Hi all,

 

I have a 1991 Mk2f Breadvan GT - and I’m looking for the bulb which lights up the heater control panel.

 

I have managed to get the holder out of the control panel - it’s a small yellow tube with two male connectors attached to it. The only thing written on it is ‘ALBA’

 

The bulb inside is broken, so I can’t identify it in any way - I have also been researching for hours, but can only seem to find Polo heater control bulbs/holders up to 1990.

 

does anyone have any idea on the type of bulb I need for this?

if anyone needs any more info to be able to help, then just let me know.

thanks!

Jake

Maybe this?

 

https://www.heritagepartscentre.com/uk/321919039-bulb-holder-for-the-heater-control-panel.html

 

I took one from a mk1 Golf in a scrapyard.

Might be able to put a T10 Wedge LED in if it can diffuse the light to shine inside the clear plastic.

Edited 9 October, 20232 yr by dvderlm

4 hours ago, dvderlm said:

Maybe this?

 

https://www.heritagepartscentre.com/uk/321919039-bulb-holder-for-the-heater-control-panel.html

 

I took one from a mk1 Golf in a scrapyard.

Might be able to put a T10 Wedge LED in if it can diffuse the light to shine inside the clear plastic.

Thanks for the reply - unfortunately that holder is different (and I'm not sure I could easily get it to fit either).

 

However I do like the idea of a T10 wedge LED - thanks for the tip - I might just give that a go if I can't find an original!

 

Jake

On 09/10/2023 at 19:45, Mk2GTJake said:

Thanks for the reply - unfortunately that holder is different (and I'm not sure I could easily get it to fit either).

 

However I do like the idea of a T10 wedge LED - thanks for the tip - I might just give that a go if I can't find an original!

 

Jake

Hi Jake

How did you get on with replacing the bulb? Mine has just gone :(

2 hours ago, schneil said:

Hi Jake

How did you get on with replacing the bulb? Mine has just gone :(

Hi,

I managed to get a small ‘T5’ bulb from Halfords to work.

You have to bend the bulbs wires back on themselves and shove them into the holder so that each wire is touching each terminal.

Bit mine is still working to this day!

Hope that helps.

Hello Jake. I managed to get some 4mm "grain of wheat" 12v bulbs with bendy wire legs. I think they will work. The next question is how did you get the bulb out?

The black plastic clips off the front. Then you can see the top of the bulb. Did you pull it out with something? Or did you do what Haynes suggests and remove the ciggy lighter, then unscrew the heater control box and take the bulb out of it's rear? The Haynes method looks tricky as it claims you can do it with the heater cables still attached

On 22/06/2026 at 14:15, Mk2GTJake said:

Hi,

I managed to get a small ‘T5’ bulb from Halfords to work.

You have to bend the bulbs wires back on themselves and shove them into the holder so that each wire is touching each terminal.

Bit mine is still working to this day!

Hope that helps.

1 hour ago, schneil said:

Hello Jake. I managed to get some 4mm "grain of wheat" 12v bulbs with bendy wire legs. I think they will work. The next question is how did you get the bulb out?

The black plastic clips off the front. Then you can see the top of the bulb. Did you pull it out with something? Or did you do what Haynes suggests and remove the ciggy lighter, then unscrew the heater control box and take the bulb out of it's rear? The Haynes method looks tricky as it claims you can do it with the heater cables still attached

Hi, it’s been a while since I did this, but from memory the yellow plastic thing that the bulb sits in does just pull out. I don’t think there’s any clips to hold it in place. Once it’s out, you can use a small screwdriver to remove the metal tabs that act as the bulbs connector, and wedge the ‘tails’ of the bulb into them if that makes sense? I hope that helps.

So pulling it out from the front it is.

Any tips on the pulling? It looks a bit hard to grip, or will careful fingers do it?