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Old 06-24-2012, 02:15 AM   #11
NRGBalanced
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Drives: '13 Subaru BRZ Limited WRB
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Garage
DIY for BRZ in-door courtesy lights

Thought I'd throw up the pictures from installing LED door courtesy lights here after someone asked about it. The pieces seemed somewhat fragile. I did it this afternoon. (pictures link to larger version)

I had some pry tools lying around from work on small electronics and iPods. They look like this:



I used a couple of them to get in between the door and the lens. The lens will pop out from the right side (the lights are identical on each side) I managed to bust one of the pry tools while doing this, so don't pry too hard on the wrong side:



After it popped out, I pulled the light away from the door and pushed in on the gray tab in the center of the connector. Then you can disconnect the power and let the bulb cool.





Once you've removed the light assembly from the door, squeeze the plastic part where my thumb is in the picture and gently rotate up. The part below has a little notch that has to be disengaged. After it's released, do the same for the small tab on the other side (gently!). Then pull the whole bulb cover off:



Once that's off, stick a screwdriver behind the bulb to pop it out. Careful, it will go flying (location shown after LED was installed):



Replace the bulb with the LED, but make sure the LED wires touch the contacts. Now is a good time to plug it in again to make sure the polarity on the LED is correct.

Replace the plastic bulb cover. It will be snug now:



Then reverse the installation in the door (pop the right side in last):



That's it! Squeezing that plastic piece was a little nerve-wracking, but it's tough!
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