Tom (Wuffer) Carter 12 01 2004
Ah…the infamous Illumination Strip/Ribbon Light/Front Marker Light Assembly!
Probably one of the simplest items to remove on your car either to replace a damaged assembly, upgrade to the “Euro smoked” style or just to replace a burned out bulb.
All you need is a medium Philips Head screwdriver….and some luck.
First grasp the Air inlet grille (51 13 1 940 907 – left or 51 13 1 940 908 – right) as close to the kidney grill as you can and pull straight toward you. It is held in place with two plastic tabs on each end, which hopefully, will “pop” out without breaking.
Now that the inlet grille has been removed, visible on the inside edge of the ribbon light are 4 screws. The top and bottom screw attach the ribbon light to the car. The middle two screws are for aiming adjustment of the flash-to pass light.
Remove the top and bottom screws.
Once screws have been removed, grasp the light at its edge and gently pull it towards you. It will swing outwards as if hinged at the other side.
As you are pivoting the light assembly outward, you will feel some resistance caused by the light’s wiring harness which is attached by means of a rather large clip to the back of the assembly behind the FTP portion of the assembly.
Release the harness by gently pulling it out of it’s clip while continuing to pull the light assembly from the car. The opposite end of the assembly is held in place by two plastic pins that slide into the fender. There is no fastening hardware so the assembly, still attached to its harness, will slide right out.
The harness may now be disconnected from the assembly by grasping both sides of the connector and unscrewing it
Remove the light assembly to a suitable work area.
To replace/access the FTP bulb, the cover on the back of the assembly must be carefully removed. This part is plastic and may break easily due to its age and exposure to the elements. Gently pry up on the two locking tabs to release them. Repeat on the opposite side. This cover has a rubber seal to prevent moisture from entering the assembly. It is an expensive part to replace so be very gentle when prying up on the 4 locking tabs to avoid breakage.
When all clips are released, remove the cover. Bulb is now accessible.
Re-installation is simple. Slide the two plastic pins into the appropriate holes om the fender, re-connect the harness (it’s idiot-proof so don’t worry) , place the harness connector back into its clip and gently slide the assembly back into position. Re-install the two screws removed earlier and clip the inlet grille back into place (it only goes in one way. With luck, you will have been successful without breaking any of the fragile plastic bits.
