How to replace C70 license plate light?

Boy, do I feel dumb - one of the license plate lights in my wife's 2000
C70 convertible is out and I can't figure out how to replace it!

The lens is held in by a couple of Torx screws. I happened to have a
driver to fit, but when I removed the screws, the lens didn't come out.
I pried gently, but it seems pretty firmly attached to the rubber gasket
surrounding it. The rubber gasket doesn't seem to want to come out
either, with some moderate tugging.

The only other alternative I can see is to remove the entire upholstery
panel inside the trunk lid. This is held in by about 8 of those awful
punch-in barbed dealie-bobs that always seem to break when you remove
them. (ARE YOU KIDDING ME?)

Anyone know how these are supposed to be replaced? (Or am I just
supposed to take it to the dealer?) :-P

TIA

Hogarth wrote:
>
> Boy, do I feel dumb - one of the license plate lights in my wife's 2000
> C70 convertible is out and I can't figure out how to replace it!
>
> The lens is held in by a couple of Torx screws. I happened to have a
> driver to fit, but when I removed the screws, the lens didn't come out.
> I pried gently, but it seems pretty firmly attached to the rubber gasket
> surrounding it. The rubber gasket doesn't seem to want to come out
> either, with some moderate tugging.
>
> The only other alternative I can see is to remove the entire upholstery
> panel inside the trunk lid. This is held in by about 8 of those awful
> punch-in barbed dealie-bobs that always seem to break when you remove
> them. (ARE YOU KIDDING ME?)
>
> Anyone know how these are supposed to be replaced? (Or am I just
> supposed to take it to the dealer?) :-P
>
> TIA

Often the rubber seal and the lens can "bond" together after a few
years. I have no specific experience with the C70, but I'd bet you just
need to pry a little harder.

--
Mike F.
Thornhill (near Toronto), Ont.

Replace tt with t (twice!) and remove parentheses to email me directly.
(But I check the newsgroup more often than this email address.)

In article <(E-Mail Removed)>,
Mike F <"mikef2316()"@allsttream.nett> wrote:

> Hogarth wrote:
> >
> > Boy, do I feel dumb - one of the license plate lights in my wife's 2000
> > C70 convertible is out and I can't figure out how to replace it!
> >
> > The lens is held in by a couple of Torx screws. I happened to have a
> > driver to fit, but when I removed the screws, the lens didn't come out.
> > I pried gently, but it seems pretty firmly attached to the rubber gasket
> > surrounding it. The rubber gasket doesn't seem to want to come out
> > either, with some moderate tugging.
> >
> > The only other alternative I can see is to remove the entire upholstery
> > panel inside the trunk lid. This is held in by about 8 of those awful
> > punch-in barbed dealie-bobs that always seem to break when you remove
> > them. (ARE YOU KIDDING ME?)
> >
> > Anyone know how these are supposed to be replaced? (Or am I just
> > supposed to take it to the dealer?) :-P
> >
> > TIA
>
> Often the rubber seal and the lens can "bond" together after a few
> years. I have no specific experience with the C70, but I'd bet you just
> need to pry a little harder.

Thanks for replying-

In daylight, this made a little more sense. The "lens" is actually part
of the housing. It's all one piece. The part I had called a rubber
gasket is like a pocket that surrounds the whole plastic housing. It
turns out the whole thing - rubber _and_ plastic - has to be removed,
then the rubber is peeled away from the plastic to get at the bulb. And
as you suggested, the rubber was bonded to the plastic in a couple of
places, which made the whole thing just that much more confusing.

Anyway, if anyone else has difficulty replacing a C70 convertible
license plate light, here's what you do. Remove the two Torx screws,
then gently pry around the outside of the rubber gasket to remove the
whole light assembly - plastic and rubber together - from the trunk lid.
Peel back the rubber pocket to get at the bulb from the side of the
housing.