Side Marker

[Motion]

When I bought tha car my side marker on tha passenger side was burnt out. That light between tha back an front door. How would I remove it to replace tha bulb?

[jbmckee]

Hi all! I'm new to the forums. I have a '90 98 Regency Brougham and like Motion, was wondering how I can get to the bulbs in the side marker/opera lights on the B pillar. Anybody have any ideas? The black plastic trim piece that holds the lens appears to be permanently attached to the pillar. I can see no obvious means to access the bulbs from inside the car either. Are they bulbs??? The light is so pale and even it reminds me of an electroluminecent panel but second thought is why would Olds go to all that trouble to put an DC/AC converter in the vehicle just to illuminate a couple of opera lights? Does anybody know how to get into the assembly? Thanks!

[f1sh]

Ha Ha. I thought they were supposed to work too but I have yet to see an olds that they do work. Neither do mine.

[jbmckee]

Originally Posted by f1sh

Ha Ha. I thought they were supposed to work too but I have yet to see an olds that they do work. Neither do mine.

Oh, but I did't say that mine didn't work. =;^) They do and quite well, but I would like to get to the bulbs or "source of illumination" for purposes other than repair. The purists out there will probably not like to hear this, but I want to "alter" the color slightly. Being the aviation nut that I am, I would like to render the starboard/right-side marker a green and the port/left-side marker red. The right-side green might eventually get me pulled over (at least in California) so I may go with both sides red being that's a legal color.

[f1sh]

As it turns out, it should be fairly easy. I had an idea so I went out to m car to check it out.

On the column behind the markers remove one of the paneling strips. Front or back. I removed the back by simply pulling easy and it unclipped. Then the main panel came off easily with a button type clip at the top and bottom of the panel. On the column behind the marker, there are two rubber caps. Behind each of those caps, there is a bolt with about a 8-10mm nut on them.

That shoud get us in. I just didn't have a deep socket handy as the excess bolt is about 3/4 in. So I still don't know what's on the other side.

Good luck!

[f1sh]

No bulbs... Just the whole panel with a plug on it to be replaced. Junk yard? I am sure they are $50 each or something rediculous from the dealer.

[jbmckee]

Originally Posted by f1sh

No bulbs... Just the whole panel with a plug on it to be replaced. Junk yard? I am sure they are $50 each or something rediculous from the dealer.

Thanks f1sh,

The glow from the side markers are so soft and even, I was wondering if there might be electroluminecent panels in them. Problem with the EL panels is they are powered by AC, so DC to AC a converter is needed. (my '62 Imperial has an EL dash) Maybe these side marker panels have a converter built into them? Either that or there are some LEDs lighting the panel. The LED would make more sense considering the small size and the panels sound like they are unservicable (i.e. repace it if it's bad). I'm not sure if LEDs were used by auto manufacturers back in 1990 though, but my '95 T-Bird has LEDs in the rear running lights mounted on the trunk lid.

Thank you for sharing your findings with me and the forum!

To tell you the truth, if you can find an NOS side marker panel for $50, I would consider that a bargain. I went to the dealer to inquire about getting a replacement drink holder. For those of you that aren't familiar, its a single cup holder that flips out of the center armrest on the '90 Broughams (probably similar/identical on other models with armrest). The dealer wanted $55 for that piece of plastic! No way I was going to pay that *unless* there was an aftermarket redesign to strengthen the weak point where the original one broke.

Thanks again and take care,

Jay