Hello,

For a while, one of the tail position lamps (parking lights?) did not light up, the burnt light indicator on board was active, or not. Currently, the burnt light bulb indicator is off on board, but from what I checked the bulb is off/burned. So, I thought I'd change it. I looked in the manual and saw that the bulb should be a W5W 12V 5W:

 

I bought these bulbs https://www.amazon.de/Philips-12961B2-Glassockellampe-Vision-W5W/dp/B001B4S3NK but I'm not 100% sure if they're good or not. Can you help me with an advice please?
Thank you very much!

P.S: Sorry for my english.

Didn't anyone changed the rear park lights?

I would like to know which bulbs would be suitable, and if those Philips bulbs that i bought are ok or not.

Thank you!

I am sure they are the correct bulbs... Each side of the car has a pair of them so if one fails, you will have limited light at the back.

 

The brake light bulb, signal bulb and reverse light bulb will all be different to these, though.

The small sidelight bulbs at the front will also be these small W5W bulbs so its worth having a few spare ones!

@mrgf thank you for reply!

I changed the bulb, and i noticed that the new one (Philips) is a little taller (about 1mm) than the one from the factory. Can this be a problem (i hope there is enough space left between the bulb and the plastic of the taillight)?

what do you think? i refer to the remaining distance between the bulb and tail light lamp/assembly.

Should be fine, its the correct type bulb.

 

There is a 10w version of thses available, sometimes people fit those instead of the 5w as they look the same, but obviously they are hotter and can melt the lamps.

@UrbanPanzer That's exactly what I was worried about. The new bulb (Panasonic one) is a little bit longer than the factory one. I made a little scheme 😆:

 

 

Since it is not significantly longer, i hope that It shouldn't affect/melt anything, right?

FFS WOULD YOUR WIFE NOTICE AN EXTRA 1MM??.

PUT IT IN

It will be fine. Just make sure you give it a good clean connection so as to not shake loose, vibrate, etc.

 

Edited 31 July, 20205 yr by mrgf

1 hour ago, w.t100 said:

FFS WOULD YOUR WIFE NOTICE AN EXTRA 1MM??.

PUT IT IN

come on 🤣, ofc she will notice!!! even the question is stupid, i was worried. I'm able to change the bulb if i have to, just to be fine :3.

 

43 minutes ago, mrgf said:

It will be fine. Just make sure you give it a good clean connection so as to not shake loose, vibrate, etc. 

She would say "Wow, double what you normally give me"! If she is anything like mine!

Thank you!

Hello again...

I went to wash the car today, and after it was ready, I left, turned on the lights and noticed on the dashboard the burnt light bulb indicator... I thought it was the light bulb that i just changed, but when i checked I was surprised to see that the positions/parking lights (both bulbs) on the rear left side were off. I walked about 10km to the supermarket, then i switched the ignition off and after 10-15 minutes after i returned and started the engine and the lights, all was fine (all parking lights were on, no burnt light bulb indicator).

Should i worry about this? Maybe the water got into taillight?

I washed the car before but that didn't happen to me...

Edited 1 August, 20205 yr by ngabriel

You may have just soaked the terminals and made the car think it had blown bulbs... Take a look at the bulbs inside the light and a closer look at the little rubber O-rings that go on each bulb holder. They often become brittle and crack or petrify or even become so decomposed that they fall off altogether. (Everyone now shout... "They fall off")

 

You can quite cheaply buy some rubber O-rings from somewhere like Halfords, t'internet, etc, often in a little packet but more economically by a box of assorted sizes. Go round all the bulbs and fit the most appropriate sized one to the relevant holder. Do this to all the bulbs if you have enough as its worth the trouble as if one is rotten, the rest will most likely be, too!

 

Additionally, check the seal around the whole light lens unit for water ingress as it will still get in and hit the wiring, even if it can't get to the bulbs. 

Be sure when fighting the unit, to install it securely and tighten it up enough help preb=vent leaks and from choking loose. The internal nut is best tightened by hand and not with a tool, even if you slipped a screwdriver in it to loosen so perhaps as you tighten, gently but firmly leap against the light lens (Not too much to risk cracking it), whilst finishing off the tightening. you will be amazed at just how much more you can safely tighten it with the extra pressure, without tools and without smashing the plastic. This may help prevent excessive water ingress but if you use either a car wash or pressure washer, don't be surprised if water eventually finds its way past any seals and to the bulbs!

Thank you for reply. It has no gasket where i circled, and I think water can ingress through that space:

 

 

 

if I replace (if necessary) these rubber O-rings but water can ingress through that space... is this ok?

Has it ever happened to you?

Edited 2 August, 20205 yr by ngabriel

I would deffo think of replacing the O-rings as it can only help. I am unsure without a look, about the gap there and a gasket.  There may be a gasket further in and/or where you arrowed may be water channels, to allow water to drain down the inner tailgate area and under the bumper, to the floor.

 

Really, its just a case of not letting damp/wet get to the bulbs or the wiring as this may cause errors. You may well be familiar with seeing other vehicles as they brake/signal etc, have the rear lights look like Christmas tree lights, with brakes/tails flashing and signals dimming or all funny things like that. This is usually caused by the wires or electronic boards becoming corroded and shorting across each other! The other situation is that the bulbs will keep blowing and that too, is a common sight as you follow traffic. Illegal, potentially dangerous and so many owners will only do a repair when they have the MOT imminent!

Edited 3 August, 20205 yr by mrgf

On 02/08/2020 at 22:26, mrgf said:

Take a look at the bulbs inside the light and a closer look at the little rubber O-rings that go on each bulb holder. They often become brittle and crack or petrify or even become so decomposed that they fall off altogether.

 

I looked today and I saw that little o-ring rubber (image here) was petrified/decomposed and part of it fell to the ground, like you said. I changed the bulbs and the o-ring rubber, but I didn't found suitable gasket in the package that I bought, it was either too wide, too thin or too thick 🤦‍♂️... I had to use a combination of a flat one and a normal one, like this:

in this way it seemed to be screwed a little harder than when I unscrewed it, but I hope I didn't forced anything

Do you think it's okay to leave it like this or should I look for other gaskets? (sorry if the question sounds silly, but I'm worried because I don't want the gaskets to put pressure on the taillight or something like this).

They would want to be a little tight so as not to let in moisture so I think they should be ok. You might have needed a more dedicated set of O-rings if you wanted to go round the whole set of bulbs on the car like I did. The flat one would be a flat rubber washer or gasket, rather then an O-ring . I think the ones I used were just a little small and you gently stretch them over the end of the holder so then, they were perfect.

@mrgf Thank you for reply! Do you know if the bulb socket (I circled in the picture what i mean) has a fixed/exact position? from what I noticed it seems not, but I would like to be sure (to know if I screwed it correctly/enough or not with both gaskets).

 

Edited 10 August, 20205 yr by ngabriel

It's a different position here (they don't all seem to be aligned, like the big ones)

 

Edited 10 August, 20205 yr by ngabriel

They should all go in simply and then twist clockwise, around a quarter to half a turn, I think. It might be just a little light to do but that is needed. Just don't over force them.

hmm, thank you.

I found this package of O-rings, but i don't know if any of them fit on the socket, do you know the size of the standard O-ring? I didn't find the dimensions anywhere.