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Driving around today and noticed my left turn signal quit working. I looked at the lights and it appears the outer one on the left side is burned out. I've changed an inner one but never an outer. I tried loosening the bumper cover and sticking my arm up that direction but don't think I can reach the bulb. Any ideas? I forgot to mention it's an 85..
Last edited by joe wilson; Jul 20, 2018 at 02:06 PM.
Remove tag assembly and back-up light than inner reach thru.
I was able to reach the light plug assembly from below (second try) but wasn't able to turn it. I assume it turns counter clockwise to loosen? Mine was stuck either way..
Last edited by joe wilson; Jul 20, 2018 at 03:13 PM.
I was able to reach the light plug assembly from below (second try) but wasn't able to turn it. I assume it turns counter clockwise to loosen? Mine was stuck either way..
My 16 year old grandson replaced mine in about 5 minutes. He is a tall, lanky built fellow and was able to reach up and turn it both out and in. No clips or any thing, just a standard bulb with the 2 "knobby" things on the side.
My 16 year old grandson replaced mine in about 5 minutes. He is a tall, lanky built fellow and was able to reach up and turn it both out and in. No clips or any thing, just a standard bulb with the 2 "knobby" things on the side.
I'm about 6' tall but certainly not lanky built unless I'm compared to a sumo wrestler and I can't quite get in there enough to get a grip on that bulb holder. I'm gonna try taking the inner fender loose and looking into it and see if I can see the thing from that direction. I was told you can take the inner fender loose at the rear and reach right in and get the bulb, it's gonna be quite a reach though. Removing one of the muffler eliminators would make it a bit easier I would imagine, may just do that.
Remove the license plate, then the reverse light assembly. Remove the inner tail/brake lamp housing. Reach thru the innler lamp opening to get to the screws holding the outer lamp housing.
It would be a good idea to just take the time and replace all of the tail/brake light bulbs. Can't hurt to swap out the back-up light bulbs and license plate light. Clean up the sockets to get rid of all of the old grease that GM put in there when the wiring harness was assembled.
Use Sylvania "Long Life" bulbs and some fresh dielectric grease in the sockets and re-install. Shouldn't take more than 2 beers to do the job. Maybe 3....
I tried taking the wheel off and the inner splash shield but when I looked back at where the light was I couldn't even see it, too much stuff in there, it would almost be impossible for me to change the bulb from there so it's probably gonna be me cutting that bracket out behind the bumper and reaching up to loosen the bulb holder. I tried the license plate thing and it's a problem getting my arm in there, may try it again though. Right now I'm looking for someone local who has skinny arms and isn't too short.
By the way, how hard is it to remove the inner lamp assembly? It's been a few years since I had to change the inner light.
I tried taking the wheel off and the inner splash shield but when I looked back at where the light was I couldn't even see it, too much stuff in there, it would almost be impossible for me to change the bulb from there so it's probably gonna be me cutting that bracket out behind the bumper and reaching up to loosen the bulb holder. I tried the license plate thing and it's a problem getting my arm in there, may try it again though. Right now I'm looking for someone local who has skinny arms and isn't too short.
By the way, how hard is it to remove the inner lamp assembly? It's been a few years since I had to change the inner light.
I was able to reach the light plug assembly from below (second try) but wasn't able to turn it. I assume it turns counter clockwise to loosen? Mine was stuck either way..
The only way to reach the lens housing is the way you have or through the side rear quarter panel. Only a small child's arm would be small enough to reach the outside lens. I believe it does turn clock wise. See if you can spray some silicone up there. Try from the outside. This is not and easy fix as some make it out to be. The engineers who designed the C4 never though about the poor slobs who have to repair them.
The only way to reach the lens housing is the way you have or through the side rear quarter panel. Only a small child's arm would be small enough to reach the outside lens. I believe it does turn clock wise. See if you can spray some silicone up there. Try from the outside. This is not and easy fix as some make it out to be. The engineers who designed the C4 never though about the poor slobs who have to repair them.
I believe that sincerely. I'm far from an engineer and even I could figure out an easier way to replace those taillights. All they need is a couple of screws on the lens...I have a spray can of silicone so I'll probably spray up in there tomorrow and see if that helps loosen it. Part of my problem is that I could only get my arm up there so far and was trying to turn the bulb holder with just my finger tips. Maybe if I could get my hand around it I could probably turn it..
Park outside the nearest High School and watch for a tall, thin, lanky kid and hire him. Watch for the police though I believe that would fall under "child ****"
I agree with C4cruiser. If one is gone the others are not far behind. It's bad enough that they put the fasteners in the back, but those push to unlatch sockets are a bitch when they get old.
Here is a pic of the light. You can see where the clip that needs to be pushed fastens to the left of the socket. Two 10 mm bolts hold the light in the housing. Follow the advice above and remove the back up light and inter light and then you can twist the outer scocket out and replace bulb. Just did mine yesterday. About 20 minutes just take your time.
Here is a pic of the light. You can see where the clip that needs to be pushed fastens to the left of the socket. Two 10 mm bolts hold the light in the housing. Follow the advice above and remove the back up light and inter light and then you can twist the outer scocket out and replace bulb. Just did mine yesterday. About 20 minutes just take your time.
I know this will upset a lot of people, but should I ever have to change another bulb I will figure some way to attach the lens with 2 screws from the outside. My car will never be subject to a "concourse" type inspection and I doubt if any one else will ever even notice it.
Driving around today and noticed my left turn signal quit working. I looked at the lights and it appears the outer one on the left side is burned out. I've changed an inner one but never an outer. I tried loosening the bumper cover and sticking my arm up that direction but don't think I can reach the bulb. Any ideas? I forgot to mention it's an 85..
On my '84 it is a piece of cake. Laying on my back looking up at the bottom of the bumper cover there are a couple of screws that attach the bumper cover. Remove those and it is easy to reach up with my big arms to remove the speed nuts that hold the inner light to the bumper cover. Remove the inner and the hole is big enough to reach in and change the outer. I've replaced all four of mine in 15 minutes.
On my '84 it is a piece of cake. Laying on my back looking up at the bottom of the bumper cover there are a couple of screws that attach the bumper cover. Remove those and it is easy to reach up with my big arms to remove the speed nuts that hold the inner light to the bumper cover. Remove the inner and the hole is big enough to reach in and change the outer. I've replaced all four of mine in 15 minutes.
Well, I did my 85 today and can say it wasn't a piece of cake. I ended up using my Sawzall to cut a bracket so I could get my arm in there. Even at that I had to get mad enough to ram my arm up far enough to loosen the cap from the light. It did appear to have a squeeze thing on the side of the cap but didn't seem to work so I just ripped it off but don't think I damaged anything. The thing slipped out of my hand and I couldn't find it for several minutes. I ended up using a 2057 bulb because my 1157 bulbs looked kinda cruddy although they were new. I finally got the bulb in and pushed the cap into the light but don't know how secure it is.
If I ever have to do this again I believe I'll take my little saw and cut a hole in the fender and reach in from there...bodywork is a lot easier for me than crawling around under the car for about an hour...It's easy to re-paint a rear fender if necessary..
Forgot to mention, I also had to take the exhaust off that side in order to reach inside the bumper...
Last edited by joe wilson; Jul 23, 2018 at 07:22 PM.
1985 outer tail light
