Member Since: 07 Nov 2005
Location: Tyrol, Austria
Posts: 387
Replacing brake lights
I have just tried to replace a brake light. However, after removing the two screws, I could not get the lamp unit away from the car I could move it a bit but then it wouldn't come any further.
What's the trick? Do you have to use brute force? Or is there some technique to lever it out somehow without damaging the paintwork?
Thanks for any tips.
Eric
13th Feb 2008 5:41 pm
wiggs
Member Since: 03 Sep 2006
Location: Manchester
Posts: 14368
Pull the light cluster up from the bottom first ..its easier that way .
Apart from the 2 screws the opposite site is held in with two pins located into rubber grommets..thats all
Look at this picture (JKP )
You can see the 2 offending rubber grommets
Ignore the black bracket ..thats for the lamp guardsG4 Gone ...but not forgotten
13th Feb 2008 5:53 pm
espri
Member Since: 07 Nov 2005
Location: Tyrol, Austria
Posts: 387
Many thanks for the tip. I'll give it a try next time I have the chance.
13th Feb 2008 9:54 pm
espri
Member Since: 07 Nov 2005
Location: Tyrol, Austria
Posts: 387
With the help of your advice and picture, Wiggs, -and a strong friend- I managed to swap the lamp today. Knowing about the pins and that it was just a matter of pulling helped a lot. Thanks again.
Actually, I can't see anything wrong with the original bulb, so maybe the proverbial dunt would have solved my problem too
Eric
Last edited by espri on 15th Feb 2008 2:27 am. Edited 1 time in total
15th Feb 2008 1:50 am
wiggs
Member Since: 03 Sep 2006
Location: Manchester
Posts: 14368
Glad to help G4 Gone ...but not forgotten
15th Feb 2008 2:06 am
dellpitch
Member Since: 12 Feb 2006
Location: Bristol
Posts: 37
Hi
My brake lights seem to fail all to readily, I use a fairly rigid wallpaper scraper to ease the light cluster pins from there sockets. Just a thought.
Be careful you get a good quality bulb and get it in the right way around. Ok- seems obvious, but if the bulb is in backwards, or single filament, or just not very good like mine was, then all sorts go wrong, including other lighting and the transmission. Mine wouldn't change up with the lights on, and wouldn't switch off with my foot on the brake. Bizarre. LR Assistance recovered it to the dealer who had seen the problem before and changed the bulb FOC.
25th Feb 2008 10:06 pm
zaphod
Member Since: 18 Sep 2007
Location: Magrathea
Posts: 357
Bu**er
Johnmac,
Wish you had posted last week. Changed a brake bulb with a Halfrauds one last Thursday. Tonight several faults appeared;
Firstly, no auto gear shift - Had to use command shift, then; HDC inoperative, Suspension dropped, Special Programmes Not Available, Traction Control Light on, Orange EPB warning light on, Suspension failure light on.
Stopped and switched the whole thing off for 2 mins then re-started. After 5 mins the whole failure sequence re-commenced, finishing with the engine not stopping when the key was turned off.
The LRA bloke who came knew immediately what it was. The first thing he asked was "Have you recently changed any bulbs?"
The bulb I had fitted (from a Halfrauds bulb kit) has the filaments very close together, with the loops on the support wires holding the filaments rolled inwards rather than outwards. The outcome being that when the bulb heats up sufficiently, the supporting wires are close enough for the current to arc between them sending spurious signals up the brake circuit when the tail lights are on. Not a problem in a car with a normal wiring loom, but in the D3 and RRS this apparently confuses the whole electrical circuit causing multiple failures and dozens of error codes.
Anyway he quickly replaced the bulb with a proper LR one, checked and cleared the codes - problem solved. Solution - get spare bulbs from LR not Halfrauds!
Apparently this issue is known to LR and they are having all the problem bulbs sent back to them.
Just a shame that such a simple problem completely up such a capable car Sail Fast - Live Slow...
I agree- ridiculous really that it's so prone to something which is so likely to happen. I have to say, it doesn't bode well for these things when they're 15 or 20 years old (or 'just run in' as it used to be known for LRs). Odd thing with mine was that it didn't happen straight away- it had done 1500 miles through Europe with a trailer on and 6 passengers since i changed the bulb in Lyon, and luckily only chose to go strange when we drove off the ferry and into the UK.
26th Feb 2008 5:59 pm
craig
Member Since: 08 Aug 2006
Location: Home of LR.
Posts: 2545
Re: Bu**er
zaphod wrote:
Anyway he quickly replaced the bulb with a proper LR one,
Paid £1.50 for a LR one last week - cheaper than one that the guy in Halfrauds offered me...
Gonna get a spare in, just in case.
26th Feb 2008 6:12 pm
DG Site Moderator
Member Since: 12 Dec 2005
Location: The Gaff
Posts: 50947
Re: Bu**er
zaphod wrote:
Johnmac,
Wish you had posted last week. Changed a brake bulb with a Halfrauds one last Thursday. Tonight several faults appeared;
Firstly, no auto gear shift - Had to use command shift, then; HDC inoperative, Suspension dropped, Special Programmes Not Available, Traction Control Light on, Orange EPB warning light on, Suspension failure light on.
