light bulbs and two "press in"
light bulbs. The four "twist in" bulbs illuminate the keys on the keyboard and the two "press in"
bulbs illuminate the vol-ic-vol-mute-avc-tone
indicator strip. The twist-in bulbs are available from http://www.partstore.com/PartNumberSearchResults.aspx?PartNumber=XAMR011SA or you can call toll free at 1-866-925-7278, which translates into 1-866-925-PART. The two press-in bulbs are available
at most Radio Shack stores, but you will need to do some cutting, splicing, and insulating to make them fit.

You'll find the Panasonic model number, such as rm 1500a, on a sticky-back label on the outside of the radio's chassis. Refer to this number when you talk to the people at partstore.com.

When you receive your bulbs, remove the radio
from your Gold Wing. Refer to your service manual for this procedure.

The service manual doesn't tell you how to disassemble your radio, but here's how to do it. Lay a soft pillow on your worktable. Label and remove the five knobs for vol, ic vol, mute, avc, and tone. If you have a cassette in the cassette player, eject it. Lay the radio upside down on
the pillow and remove the 9 screws that hold the bottom panel on. One of the screws is hidden under a rubber pad. Pry the pad away just enough to expose the hidden screw. Carefully remove the bottom panel, using a pocketknife or a suitable flat tool to pry the front of the panel to clear the chassis.

If the rubber pad is totally removed from the chassis, simply glue it back on with some Honda Hand Grip Cement, available from your Honda dealer, when you're ready to reassemble the
radio. Unplug the 9-pin connector cn103 from the brown printed circuit board. Remove the four screws that secure the keyboard assembly to the chassis. Press the cover release button at the back of the radio and remove the keyboard panel. You'll need to feed the cn103 connector through the opening in the chassis to free the keyboard panel. You'll see the four gray "twist in" bulbs on a brown printed circuit board. Twist them counter-clockwise to remove them. You may need to use a flat head screwdriver to twist them to the
unlocked position. Install the new bulbs by twisting them clockwise to lock them in place. To replace the two other bulbs, unplug the 6-pin cn702 connector and carefully remove the blue
"condoms" from the old bulbs. If the new bulbs have two bare wires, strip about an inch of insulation from some 18 ga. automotive wire and slip it on each bare wire of the new bulbs. Solder and insulate the solder connections to the existing wire where you cut off the old bulbs. Use some saliva to lubricate the new bulbs and slip the blue "condoms" over the new bulbs.

Reassemble the radio in the reverse order that you disassembled it. Refer to your Honda service manual to install the radio on your Gold Wing.

This article only applies to the 1988 thru 2000 Gold Wings, Aspencades, and SEs. It doesn't apply to the GL 1500 Gold Wing Interstates or the GL 1800 Gold Wings.

Howard Halasz, Wing World Technical Editor