Stereo and Heater face plate really hot!!!

black94gt · Aug 23, 2011

HELP guys! Last night driving home I noticed that the my stereo feels really warm to the touch and my heater face plate feels so hot it burns my finger if I press down on the face and hold it there. Is this normal for these cars? I don't want my car to burn down if it's getting too hot. My temperature gage was reading normal so it wasn't over heating. I marked the spots that I'm asking about in yellow below.

Thanks,

ttocs · Aug 23, 2011

still rockin the factory cassete?

The areas you have selected for the heater controls happen to be right above the light bulbs that light it up. You can swap to led if you want them cooler and blue but otherwise they are fine.

black94gt · Aug 23, 2011

Yep, still rockin the factory stereo and cd player. I had to disconnect the cd player though because it kept turning on randomly but the radio still works fine. That makes sense that the light bulbs would make it hot.

I just called a Mustang repair shop and they said that it's not normal for the faceplate to get that hot. Maybe warm but not hot to where it burns your finger. They said that my heater fan motor could be going out and I could be having an electrical draw that is causing it. I will have to drive it with out the heater running and see if it heats up like it did.

ttocs · Aug 23, 2011

pretty sure there is no fan on the stock radio, they are rare to see and really only on fairly well made decks. Decks naturally generate heat as well with the amp included even on the mach systems. I have been surpised how hot decks get for years and had a cd player that would eject discs so hot you would think they were going to melt, but it worked for years.

Worst case scenario I see happening is the deck goes out which is almost amazing it has not already. The old tape decks in our cars were the last stereos they built that lasted any length of time as their cd players rarely made through the warrenty period. The deck in the mach is easy enough to swap out so no sweat there.

black94gt · Aug 23, 2011

Sorry man, I was meaning the face plate with the heater controls. Here is a picture I got online of what I am talking about with yellow marking the hot spots. I marked where it burns your finger if you keep it there for more than 5 seconds. Does your 94 get this hot too?

ttocs · Aug 23, 2011

I went with leds to go to a blue dash over a year ago, so no mine do not but I do remember them getting pretty warm. Its just a part of the car that rarely gets touched so not many people pay attention to it.

Stop fingering yer car like she is a dirty slut

CanaryGT · Aug 23, 2011

ttocs said:
Stop fingering yer car like she is a dirty slut

This....

castine917 · Aug 23, 2011

turn your dome/map lights on for 20 minutes. place your fingers on them and see if your fingers start to burn in about the same length of time as the heater control ones.

g36 monkey · Aug 23, 2011

castine917 said:
turn your dome/map lights on for 20 minutes. place your fingers on them and see if your fingers start to burn in about the same length of time as the heater control ones.

Any light bulb for that matter. Every car does this, cheby's, dodges. Unless they have LED's behind it. Nothing to worry about, materials are made to withstand it.

If you want a longer lasting, better looking, cooler running experience, go with LED's.

DropTopPony · Aug 23, 2011

I honestly can't ever remember my dash getting that hot that it burned your fingers.

evilcw311 · Aug 23, 2011

my stock bulbs get that hot. just got done driving and remembered this thread and touched them...........yeah i said it, i touched it while driving, and yes they were hot!!!!!!!! wait we are talking about the bulbs right?!?!?!?

black94gt · Aug 24, 2011

Ok so today while driving around I kept my lights on without turning the heater fan on. The face plate; actually called the (heater control assembly) did get pretty warm because of the heat from the bulbs but it didnt get hot enough to burn my finger. WHICH IS GREAT!

However, when I would turn my heater fan on the control assembly started to get hotter. I noticed my engine loses a little power and starts hesitating just a tad while cruising down the freeway. Almost like my A/C is running or something. When I turn the heater fan off the power is restored. It's very mild but I can feel a difference with it ON and OFF.

Everyone check your mustangs to see if this happens please. I might have a wiring problem or my Heater Blower Motor Switch Resistor might be failing.

evilcw311 · Aug 24, 2011

if you had it on defrost or mix it will bog like the ac cause the compressor cycles on those settings too. make sure you set it to vent as it will not turn on compressor.

Mustang46 · Aug 24, 2011

I know it gets warm but damn...

I would try getting some LEDs or something that doesn't heat up like the iridesent bulbs.

Justang · Aug 24, 2011

Getting LEDs seems like a band-aid for a bigger problem. Yes the bulbs can get warm but how can you justify them getting hot enough to BURN?

ttocs · Aug 24, 2011

incandescent lights get hot, you can't stop it it is why they are so inefficient... I can't tell you how many I have burned myself on while installing alarms under dashes where the entry/exit lights are on for a couple of hours while I am working on it. They have been doing this for 15 yrs now until you happened to put your finger on it and will be fine for another 15 even if you don't switch to led. Just as they said go leave your dome light on for 15-20 mins and see how hot it gets, you can do the same thing with tail lights, its not a problem.

Justang · Aug 24, 2011

I wasn't saying you can't get burned by a bulb. It's happened to me plenty of times. I'm more echoing what Bob said...

DropTopPony said:
I honestly can't ever remember my dash getting that hot that it burned your fingers.

I just can't see that panel getting so hot based solely on two(?) little bulbs.

ttocs · Aug 24, 2011

ok, then just remove the stereo, remove the shifter shroud, remove the center dash, the heater controls and then pull the bulbs out and either replace with led or leave them out completely. This is your only other option other then maybe installing a fire ext...

I use to have a voltage/ground tester from snap-on that was pretty sweet. It had an incandescent light on the tip so you could see the wire you were testing. It was a really small bulb but I had it get hot enough to burn me as well as melt some carpeting it was on after being on for a while.

the cluster is made to handle the temps you are seeing or you would have had an issue for a while now.

g36 monkey · Aug 24, 2011

Listen to scott, he worked as an installer for years.

He is also restating what I said. You guys didn't notice them getting so hot because you probably don't ride around holding your dash.

feeling like you lose power with the heat on is an issue. As already stated, you should leave it on vent. It should make the motor expel heat better which would make it more efficient.

black94gt · Aug 25, 2011

When my car was hesitating on the freeway the Function Selector knob was set on Defrost and the temperature was set about 75% Hot. So that makes sense my A/C compressor would be kicking on a little to make the car lose power. Driving home tonight with the heater off the Control Panel got pretty hot so I agree with you guys that the lights are causing it and it's normal. Explain to me though why when the A/C turns on my High-Output 5.0L ngine loses so much damn power when my wifes 2007 Elantra with a little 4 cylinder engine you cant even tell when the A/C is on or off. I guess thats why you see alot of deleted Air Conditioner mods.