75ZT Community

Good afternoon people....

Right, I'm after a solution to a problem that has just arisen with the Number Plate Lights.

I have found that there is no Positive (+) Feed getting to the Light on the left, looking at the car from the rear, earth is fine, but no Positive. The Light on the right is working, but also goes off sometimes but is rectified with a tap in the vicinity.
The White Plastic Light Fitting behind the Chrome Handle seems to be Riveted to the actual Boot Lid, is this correct?

The Main Feed to the Light Fitting is all good, checked with Meter, as well as the Bulbs, checked by swapping over as well as Meter, so obviously the problem lies withing this Plastic Housing. Would you agree with that assumption?

Now,

1) What is the best course of action to take, and

2) Are these Plastic Light Fittings reparable?

Thanking you in advance.

I've heard the PCB (Printed Circuit Board) in there can corrode away. Maybe this is the problem? I think you can replace the PCB, but I don't think they are available on their own, so you need the whoile unit.

I'm sure someone who has experienced the issue will clarify.

Also, and quite a main question for me, and that is how to remove the White Unit? It appears to be riveted on.... Or is it just 'glued' on?

I'd be surprised if it's either. I've not take one off, but my guess is the rivets hold the innards together, and there's a rubber seal that's a bit sticky, holding it in place when you take the casing off.

Someone must have done this and know for sure.

Thanks again Duncan.... Bit of a pain because it means that I can't use it at night until it's fixed.....!

Sorted - Thanks.......

So, how does it come off? Useful info if anyones doing a search....

And for me when mine fails.

There are two bolts inside the Bootlid, one each end, these hold the Chrome Trim. You then remove those, carefully as they are tricky and can scratch your paint if not careful as they pop out the bootlid. I think there are two more centrally, but not 100% as it is over 12 months since I had the saloon. The electrical connections are central to the Trim (Inbetween the lights so to speak)

The PCB is attached to the White plastic piece, held with a couple of rivet type fitting if I remember rightly. The whole PCB / Plastic unit is fixed to the Bootlid with a Sticky sponge. This has to be cut away very carefully so as not to damage the paint.

The problem with this unit, as I found, is that when refitting, you have to be extremely careful as teh PCB and light fittings can break very easily. It is in my opinion a poor design. I purchased a brand new unit, fitted it and it was broken The fitting worked before I attempted to attach it to the Car as I tested it. So I may have been too heavy handed when attaching it to teh Car.


It is also essential to clean the area where you are going to stick the new unit as the adhesive on the new one won't stick too well and it wont sit flush, the whole thing is quite tight under the Chrome Trim (bear in mind I am speaking of a Mk 1 75 and later models may be different).

Being careful too, when refitting the Chrome trim as this may bend the white section causing the PCB or light fitting to become damaged.

Not an expert, but just what I think / remember from my experience when I had the same problem on the V6.

Carl, thank you very much for the concise explanation, much appreciated!

It was actually the White Plastic piece that I needed how to remove..... But I just pulled it off, as you say, just stuck on with sticky sponge, and when I say sticky, I MEAN sticky!

Fortunately I had a spare one laying around that I had forgotten about so I just replaced it and it seems to be ok now.

The one thing I did notice is that the bulbs were 10w instead of 5w and I think this overloaded the unit as the plastic around the bulbs was slightly melted!!! Whereas the one I replace it with had 5w bulbs and was fine.... Maybe a word of warning there because the bulbs were that same size but different wattage.... Make sure you replace with the correct wattage, or the Garage does!

Thanks again.

Glad to see it is ok now - I posted for Duncan as he asked for a "How to"

Yep, It is very, very sticky....... Like a Lolly you find in your pocket that you bought last year !!

Thanks both, it's always good to have this information for anyone who comes along with the same problem.