How to change bulb(?) in the rear foglight switch?

[WhyOne?]

I have lost the backlight (when sidelights/main lights on) and the green 'on' light in my rear foglight switch (the switch & rear foglight both work fine)

Does anyone know what has failed - it is a single bulb? And if so, how much of the centre console do I need to dismantle to replace it?

Thanks in advance.

Ian
:)

[Sudesh]

I have lost the backlight (when sidelights/man lights on) and the green 'on' light in my rear foglight switch (the switch & rear foglight both work fine)

Does anyone know what has failed - it is a single bulb? And if so, how much of the centre console do I need to dismantle to replace it?

Thanks in advance.

Ian
:)

Hi Ian,

Its probably the wee bulbs [2] inside the switch.

To access the switch correctly you need to remove the complete centre console.

However, if your quite handy, you can just remove the centre arm rest, then one bolt that holds the lower part of the console, and very gently raise the lower section of the console and you can then put your finger or padded screw driver in, and push the button up and it will pop free. Just un-plug the switch and you will see the wee bulb.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, Ian.

Please refer to the attached photo.
The Rear Fog Light Switch, the green connector, and the two tiny light bulbs.
6198
It is very unusual to have both light bulbs to fail at the same time so it could be something else but you can check the state of the light bulbs with the multimeter.
The 'on' light for the rear fog light is Orange, by the way.

The replacement light bulb is 35851-SM4-003. You need two of them. The base colour is Green.
It's GBP3.52 + VAT each from HUK for just a tiny light bulb so I always keep some spares from Japan....

As mentioned above, it's best to check the state of each bulbs before ordering the spare ones.


One of the light bulbs close to the middle of the switch body will have the white rubber like cover on top of the bulb glass.
However, the replacement bulb won't have this cover. You can try to remove the one from the original bulb but I'm quite sure you'll struggle with it.

If you have small fingers and proper tool, you can take out the switches from the hole around the hand brake lever.

Otherwise, as Sudesh mentioned, just remove the centre arm rest and follow his procedure.

There is not much free play on the cable for each switches so you may struggle to put back the connectors on each switches afterwards.


Regards,
Kaz

[CrazyMixedUpKid]

Hi Ian,

Like Kaz says - the little "rubber cap" on the bulb is a filter that makes the white bulb glow orange - and there is no cap on any new bulb you order. I managed to remove the little cap off the old bulb and replace what was left of it (it is fragile) on the new one ...

Rgds
Paul

[WhyOne?]

Brilliant - many thanks for your helpful posts.

I will have a look at the weekend and let you know how I get along.

[WhyOne?]

I arrived home a little earlier than usual this evening so had a quick root about.

I removed the centre arm rest / retaining screw and was able to pop the offending switch out easily enough. I quickly established that the bulbs were both fine and it was simply the (green) connector block which was loose (probably as a result of me replacing the air con. control unit the other weekend).

So, the switch was replaced and as Kaz predicted, it was very difficult to get the green clip re-connected - a combination of not much cable to play with and very limited space fro my fingers!) . I removed the ashtray & the 2 screws behind it and this gave sufficient space to reconnect the switch.

So all sorted - once again, thanks for the helpful advice everyone.

:)