Stopped and switched the whole thing off for 2 mins then re-started. After 5 mins the whole failure sequence re-commenced, finishing with the engine not stopping when the key was turned off.
The LRA bloke who came knew immediately what it was. The first thing he asked was "Have you recently changed any bulbs?"
The bulb I had fitted (from a Halfrauds bulb kit) has the filaments very close together, with the loops on the support wires holding the filaments rolled inwards rather than outwards. The outcome being that when the bulb heats up sufficiently, the supporting wires are close enough for the current to arc between them sending spurious signals up the brake circuit when the tail lights are on. Not a problem in a car with a normal wiring loom, but in the D3 and RRS this apparently confuses the whole electrical circuit causing multiple failures and dozens of error codes.
Anyway he quickly replaced the bulb with a proper LR one, checked and cleared the codes - problem solved. Solution - get spare bulbs from LR not Halfrauds!
Apparently this issue is known to LR and they are having all the problem bulbs sent back to them.
Just a shame that such a simple problem completely up such a capable car
Excellent...proof to lr1 that I'm not talking bollards about OEM units 21 year LR veteran > D2 GS 2003 > D3 S 2006 > D3 HSE 2009 > D4 HSE 2013 > D4 HSE 2015 > D5 HSE 2018 > DS HSE R-Dynamic P300e 2021
26th Feb 2008 6:15 pm
zaphod
Member Since: 18 Sep 2007
Location: Magrathea
Posts: 357
Popped into the local stealer today and picked up a couple of spares for about 80p each.
I've been reading the forum for 6 months or so, but hadn't seen this issue before. Perhaps there should be an idiots guide of do's and dont's that could be posted as a sticky somewhere that all new members could be pointed to or have e-mailed to them. This could pick up a lot of the common quirks of the D3 to save people posting on newbie issues
Whilst a lot of folks won't attempt serious maintenance on the D3, changing a bulb is basic stuff and you really wouldn't expect issues with doing such a simple procedure. Something for Martin or the mods perhaps Sail Fast - Live Slow...
Member Since: 07 Dec 2004
Location: Bramhall
Posts: 26705
There is nothing wrong with 'newbies' asking basic stuff. There is a search facility available, but there should be no stigma attached to asking a basic question regarding the D3.
We are a very knowledgable collective, and should all be willing to pass it on.
Wish you had posted last week. Changed a brake bulb with a Halfrauds one last Thursday. Tonight several faults appeared;
Firstly, no auto gear shift - Had to use command shift, then; HDC inoperative, Suspension dropped, Special Programmes Not Available, Traction Control Light on, Orange EPB warning light on, Suspension failure light on.
Stopped and switched the whole thing off for 2 mins then re-started. After 5 mins the whole failure sequence re-commenced, finishing with the engine not stopping when the key was turned off.
The LRA bloke who came knew immediately what it was. The first thing he asked was "Have you recently changed any bulbs?"
The bulb I had fitted (from a Halfrauds bulb kit) has the filaments very close together, with the loops on the support wires holding the filaments rolled inwards rather than outwards. The outcome being that when the bulb heats up sufficiently, the supporting wires are close enough for the current to arc between them sending spurious signals up the brake circuit when the tail lights are on. Not a problem in a car with a normal wiring loom, but in the D3 and RRS this apparently confuses the whole electrical circuit causing multiple failures and dozens of error codes.
Anyway he quickly replaced the bulb with a proper LR one, checked and cleared the codes - problem solved. Solution - get spare bulbs from LR not Halfrauds!
Apparently this issue is known to LR and they are having all the problem bulbs sent back to them.
Just a shame that such a simple problem completely up such a capable car
I had exactly the same sequence of faults back in December. The car was in the Dealers for 2 weeks and they were never able to tell me why. I mentioned the breaklight problem to them, but they claimed not to know of any issue relating to breaklight. As you slide down the banister of life
may no splinters point your way
Disco XXV
RRS2 Autobiography Dynamic MY16
Discovery Sport HSE Lux MY17
Evoque HSE Dynamic MY16 (Gone)
RRS2 Autobiography Dynamic MY14 (Lovely car but preferred the Disco!)
Disco 3 Tdv6 HSE MY05 (owned for 11 years and now gone)
Range Rover Sport HSE MY11 (Gone)
Freelander2 SE (Gone but the most reliable car we've ever owned)
Disco 2 V8 (Gone)
26th Feb 2008 11:05 pm
zaphod
Member Since: 18 Sep 2007
Location: Magrathea
Posts: 357
Absolutely! Wasn't meant as a criticism. Indeed I still regard myself as a newbie and probably will do for many years to come when I see the depth of knowledge of a lot of the forum members.
It was merely that, having a list of basic pitfalls (peculiar to the D3) supplied may prevent the issue from occurring in the first place. Whilst I'm sure that lots of the members knew about this issue, it wasn't until I had the car systems shutting down on me on a p g wet night that I checked the forum. By which point LRA had arrived to sort it for me. If I'd know about the possibility of non OE bulbs causing issues I wouldn't just have grabbed the first one I found in the shed last week Sail Fast - Live Slow...
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I could move it a bit but then it wouldn't come any further.
)
The first thing he asked was "Have you recently changed any bulbs?" 
up such a capable car 
