Tail lights assembly

mickietucs

I have a 2016 320S and a lot of my tail light LEDs are out (not all). A fellow camper tested the 7-pin on my truck and all is well there. Did a search here and found some info however no details on actually replacing the assembly (and older posts may not apply?). Does that rear trim piece have to come off, is there silicone that has to be cut and do the wires have to be cut or is there a quick connect so it's just a matter of unplugging and plugging in a new assembly. Just wondering if I can tackle this myself (not very knowledgeable on repairs). I know I can order the lights through Missouri Teardrop, I believe. Thanks all! Mickie

Bayliss

@mickietucs, this discussion thread may help:

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/9639/taillight#latest

I used the replacement tail lights suggested by @Tabaz and it was very easy, but it is not simply a matter of unplugging and plugging in the replacement light.  You need to use a wire connector to securely connect the trailer tail light wires to the replacement tail light wires, so it's just a matter of making those electrical connections if you are comfortable doing that.

I did not have to remove the rear trim piece or any caulking.  Just remove the old lights (two screws for each) and replace them with either the same tail lights as the original (i.e., those you can obtain through Missouri Teardrops), or the set available from superbrightleds.com:  https://www.superbrightleds.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=TLS-R17HF-R-K (4” round (see second photo below.)

The first photo below shows the electrical connections I made using the tail light purchased from superbrightleds.com.  You simply splice/connect the corresponding black, red and white wires together.  [NOTE:  The white and black wires that I cut and capped (blue caps) and taped with electrical tape are wires that were originally connected to an included license plate light.  The license plate light is unnecessary and will not work with the T@B configuration, so I removed it.  The other tail light that comes with the set does not include the license plate light.  If you purchase the replacement tail lights from Missouri Teardrops, they should be identical to what you currently have, so you won't have the license plate light to deal with.  Be sure to send Missouri Teardrops a photograph of what you have now so that they get you the correct tail lights.  They will also likely want your T@B model year, the manufacture date and Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).] 

 

mickietucs

@Bayliss - thanks so much - detailed description and doesn't seem as daunting as I thought. Appreciate it!