Help! How To Change Boot Light

[LOcKY]

Ok ive got my LED lights but i cant get the old buld out! its in the cage and ive tried pulling it out and it wont budge :( so ive taken it into the house and cant figure out how it comes out

any advice?

[Steviewevie]

It just pulls straight out of the plastic cage thingy, as far as I remember. Unless it changed on later models, since mine is 1999.

[Parthiban]

If you stick your head under you'll see one side is a sort of clip - pinch the two side towards each other and then it will come straight out :)

[Steviewevie]

Did you get it sorted ?

[LOcKY]

Ok ive had a go today and ive managed to get the thing out and replaced with the LED bulb. However it still doesnt work even after trying both LEDs. What other problems could it be? fuse? The car engine and lights werent turned on, whether that makes any difference im not sure.

[sparkystav]

Did you try the leds both ways round?

as LED have to be the right way round to work unlike normal bulbs.

Stav

[LOcKY]

just tried the LED both way round and still no luck :(

[Steviewevie]

You said earlier you'd taken it into the house, I presume you disconnected the wiring, could it be it's not connected properly ? As Stav says the LEDs have to be the right way round, but obviously they should work one way. You've got the same sort of LED as the bulb, i.e. a wedge connector ?

My car is in the body shop, so I can't check, but I think the boot light should work all the time the boot is open ?

[LOcKY]

2x 194 168 W5W T10 1W Super Xenon White LED Light bulbs this is what ive ordered. ive tried both ways and no such luck, i assumed the boot light bulb was faulty hence the reason why i bought these to replace it but now im not sure what is wrong now :(

[Steviewevie]

So are you saying the boot light wasn't working before you tried these LEDs ? If the LEDs don't work either then it does sound like there's something else wrong, e.g. can you see if the wiring looks ok to the cage ? Do you have a multimeter where you can test to see if there's some voltage in the bulb holder ?

You could always try the LEDs in the sidelights if you want to double-check them, the sidelights are very easy to get to and take the same bulbs. Again, they'll only work the "right" way round though.

[DJ Wozza]

If the bulbs work when tested as Stevie suggests, it deffo sounds like no power to the bulb holder to me.

[LOcKY]

oh crap it wont cost too much to fix will it? other wise im going to do without :(

[sparkystav]

The fuse is the same as the other interior lights so i doubt its that,

Maybe check the switch on the boot latch is working properly?

[Asi]

as stav said check the latch.

[Steviewevie]

Any luck ?

[LOcKY]

not sure how to check if theres any power going into the connectors at the back and again not sure if theres something wrong with the basket thingy. I think my Scotsure one cover warrenty might cover this so may take it into Lexus to get it fixed. I have a feeling they are going to charge me £60 for the engineer to just look at it. Like i said earlier its not vital but if it costs more than £50 then i rather put it towards some new tyres as i think my rear are in need of replacing soon :( I bought a 21 LED torch a while back so i suppose i can use that when it gets too dark to see

[Steviewevie]

It would be worth buying a cheap multimeter, you can get basic ones from most DIY stores in the electrical section, or Maplin have loads of them. You just need something that can check voltages, then put the probes into the connectors and see if there's 12V coming through them or not.

It's probably something very simple, and as has been suggested maybe just something to do with the latch, i.e. the boot light switches on when the boot is open.

[LOcKY]

Multimeter.... hmmm... well im going to Middlesbrough later today so i guess i could pop into maplins. I hope its something simple as i want to see these LED Bulb in action :D

[LOcKY]

just got back from Halfords from my car journey (as you do) and the guy stuck some probe at each connector from the wire that sticks out from the boot and said no power was coming out... how rather odd.

Whats the next plan? :(

[Steviewevie]

It's probably the latch. The power only comes on when the switch in the boot latch decides that the boot is open. So it is probably a problem there, i.e. the boot is open but the switch doesn't think it is, so there is no power, so the light doesn't come on.

I can't quite work out from the various diagrams exactly where the switch is though, does anyone know for sure ?

[Steviewevie]

If you lock the car as normal, and hence set the alarm, if you then unlock (and open) the boot with a key, does it set the alarm off ? (it should do)

[LOcKY]

nope the alarm didnt go off. Im assuming once i press the lock button my key the alarm is set to on right? what do you think could be the problem?

[Steviewevie]

ok, well I'm not suprised. Basically there's a switch which is operated when the boot opens, which is linked to the alarm and also making the courtesy light come on. I bet the "door open" indicator light on the dash doesn't light up when the boot is open either (it should do).

You might want to verify that the alarm is working properly, e.g. open one of the doors with the key when the alarm is set, I imagine that will set the alarm off ok.

So there's a problem with the switch in the boot. It's hard to tell from the diagrams but I think it's behind the area of the number plate, does anyone else know for sure ?

[LOcKY]

i think the car alarm work as i remember when my parents were sitting in the car and i locked them in. When i got back they said the car alarm went off lol :D ok i'll look for a switch which i hope will solve this mysteries :D

*edit*

ok you are indeed correct about the door open indicator light on the dash doesnt light up when i open the boot even when the engine is on or off... we are getting closer in solving this mystery my dear Watson