TIMM'S BMW E32 FOGLIGHT REPAIR

My foglight was full of water and had gone mouldy......



Start by getting the plastic cover next to the lamp off...This is hinged on the inboard side and held by two clips next to the lamps. Get your hand around the back and squash the plastic tabs together on clip 'B' (see this and later pictures for location) and gently lever the top clip out (I couldn't get to it from behind).....(and yes, I know that my foglight now seems to have cleaned itself but I took the pictures after repair!!).....



The plastic cover is held by two plastic straps, here are the two clips.......



Here are the holes that they mate with, now just undo this screw.......



And the foglight can be hinged from the outside and removed from the car by disconnecting the loom....It is quite a tight fit but it does come out......



The foglight comes apart pretty easlily by undoing eight screws and leaves you with these bits...The rusty looking bit in the middle holds a lens that concentrates the beam....My foglight was full of mould so I stuck it in the sink and cleaned everything up with houshold utensils. I used a bottle brush to get inside the front lens. It seems to be bonded to the plastic so I didn't try to prise it off. I dried each bit on the exhaust from the tumble drier and gave a quick squirt of WD40 on the wiring. I also cleaned up the bulb with some Isopropanol Solvent....



The only problem was the inner reflector, this was coated with the usual reflective stuff. It had been damaged by the water and the black plastic was showing through. I tried to clean it but it just got worse. No problem, time for some Blue Peter type repair. I put a layer of super-glue down on the damaged half and cut some silver-paper to about the right shape and stuck it in. I then removed the silver paper from the end of my finger and did it again!!......



I next repaired the crack in the front glass that caused the leak in the first place......It says on the packaging that this stuff dries 'crystal clear'...I hope so, it's rather white at the mo.......



Bulb back in and rear cover screwed into place (it only fits one way round)....Screw lens in place, a bit of silcone grease on the gasket......



Fit the assembly back in the bumper, the foglight has two clips on the outside edge, these clip in first then push in the inner edge and screw it back in place.......The other screw below the fixing screw seems to adjust the beam up and down, screw it in for a higher throw....



Plastic cover back in place.....time for a cup of tea..........Tim.....