When Did E38s Go To Clean Tail Lights?

TIMM'South BMW E38 REAR Low-cal CLUSTER
REMOVAL AND REPLACEMENT

In theory getting the rear light clusters off should be another 'easy peasy' job. And....it is unless you lot take Sabbatum nav, Telephone, DSP etc as these seriously arrive the way. But, we have all the answers as usual.....

Getting the RHS cluster off is straight forward, just remove 4 x 8mm nuts which tin be institute under the battery cover and information technology's all over. The LHS, however looks like this:

Firstly y'all will need a pocket-size 8mm ratchet, diverse extensions and an open up-ended 8mm spanner:

I had a skillful look around the calorie-free cluster aperture and did not fancy dropping a nut, or fifty-fifty worse, a spanner. So, it is fourth dimension to get the super-glue and a small magnet out. I glued a length of string to a small Neo magnet and tested it one of the basics from the LHS cluster:

I previously tried tying string to an Allen bolt to which I partially screwed on one of the nuts.......the bolt got in the way, I also tried a bigger magnet.....the magnet got in the manner, so, the small-scale magnet was the merely winner.

The two upper nuts can be establish quite easily, and can be removed with an 8mm ratchet using the correct-length extensions. That'southward the easy bit......

The next nut to exist removed can exist seen hither, remove the fog low-cal commencement to gain more access. I of the control modules is right ahead of it and so you won't (safely) become a ratchet in there:

Just for safety'due south sake I stuck the magnet and string on the spanner. Only loosen it enough to remove it by hand........I seem to have stuck the fog light dorsum in for this picture....information technology should exist out at this stage!

But be very careful as the nut comes off....don't lose it, to exist safe, stick the 'magnet-on-a-string' to the nut equally it becomes loose.

The final nut cannot exist seen only can be felt if you stick your mitt down confronting the outer-skin of the wing. The open-ended spanner is your just chance hither, again, use the string to reduce the possibility of losing the spanner and stick the magnet to the nut as it becomes loose.

Once all the basics are off pull the cluster out by a couple of inches so that you can get to the loom, disconnect the loom and leave it dangling from the aperture.

That'due south about it for removing them, if you lot are replacing the clusters with crystal types so get on with it below. I took mine off due to the 'tropical fish-tank' consequence and the fact that I kept getting a 'bank check brake lights' bulletin.

The reason they make full up with water is due to a blockage in the drainage channel that runs around the outside of the gasket. I removed all the lamps and holders and stuck them in the kitchen sink. Gave them a good scrubbing to remove the oxidisation on the contacts and then dried them out. They need to be dried from both sides due to the multilayer pattern:

Right, start replacement past greasing the gasket inside and out and also cleaning and so greasing where they state on the rear of the automobile:

Use the 'magnet-on-a-string' on each of the nuts and then just do each one upward manus tight:

The holes in the bodywork are quite big and allow some movement of the cluster. To become it in the correct place go the ratchet in place and press in towards the centre of the machine so that it is secured correctly:

While squashing the light in the direction shown get your mits around the back and get the nuts as tight as possible by mitt. Tightening them fully using the open-ended spanner and ratchet is fiddly only quite straight-forward.

All done, fourth dimension for a loving cup of tea