I noticed a crack in my RHS rear light cluster, just like described here.  Probably the result of a hail storm which also managed to shatter the cache of the rear wiper mounting bolt. It doesn't look like it's about to break completely but I fear it might not pass the CT (French MOT equivalent) like this later this year.

 

I've found a Magneto-Marelli replacement for about 52€ on oscaro.fr, question is just how complicated it is to replace the thing? I recall that getting the lights mount out of the trap (and esp. getting it back in) wasn't as trivial as servicing the front lights...

 

I thought I had a service/workshop manual among my files but must have misplaced it. Anyone got a pointer to a pdf, please?

 

Thanks,

René

Dead simple

 

Its dead easy... 15 minutes max.

 

1) Pull off the carpet / bootliner flaps inside the boot allowing access to the back of the lights.

 

2) Unplug the large electrical connector and tuck it out of the way.

 

3) Squeeze the two plastic lugs which releases the bulb holder from the back of the actual cluster.

 

4) Manipulate the bulb holder towards you away from the cluster, be careful as the bulbs can get caught as they pull out through their access holes.

 

5) Now the bulb holder is removed your visibility improves! You should then see four silver threaded bolts that secure the cluster to the body of the car, two at the top and two at the bottom. Unscrew the nuts (be careful not to drop them as you thread them off the end of the bolts).

 

6) The light cluster should then pull away from the car - there is a foam / rubber pad which seals any water / wind ingress. This may cause resistance when trying to remove the cluster but just push/pull a little harder and will come away easily enough.

 

7) Once it releases don't pull it away from the car too fast. There are two independantly wired 5W bulbs. These just pull out from the cluster but only become visible once the cluster is released from the car slightly.

 

The hardest bit of the whole process is getting your spanner over the end of the threaded bolts, if you have small hands you'll have an advantage when it comes to turning them off the last few threads!

 

Hope this helps!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks, that should help indeed!

 

Do I deduce correctly that there's no need to pull off the carpet in an estate. Is that tricky to get back into place, btw?

 

I think I've noticed those bolts when I went in the last time. I'd have to see if I have a socket deep enough to reach the nuts, in that case I'll be able to use my flexible driver which should help a lot.

The carpet panel simply pushes into place, it is only held in place by a couple of tabs, the flex in the carpet allows it to fit tight and to bend enough to remove.

 

The bolts are indeed a long way down the thread so a standard socket is unlikely to work, I used an open-ended spanner as seen in the picture above to start it off, it then can be wound off using your fingers.

One can always use a socket part of the way if access is too cumbersome.

 

I'll try to put a piece of old bed linen in there too, just in case one of these nuts slips my fingers.