It's a little tricky! This was addressed sometime back, but I guess that post was lost in the crash, a few months ago. I did mine about a year ago, and I forget the exact details, but the interior panel of the gate has to be removed, then as I remember, the whole housing comes off the gate. It's way too much work for a bulb replacement, so put both in while it's apart!
Remove the small screw that hold the lamp/lens in place. Then you can with a lot of jiggling and cussing slide it out the bottom. Then with child size fingers r&r the bulb and put it all back together.
Hey I'm glad you asked this question, because I've been wondering how to do this. I tried to wrestle those lenses out once before but I was afraid I was going to break them. I've had a blown out bulb there for several months. Damn the torpedoes, I'll give it another try and hopefully won't shatter the lenses.
Basically take the screw out and pry on it to the point that you think it's gonna break and you say "oh **** I'm gonna break it" then they slide right out. Piss poor design, throw some LEDs in there so you won't have to do it again.
Oh give me a break. The original question was not only answered, it was answered well several times over.
Besides ^^^that^^^, it was a JOKE you thread assing hypocrites.
Besides ^^^that^^^, I know the answer to the question I friggin asked.
Besides ^^^that^^^, I'd be interested to see what the factory service manuals say to do because - while Steve-O's method may work - and may even work the best, I highly doubt the official GM procedure write up would be to pry on something until you swear.
I was curious too, so I checked my GM FSM again. It says:
1) Remove two bolts/screws attaching the lens to molding.
2) Remove lamp from molding.
So apparently that IS the right way. It just would have been nice if the FSM said to pry like hell on it. I was afraid I was going to break mine, so I yelled at the book and never changed the bulb. Guess I'll give it another shot!
I have 3 of these wagons plus 2 I have sold but somehow I had never changed license plate bulbs before today. Could not get the darn things out so I naturally came here looking for answers. Ended up cracking both prying them out. One will live. The other will definitely finish breaking the next time it needs to come out. I'd love to know the sequence for putting all that together at the factory. It had to be easier than what I just did, jamming the lenses back in the slot/hole.
I removed the 4 screws and wiggled the clear plastic housing out. Since both my blubs were out, I decided to upgrade to LEDs. The cheap glue holding the 2 halves of the plastic housing together was brittle. Using a small flat head screw driver, I pried the 2 halves apart. I purchased 4 white 5mm LEDs from Advanced Auto parts for $10 bucks. I have used these in the past for many automotive upgrades with good success. They are already wired for 12v and have about 18" of wire for each blub. I then drill 2 holes into the clear lense. (Note: I drilled the holes in the curve of the lense to angle the LEDs towards the plate.) After installing 2 LEDs into each lense, I ran a bead of hot glue around the base of the blub. The blubs are tight into the holes I drilled, but the glue keeps out moisture and keeps them in place from vibration. I then wired the blubs into the stock harness. After removing the back half of each lense the lenses re-install with easy. I have include day and night photos to show the detail and output of the blubs. I hope this helps others.
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1993 RMW Blue Woodie wagon- current sled
1992 9c1 Caprice slick top cruiser- sold, big mistake
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