Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

swapping a coupe trunk lid on a vert?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    swapping a coupe trunk lid on a vert?

    i need to get rid of the ugly 3rd brake light, but it seems like a pain. i have a coupe trunk lid with an is spoiler sitting in my garage but the wires for the 3rd brake light seem like a pain. i want to keep everything there so i can easily sway back to the stock trunk lid when the time comes. so does that wire just un plug? i dont want to deal with fishing it through the trunk if thats possible...
    1993 325ic Schwarz/Natur
    1991 318is Black/Black - Slicktop - Project s52
    1989 Alpine White/Black M3 S52
    1988 Henna/Pearl M3 <3

    #2
    it was done on my car by a body shop and they didn't seem to complain. I can't really tell you what was involved in the swap and as for the wires for the third brake light they just cut mine and left them.....I'm sure there will be electrical problems later but for now the fit is nice and it looks great.

    Comment


      #3
      1. Disconnect wires from trunk lid WITHOUT removing them, just unplug shit.

      2. CAREFULLY tape a length of wire to the harness you just disconnected, pull the wires through so that the chunk of wire is still in the trunk lid (as a "fish") so you can pull them through later, if you wish

      3. Tie up wires

      4. Swap the trunk lid...4 10mm bolts, 1 on each side stay in so it is super easy to do.

      Remove 2 bolts, loosen the other 2, swap lids, done.

      Closing SOON!
      "LAST CHANCE FOR G.A.S." DEAL IS ON NOW

      Luke AT germanaudiospecialties DOT com or text 425-761-6450, or for quickest answers, call me at the shop 360-669-0398

      Thanks for 10 years of fun!

      Comment


        #4
        takes 5 minutes to swap the lids, 5 minutes to sort the wiring, easy job

        heres how i did it.

        unhook light for inside trunk light and pull it out of the old trunk lid, cut the wires for the third brake light at the hinge (to get rid of check engine light i soldered 2 of them together cant recall which two though), take off old lid, bolt up new lid, feed interior light wires up into new lid and connect... done
        Your signature picture has been removed since it contained the Photobucket "upgrade your account" image.

        Originally posted by TimKninja
        Im more afraid of this thread turning into one of those classic R3v moments, where Pizza gets delivered.

        Comment


          #5
          the thing is i dont want to just go around cutting things...i want to be able to return back to stock. so im asking does the third brake light harness plug somewhere in the car so i can just unplug it?
          1993 325ic Schwarz/Natur
          1991 318is Black/Black - Slicktop - Project s52
          1989 Alpine White/Black M3 S52
          1988 Henna/Pearl M3 <3

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by dannyg View Post
            the thing is i dont want to just go around cutting things...i want to be able to return back to stock. so im asking does the third brake light harness plug somewhere in the car so i can just unplug it?
            I think the answer is no, but you can splice in connectors so that you can just plug it back when returning to stock.

            Comment


              #7
              Just did this swap today...I need to take pictures...easy as pie...also need to do the wiring for the 3rd brake light...I'm getting the check light.

              Comment


                #8
                Wire the third brake light in (with bulb) and hide it behind driver side trunk lining. Brake light warning will go away. It is also a good place to store it so it will not get lost.

                1991 325ic and 1991 318is

                Comment


                  #9
                  Dragowl, please post up pics! I'm going to drop my trunk and spoiler off this week to get paint...I opened up the 3rd brake light too and disconnected some of the wires but I had to snip a few, no big deal I guess I could easily solder them back together.
                  1993 325ic Schwarz/Natur
                  1991 318is Black/Black - Slicktop - Project s52
                  1989 Alpine White/Black M3 S52
                  1988 Henna/Pearl M3 <3

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by dannyg View Post
                    Dragowl, please post up pics! I'm going to drop my trunk and spoiler off this week to get paint...I opened up the 3rd brake light too and disconnected some of the wires but I had to snip a few, no big deal I guess I could easily solder them back together.

                    Ask and you shall recieve...I'll take some outside in the morning.

                    The 3rd brake light delete with is lip...


                    OH...and I figured out the wires that need to be jumped to kill the brake check light.

                    There are 4 wires in the 3rd brake light harness...the brown (ground) and the red with green stripe. The other two green wires are the ones that need to be jumpered.

                    I'm happy for now...:D
                    Last edited by Dragowl; 12-14-2008, 09:43 PM. Reason: Better picture

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by Stevie30 View Post
                      Wire the third brake light in (with bulb) and hide it behind driver side trunk lining. Brake light warning will go away. It is also a good place to store it so it will not get lost.
                      Thought about that...but figured it would be useless and possibly cause an additional rattle I wasn't looking for :)

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Looks very nice...I think I am going to paint my lip spoiler though...
                        1993 325ic Schwarz/Natur
                        1991 318is Black/Black - Slicktop - Project s52
                        1989 Alpine White/Black M3 S52
                        1988 Henna/Pearl M3 <3

                        Comment

                        Working...
                        X