RobertCO
Active Member
Slowly fixing up this 9090 and decided to tackle the dreaded meter bulb replacement tonight. I have limited soldering skills and am still learning but with two bulbs out (one on each meter) I decided to go for it tonight.
I searched everywhere for an alternative to replacing the bulbs with the meters hanging out of the front which seemed like it was going to make this job hard for a noob like myself. I *think* I figured out a trick and this job went smoother than I thought it would and only took an hour. Apologies if it's already documented here somewhere but I could not find anything.
First, I must say I wish I had gotten the LED versions of these bulbs, I did a lot of work and the meters are better but not bright enough for my tastes, Here's a pic of the kit I got from ebay.
The trick here is to carefully cut the 45 year old glue that holds the meters to the metal plate. Note that the glue is only applied across the bottom portion of the meters. Once the meters are cut free (I used a razor blade) they can be carefully removed from the chassis from the bottom and out thru this area:
Now a little piece of 2x4 for a work table to support the meters:
One side done:
Now I had some of this tacky tape left over from when I converted my old Marantz to a black faceplate and so cut come strips like so and attach to the metal plate. I cleaned the metal plate thoroughly to remove the old glue, I removed as much of the glue as I dared from the meters.
Now carefully reroute the meters back where they came from and out the front openings:
Now remove the plastic cover from the two-sided tacky tape and position the metal plate over the meters and gently squeeze to set the tape. Reassemble and enjoy.
(my cell camera makes these look white but they are really yellowish)
I searched everywhere for an alternative to replacing the bulbs with the meters hanging out of the front which seemed like it was going to make this job hard for a noob like myself. I *think* I figured out a trick and this job went smoother than I thought it would and only took an hour. Apologies if it's already documented here somewhere but I could not find anything.
First, I must say I wish I had gotten the LED versions of these bulbs, I did a lot of work and the meters are better but not bright enough for my tastes, Here's a pic of the kit I got from ebay.
The trick here is to carefully cut the 45 year old glue that holds the meters to the metal plate. Note that the glue is only applied across the bottom portion of the meters. Once the meters are cut free (I used a razor blade) they can be carefully removed from the chassis from the bottom and out thru this area:
Now a little piece of 2x4 for a work table to support the meters:
One side done:
Now I had some of this tacky tape left over from when I converted my old Marantz to a black faceplate and so cut come strips like so and attach to the metal plate. I cleaned the metal plate thoroughly to remove the old glue, I removed as much of the glue as I dared from the meters.
Now carefully reroute the meters back where they came from and out the front openings:
Now remove the plastic cover from the two-sided tacky tape and position the metal plate over the meters and gently squeeze to set the tape. Reassemble and enjoy.
(my cell camera makes these look white but they are really yellowish)
