RE: <E30> Convertible 3rd brake light (longish)

["Frank Ciotti" <frankc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

John,

>> On Wed, 18 Nov 1998, Frank Ciotti wrote:

>> Can someone with an E30 Convertible that has the later
>> style 3rd brake light
>> (89 & on?) do me a favor?  I'm mounting the BMW light on my
>> trunk lid to
>> replace this ugly looking light (that leaks) put on by the
>> importer when my
>> car was brought over from Germany.  I need to know what the
>> correct location
>> is on the trunk lid.  If someone could please email me the
>> distance from the
>> front edge of the trunk lid, to the light, I would greatly
>> appreciate it.
>
>on Wed, 18 Nov 1998, John Bolhuis wrote:
>
> The rubber seal that sticks out from the edge of the light cover is no
> more than 2mm from the front edge of the trunk lid.  Basically, as
> close as you can get without having overlap.  That's how it is on my
> end-of-line '93 E30 325ic.  Have fun!

Thanks so much for the information.  I *thought* mine was in the wrong spot.
I didn't want to get into all the details on my original post, but I had a
dealer here in Houston paint the part and mount it.  I was going to mount it
myself, but they told they knew where to drill the holes because whenever
they have to replace a trunk lid on a convertible, they do not come
pre-drilled.  I was reluctant, but thought I could trust them.  When I got
it back, the paint looked great, but the first rain we got cause water
puddles to form in my trunk.  Removing the cap on the light revealed that
they didn't seal the old holes from the previous aftermarket light, nor did
they put any kind of grommet in the hole where the wires go through the
trunk lid - double trouble becase of the very sharp edge left by the drill
bit.  Which brings up another sore point, the original wiring harness had a
big grommet attached where the wires go through the trunk lid.  They simply
cut off the harness at the grommet, and tapped into ground where the toolkit
screws in.  They also cut and left the brake light active check wires
completely disconnected.  What tipped me off that mine was too far back
(it's more like an inch back from the front edge) is that 1) the screws on
the bottom don't line up with the access holes and 2) there is a gap between
the trunk lid and the gasket at the front edge of the cap - that is, it
doesn't seal tightly, thus allowing rain in leading to the unsealed holes
and into my trunk.  I noticed that both the light base/cap and the trunk lid
curve up slightly at the front edge, and that if I moved the light up (to
about where you say yours is), the gasket would seal tightly.  And another
thing, they didn't actually screw the base unit to the trunk lid.  If I
remove the cap, the base unit comes right off with it.  Actually I'm
grateful now because otherwise I would have had 3 more holes in trunk lid
that were in the wrong spot.

I went back to the dealer and pointed all these things out.  I was mainly
upset that they cut off the original wiring harness on the base unit of the
light (that I just bought), and that I would now have to splice in some
wires to run them back to the rear lights check relay and tie them in
properly, along with a proper ground.  You cannot buy the harness
separately, only with the base unit.  I agreed that the wiring was
repairable, but felt I shouldn't settle for them destroying a part I just
bought.  I offered to pay for half of a new base unit if they would cover
the other half.  The body shop employee was very nice and offered to pay for
the entire cost of the new part, if I (re)install it myself.  I think he
could tell I was a little more meticulous than his average customer.

Sorry, for the WOB.  I'm sure this is way more than you wanted to know, but
I had to vent.

Frank Ciotti
86 325iC euro

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