High level brake light Issues

[poosnip]

New part ordered ..... And I braved it and pulled down the plastic trim . It doesn't crack .... So fortunately I do not have to get into the rear trim on the boot lid for my avant .

This is what I see.... Does any one know how I should remove the current led strip? Please see pics below


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[Guest 2]

quick forum search brought this up

a6 avant tailgate brake light

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Removing the centre brake light (LED) took me 30 seconds, after the first 2 hours of figuring out how it was held in place. You need to remove the internal boot trim lower (most of the inner boot trime) and then the upper to expose the area in which the lighting unit locates. It is removed from the outside of the vehicle by sliding the different coloured plastic assemblies horizontally to the lighting unit from the inside of the boot void. This releases the copper clips (which fall into the boot void and are easily retrieved if your careful). the unit can then be removed from the outside.

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remember everything on these cars have been done at least once so use the search feature and google to your advantage

[poosnip]

Thanks Chris ... As ever


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[poosnip]

I have done it !

I can confirm that you do not need to take the whole of the rear trim off as you can see in picture above ... You can wedge open this aperture with a roll of tape or a roll of toilet paper and do your work quite comfortably.

To get the light unit out..... Push the black plastic tab on the base of the unit to the right and that will free the light from its clips and the base with a clatter. Push the clips down the separate them from the light unit. Lever out the light (mine was a pig to get out) with a combination off pushing while levering. When the light pops out you also need to fish out the black plastic holder and the clips. Be Careful when unplugging the light ..... The plastic may be perished a little and can be easily broken if you have had some water damage in there.

My replacement came as the light unit and clips and black plastic base holder all as one so i just reinserted the whole thing making sure that it snapped in and checking for gaps.

If however you just have the light strip without the black plastic base holder and clips, just retain your old ones and use them... The assembly is quite easy to figure out and with that done all you do is lever the whole thing in. It is a doodle to put the light back in.

I did mention earlier that one does not have to open the whole rear trim on their avant to access this high level led strip.....Unless you are bonehead like me....... I may well have to open the rear trim to fish out one of those light unit clips... If you loose one like me, it will not hinder your reinstallation unless you only have the lights trip and not clips or holder. Oh well..... I will just put up with a rattle and hope to fish it out at the openings for the the White light convinience lights on the rear lid

I hope this helps.....

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[chilledgibbo]

I had mine replaced two years ago, but I noticed it not quite sitting quite right, and more recently I noticed water getting into the bootlid. Anyway, I bit the bullet and dismantled the trim (nightmare!) to get the light out.

I did notice that the black slider was not properly lined up before I slid it to remove the light. It was only just attached, and explains why the light was not seated right. The thing is tough, when you put the black sliding backing thingy back on you really have to force it so that it slides all the way to lock in the copper spring clips. That way it should clip securely in place in the boot aperture, and the woefully thin foam seal should do it's job.

My next challenge is putting the trim back on tomorrow!