Replacing Lenses and Bulbs on Your BMW Wayne R. Dempsey
Difficulty Level: 2 Difficulty scale: Adding air to your tires is level one Rebuilding a BMW Motor is level ten
This article is one in a series that have been released in conjunction with Wayne's new book, 101 Performance Projects for Your BMW 3 Series. The book contains 272 pages of full color projects detailing everything from performance mods to timing the camshafts. With more than 650+ full-color glossy photos accompanying extensive step-by-step procedures, this book is required reading in any 3 Series owner's collection. The book was released in August 2006, and is available for ordering now. See The Official Book Website for more details.
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There are few projects that are as easy, yet so dramatic in appearance as lens replacement. Replacing old, faded lenses not only improves the overall look of your car, it increases its safety as well. Faded lenses tend to be harder to see and block much more light than brand-new lenses. On the front of the E36, the corner lenses can be removed simply by sliding them forward; a plastic snap tab holds them in place. Dont use too much force, though, or you may break this small tab. On the E30, the small turn signal lenses can easily be removed with a few small screws.
The rear lenses are very easy to remove, too; they are simply held on with screws you can access in the rear trunk. Remove the black plastic inside cover and you should have easy access to the screws and the bulbs.
The third brake light is also accessible from the rear of the trunk. Simply pop off the cover on the top of the trunk, and you should have easy access to the bulb.
If you are replacing bulbs, a word of caution: Make sure you replace your old bulbs with the same exact style and wattage as the originals. Swapping in higher-wattage bulbs could damage your wiring and possibly melt your lens and bulb holder.
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Figure 1
On a white car, clear lenses really look their best. For some reason, OEM amber lenses just dont cut it. In order to maintain legal standards, though, you must run orange bulbs inside the lenses. This can cause the lens to take on an orange hue. I recommend a product called Stealth Bulbs (inset), available online at PelicanParts.com. These bulbs are silver-coated on the outside but glow bright orange when electricity is applied. They look clear when installed in the clear lenses but retain the orange illumination required for U.S. roads.
Figure 2
Removal of the rear tail lamp is easy. Simply use an 8-millimeter socket and driver to remove the four nuts that hold on the rear assembly. Then push out the assembly and pull from the opposite side (lower right). If all you need to do is change bulbs, simply twist them out of their sockets and pull (lower left).
Figure 3
The front clear corners look great on white cars as well. Here you can see the Stealth Bulbs installed with no orange glow. To remove the lens, simply pull on it toward the front of the car. It rides in a slot in the frame, so dont try to pry it out from the side. The bulb on the inside simply clips into the lens. The inset photo shows the back side of the corner lens.
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