Cornering Light on Drivers Side

[meehan]

Need help or advice as to access this bulb.

I have to change the cornering light (white light) on drivers side. Do I have to remove the

whole light assembly? Or can I access this light by removing the air cleaner box? All my other

lights work, this is the only one that is out.

Your help would be much Appreciated. Thank You In Advance.

[raleets]

Can't speak to the driver's side, but the evil Reatta engineers also made it difficult to change the passenger side since it's necessary to remove to battery to get at it for replacement.

The bolt in my battery hold down was corroded, so I had to spray and soak for a week before it would break loose for me to remove and make the repair.

Aren't these little challenges just a ball?

[Guest my3buicks]

I have done it both ways, leaving the assembly in place and taking the assembly out - I found taking the assembly out to be easiest for me.

[KDirk]

I have to vote for removing the assembly to replace most of the lamps therein. I found that fighting the thing to change lamps in place is much more time consuming and frustrating than simply pulling the housing out and making decent access. Having said that, removal of the lamp housing is not so easy either as its fasteners need to be removed from underneath the car.

Actually, excepting the 890 lamps, the bulbs are cheap enough (194NA) that I would recommend changing them all and be done with it for a long time to come. I've done this one each Reatta I own shortly after purchasing so I had one less thing to worry about.

Also be careful when reinstalling the lamp housing that the wiring harness doesn't end up in the path of the headlamp flipping up and down. I ripped a harness pretty badly before I knew better once upon a time.

[meehan]

Thanks for the replies. I will let you know which route I end up taking, going to try removing the

air cleaner box first. If that fails, I will remove the assembly, the last time I had it out I painted the

mounting screws white, so I could find them easier for the next time I ever had to get it out again.

I guess my future planning may have paid off for me for once. ha ha

[Barney Eaton]

This is an ongoing discussion with some owners (with small hands) saying they can get to some of the bulbs etc.

While it seems like a pain, jack up the car a few inches to get access, use a 1/4 in socket set and a 6-9 inch extension is also helpful. Once you find the screws (good lighting helps) all are very easy to remove except the one that some designer/engineer placed behind the bumper support. You can see the fastner but a normal socket will not fit,. I use either a box or open end wrench and both hands to remove that fastner. After taking it out, never install it again. There are plenty of screws holding the assembly without that screw.

[Guest Corvanti]

this should help: http://reattaowner.com/roj/component/content/article/217-lighting-system/exterior-lights/179-front-parking-lamp-replacement

[Barney Eaton]

That's an old post of mine (no date shown) and will work but unless you have a bulb you can touch, the removal of the entire assembly saves lots of cuts and scratches.

in post #6 I failed to not that I have NEW 890 halogen bulbs for people that cannot find the locally. They are $7 each plus a flat $2 for shipping regardless of the number ordered.

[wws944]

For the front 194As, it is easy to get to them by raising the headlights a bit. For the others, it is better to go from the underside. I am pretty sure I was able to replace my passenger side 890 without actually removing the combination lamp assembly. But it was a few years ago, so I could be mistaken. In any event, here are some directions from Ronnies site describing how to remove/replace the assembly: http://www.reattaowner.com/roj/component/content/article/217-lighting-system/exterior-lights/131-parking-lamp-assembly-removal

[Ronnie]

For anyone reading this thread...

Use only the 890 bulb. They are sometimes hard to find. The correct 890 bulb is available in the Reatta Store.

Do NOT allow the parts store to convince you that they have a suitable substitute. You run the risk of of breaking the amber globe inside the housing or knocking it loose. This will explain what I mean: Turn Signal Light Amber Globe Repair

[meehan]

Yes, the whole assembly has to be removed on Drivers side to replace the bulbs, I removed the air cleaner box to no avail, then the washer bottle, same story, but hey since it was out of the car I figured I'd give it a good cleaning, so my trying to take a short cut to the bulbs wasn't a total waste, washer bottle looks new now, sort of puts the rest of the engine bay to shame, so you guessed what my next project will be. Ha ha