NEED HELP - 09 M35/45 TAIL LIGHTS

[Larz]

I am almost finished upgrading to LEDs inside and out. The fender mounted turn indicators seem to be a one-piece sealed unit and I see no way to remove the bulb. All other bulbs have been upgraded with Vleds. That brings me to today's discovery whilst trying to upgrade the rear turn indicator bulbs. My 07 M had 4 regular bolts holding the lamp assembly in place - just take the bolts off, slide the assembly out, change the bulb, and reverse. This 09 has that same design, but this is what I'm seeing on my 09 bolts:
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They appear to be 11-12mm bolts at the very base where they meet the body ... but that is a VERY small edge and the majority of the bolt seems to be tapered and does not match any of my spanners or sockets. They change width gradually going from base to top edge and they also appear to be painted to match the vehicle colour instead of plain silver. They are so bloody tight that even liquid wrench did not help and I fear using pliers or a vice grip will strip them instead of remove them. Has anyone with a 2009 M seen these and how did you get the bloody things off? I'm sat here with Vled bulbs and no way to get to the old bulbs save for drastic measures, LOL. Any ideas are appreciated.

[jiggersplat]

I dunno man... those look like they might be welded. I'm not sure those are nuts... it looks to me like that bolt is probably threaded in from the other side.

[davidb2549]

Lmfao. The rear turn signals are removed from the trunk lid portion. You don't need to remove the taillight. Pull back the liner yoyo

[pedsemdoc]

Larz,

looks like you remove them from the outside, based on the FSM



Looks like you have to pry off #3, the rear combination lamp finisher to reveal the head of the bolt that is poking into the trunk!!

seems a little "bass ackwards to me"

I'm sure you'll make a thread about what you find once you get the blasted thing off.

are you putting Tritons on?

good luck,

Craig

[pedsemdoc]

Here's the link to the 2009 FSM:
http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/M/2009/

the section on the rear combination lamp assembly is under LT, page LT-200 and LT-201.

my pic is from the 2008 FSM, but it's the same assembly and removal process.

Craig

[Larz]

Lmfao. The rear turn signals are removed from the trunk lid portion. You don't need to remove the taillight. Pull back the liner yoyo

The only lights in the trunk lid are the license plate and reverse lights. The tail lights are attached to the body.

1. Remove trunk side finisher. Refer to EI-66, "Component Parts Location".
2. Disconnect rear combination lamp connector.
3. Remove rear combination lamp finisher.
4. Remove rear combination lamp mounting bolts.
5. Pull the rear combination lamp toward rear of the vehicle and remove from the vehicle.

[Larz]

Here's the link to the 2009 FSM:
http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/M/2009/

the section on the rear combination lamp assembly is under LT, page LT-200 and LT-201.

my pic is from the 2008 FSM, but it's the same assembly and removal process.

Craig

Thanks Craig ! I didn't realize on the 09 you have to remove little black trim pieces first. On my 07, the light assembly and the trim piece were all one unit. I'll get back to it today and let you know if I was successful.

[Larz]

Here's the link to the 2009 FSM:
http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/M/2009/

the section on the rear combination lamp assembly is under LT, page LT-200 and LT-201.

my pic is from the 2008 FSM, but it's the same assembly and removal process.

Craig

Thanks Craig!
You were right. Those were NOT bolts to be removed - they were fasteners that the screws go into form the front. Wow I'm glad I didn't try to use brute force to remove them! This was a completely different design than my 07 which is surprising since it uses the same body. I had no troubles after following the diagram you posted. I made a DIY for the process:
led-upgrade-08-10-m35-45-rear-turn-bulbs-t594772.html
Thanks again, mate !

[pedsemdoc]

Larz, you're quite welcome.
But as per your usual modus operandi, you pay it forward - hence the new DIY...I know I've used many of your posts to improve my ride as well.

Craig