B5rider

I am changing out the interior bulbs to some LEDs. I can't remove the rear dome light without causing damage to the assembly. I pried and pried, but all I got now is a loose assembly. Any one know the trick to changing out the rear dome light on a wagon?

constant

It's likely you've probably bent the retaining clip by now since it's loose. On the rear of the assembly, you'll see an indentation for a tool. Yank that end out while keeping the front pushed forward. The metal clip will eventually let go, and you can re-bend it back in shape once you re-install.

B5rider

thanks!
It turns out my wagon doesn't have the metal surround. It uses a large clip that is difficult to disengage if you don't know the location.
I yanked harder, and it all came out.

nicenup

I just swapped my interior lights to LED and got stuck putting the rear dome lights back in. The metal clip was bent during removal and now I cannot get the light housing to snap in tight. It remains loose. When I bend the clip back to shape it makes it impossible to put the housing back in because of two points on the clip that jut out.

Is there a certain trick to getting the light back in?

I may try removing the clip from the housing first and setting it in the hole before pushing the housing back in. Please chime in if you have any insight. Many thanks!

Alex Botvinnik

These rear dome lights will be the end of me...

nicenup

After tearing up my fingers and nearly losing an eye I've determined that it's virtually impossible to get this damn map/dome light back in to factory fit. The metal clip will not cooperate.

I think the only thing left to try is dropping the headliner and re-installing the clip and light housing from behind the headliner.

Has anyone successfully re-installed the rear lights after an LED upgrade without having to resort to such extreme measures? Thanks in advance.

Lotus99

I wonder if some glue is in order at this point, though it'll probably bug you knowing that's how it's held in place!

nicenup

The glue would definitely bug me. With my luck I would need to swap out a bad bulb after a few months and ripping out the light after being glued down would not be nice. Thanks for chiming in though. Appreciate all your thoughts.

nicenup

Thank you guys for the encouragement. I finally figured it out!!

I pulled the opposite rear map light housing but this one came out much easier. This is when I got to see what the actual shape of the metal clip should look like.

I guess when I pulled the first light out I severely deformed the metal clip making it impossible to snap back in. Although, I thought I bent it back to its original shape the clip was in fact not bent far enough back.

This is what it should look like.



It should easily snap back in to factory tight fit.

I wanted to post my DIY experience to help out anyone else attempting to upgrade their interior lights to LED. It would of been an easy and painless job for me if it weren't for the metal clip debacle. Hope this helps someone in the future.

Good luck and happy modding!!

Lotus99

Good stuff. A few years ago, I wanted to remove mine, as my kids were constantly leaving them on, but could never get them off... How did you do that part?

https://5series.net/forums/e60-discu...-cover-114006/