New rear inner lights fitted today
I finally managed to replace my old and faded rear inner lights.
I’ve learnt from experience to allow much more time for any jobs relating to the car, no matter how straightforward they should be. In fact it seems to be that what should be a quick and easy job never is (not for me anyway). Replacing my inner rear lights is a good example of this.
I ordered OE Magneti Marelli lights from Autodoc. Delivery took 11 days which was fine with me. I prefer to keep my cars in factory spec so only replace like with like. They came with the bulb housing and I decided to buy all new Philips bulbs at the same time.
My thanks to NHN for advising to disconnect the battery first to avoid any error codes when replacing the lights. I wasn't aware of that.
The job itself is pretty straightforward but I found it a bit fiddly.
Just when I thought everything was going fine I accidentally closed the rear tailgate. Of course, the battery was disconnected so I couldn’t open it again. I checked the car manual and it showed how to open it manually from inside the tailgate using the ignition key. Well, this took a while as I couldn’t see where the key was meant to go. Eventually I somehow got it open but not before dislocating a small piece of plastic trim inside. I then had to remove the back tailgate trim to fix it back on - ahh.
Also, when replacing one of the lights I was a little shocked to see the first signs of minor rust bubbles in one corner (see photo). It looks like where the water was collecting. The other side is perfect. Strange how that can happen. I cleaned it and touched it up with a little paint. Looks like I’ll have to revisit that over the summer and treat it properly before it spreads. Rust ruins a car for me and it always seems to return. I hate treating rust. I'm assuming the body shell is galvanised but not the tailgate and doors - is that correct?
It wasn’t until I fitted the lights that I noticed that the right hand side was missing the tip on one corner (see photo). At first I thought I accidentally damaged it but after checking the photos I took beforehand, it was definitely already damaged in the box. I left the protective plastic film on the lights until they were fitted so didn’t notice. It’s a bit annoying but they’re still vastly better than before and I couldn’t bear the thought of the hassle it would be to try and return one. The car’s not mint anyway.
After reconnecting the battery it came up with a warning light for the ESP and power steering which I imagine is to be expected. I took it for a short drive and all was fine.
It’s certainly a huge improvement and was worthwhile.
Look closely on the right hand light and you can see that the tip is flatter.
Oh dear, a few tiny rust bubbles! ahhhhhh.
The old lights were VERY faded. Cleaning and polishing didn't work so I opted to replace with new ones.
Second shock after the rust bubbles was seeing the missing light tip - ahhhh. Annoying but I can live with it.
Decided I might as well fit all new bulbs at the same time - Philips replacement fog and reversing light bulbs.
Before and after - certainly a massive improvement.