Rear brake ligh

[Dave3man]

Had a m8 driving behind me today and said when i braked the long brake light at the rear only lit up in certan parts and not as a beam.. Think a few LEDs arent working.. anyone had this problem & do you recon the best place to go is toyota?

Cheers
Dave

[Cuthbert]

You could replace the individual LEDs which really isn't that difficult. It will also be substancially cheaper than Toyota. First though you will need to identify them. I'd suggest you remove the unit & see what you got in there.

[Cuthbert]

How to remove:
Remove the boot trim on the underside of the hatch, you should be able to see the fixing points in the photo. Do this carefully or the trim may break.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y82/mrtolpuddle/Trim.jpg
Now, in the next image you can see the holes on the underside of the hatch where the light unit is fastened.
The threads on the bolts are very long so you'll need an appropriate socket head to reach the nuts.
The unit will pull from the inside out.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y82/mrtolpuddle/Undertrim.jpg
I would remove my light unit to have a look for you but I don't think I have a socket head long enough.

[Dave3man]

Cheers m8, managed to get it off but didnt have anything to unscrew the bolts..

Went to a guy i kinda know at an electronics garage and he seems to think by looking at it its a board where the LEDs are welded on.. So the whole thing would have to be opened up. He could be wrong since hes never done it before but he wouldnt wanna touch it.

Went to my nearest Toyota garage just to see how much theyd charge just for the part as i could do the rest myself and the guy said ?120 for the whole beam light.....

Help!!

[UltraFlynn]

Did you manage to get the boot trim off without damaging it?

[Dave3man]

yer.. if you pull slowly from the upper parts down towards the middle they pop out. You have to pull quite hard but i didnt have a problem and nothing broke so..

[Dave3man]

BUT i found no point as i cant find a light and i dont wanna pay ?120!

[Martin F]

You can split the light open and replace the LEDs apparently but AFAIK it is supposed to be a sealed unit like the headlamps.

May be worth trying a scrappies but it will be a bit hard to know if the one you are buying is OK till you get to test it.

[Cuthbert]

The LEDs will be soldered, it really is a piece of piss to desolder and resolder new ones back in. I really wouldn't buy from toyota.
If you have no tools, this is what it will cost:
Soldering iron ~ ?15
solder ~ ?3
Desolder braid ~ ?1.99 (Desolder pumps are crap, braid is better & cheaper)
LEDs ~ ?1-2 each depending on the type
Long 10mm socket head ~ ?2-5
All the above you can buy from somewhere like Maplins, Farnell or Rapid Electronics, all of which are online.
I may buy a long socket head tomorrow & have a look at the light unit, not having the appropriate tool has annoyed me.

[smee]

iv had this problem with mine and i replaced the led's after priceing the lamp i had trouble finding the correct leds cos there are so many of them so i replaced all of them


http://shop.dotlight.de/shop/index.php/cPath/1_27

i cant remember how many i needed but there not expensive