Instructions to remove & disassemble the inner taillights?

[dhoerl]

I seem to have lightly tapped something, one of the taillights located in the hatch has a crack (well, a small chip was knocked inside too). Water is getting into it, and I'd like to pull it out, try to repair it, if not replace it.

Tips or links most appreciated!

David

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[markboris]

I seem to have lightly tapped something, one of the taillights located in the hatch has a crack (well, a small chip was knocked inside too). Water is getting into it, and I'd like to pull it out, try to repair it, if not replace it.

Tips or links most appreciated!

David

Hi David, you need to remove the Liftgate trim panel to get to the taillights located behind there. Below is the instructions from the service manual.

 

[dhoerl]

Hi David, you need to remove the Liftgate trim panel to get to the taillights located behind there. Below is the instructions from the service manual.

Mark, cannot thank you enough for this!

Best wishes, David

 

[BillPitman]

Hi David, you need to remove the Liftgate trim panel to get to the taillights located behind there. Below is the instructions from the service manual.

Hey Mark, did you do this from the PDF manual, or CD? I don’t know how to get a string of pages……. I was taking photos of screen….., you beat me to it! Bill P

 

[markboris]

Hey Mark, did you do this from the PDF manual, or CD? I don’t know how to get a string of pages……. I was taking photos of screen….., you beat me to it! Bill P

PDF manual. I just took screenshots.

 

[highland58]

The panels in step 2 and step 3 are a challenge, I had to do all of those panels to install my LED GT badge from EV Vida. This video shows removing those panels Mustang Mach-E Mods | Light Up Emblem DIY | In-Depth Demo (youtube.com)

 

[RogueLegend]

PDF manual. I just took screenshots.

Got one of these for the front seats? I'm trying to figure out if it's possible to rig an aftermarket peltier for seat cooling.

 

[markboris]

Got one of these for the front seats? I'm trying to figure out if it's possible to rig an aftermarket peltier for seat cooling.

I need more info on what you are looking to do. I will DM you.

 

[circatee]

Mark, cannot thank you enough for this!

Best wishes, David

...let us know how the fix goes. Looking forward to your feedback on it!

 

[dhoerl]

So with the help of the disassembly instructions, I got the

...let us know how the fix goes. Looking forward to your feedback on it!

So with the help of the disassembly instructions from Mark, I got the taillight out. There was a small hole in it, and water had gotten inside (you could see the meniscus too!). The light was totally dead.

My plan was to pull the assembly, then get the exterior cover (lens) separated from the body, and see if all the pieces were there so I could glue them back and get a good seal. If that worked, I could get a "broken" assembly from eBay cheap - all I would need is the electronics that go inside.

I spent about an hour with a dremel tool to essentially carve a slot in the grove between lens and body. Then, used a screwdriver and a scraper to try and cleanly separate the two. But that failed - I cracked the cover.

In the end, one would need to really get a deep channel. It's difficult as the groove has turns and corners, and I kept breaking dremel grinder disks. You can't use a saw as the blade would hit parts of the interior lens assembly.

Sigh.

I finally used a hammer to break the lens off so I could see the electrics. These consist of a bare circuit board with chips on it - no wonder it died getting soaked with water under power!

In the end I got a used assembly from eBay for under $200. At best, if I had been successful, I'd have saved about $100 for 3-4 hours of work. You do the math!

David

PS: I had done this kind of repair on a 2006 Audi rear 3rd break light assembly. That one was poorly designed - the terminals were unsupported, and as the wire swung back and forth it ended up breaking the electrical contact. But to get at them, I had to disassemble the light - in this case I used a utility knife as the plastic was thin. I did get it apart, soldered the terminal, then glued some support around it. Worked great and was still working when I traded the car in for my Mach-E!

 

[dhoerl]

...let us know how the fix goes. Looking forward to your feedback on it!

More info. Photos of the disassembly:
- Burn shows the two chips the water caused to fry

You can see the lens pretty much fills the cover's interior. There isn't anywhere you might saw it in half.

I attempted to cut into the groove away from the lens. In the end this was a bad decision, as you can see that the cover is thinner closer to the lens, where it was most likely glued when built.

So if some other (owner, or idiot as my wife calls me!) tries to do this for whatever reason, cut close the lens.

Good luck!

PS: my wife just walked into the kitchen and started screaming, what is this stuff - got to run

 

[circatee]

More info. Photos of the disassembly:
- Burn shows the two chips the water caused to fry

You can see the lens pretty much fills the cover's interior. There isn't anywhere you might saw it in half.

I attempted to cut into the groove away from the lens. In the end this was a bad decision, as you can see that the cover is thinner closer to the lens, where it was most likely glued when built.

So if some other (owner, or idiot as my wife calls me!) tries to do this for whatever reason, cut close the lens.

Good luck!

PS: my wife just walked into the kitchen and started screaming, what is this stuff - got to run

...thanks for sharing. I would be too scared to try fixing it myself. I feel I would simply cause more damage, then, I'd be out of pocket even more so.

Alas, nicely done!

 

[dhoerl]

...thanks for sharing. I would be too scared to try fixing it myself. I feel I would simply cause more damage, then, I'd be out of pocket even more so.

Alas, nicely done!

Someday, someone, is going to ponder doing this. I just hope they find this thread!

 

[MaxGo]

I am actually contemplating to try repeating this.

Someone hit my 2024 Rally Edition while my son was driving it to school, at the parking lot. We never noticed the tiny dent / crack in the upper middle of the inner tail light. Few weeks later it was full of water after the rain and a car wash. Bottom part of the light stopped working.

While I temporarily got a decent quality used taillight from eBay for $260, dated 2023, the new one costs $850. I realized that even the new one is designed for 2021-2024 Mach-E, while it fits - it has a subtle difference from the original Rally taillight.

They are exactly the same dimensions wise, and look identical on the outside, but late 2024 Rally edition has less pronounced, more ambient LEDs, so that you can't see each individual LED lamp. And different timing. When you blink - original Rally light "scrolls" about 350ms faster than the lights from 2021-2024. It is noticeable when I unlock the car - now my left and right taillights blink at one another with different timing, right one blinks first and the left one finishes to blink 350-500ms later.

I am considering to crack the original broken taillight and see if I can salvage the LED bar and controller from there. Maybe repairing it, as I have modest electronics repair skills.

Basically the newer late 2024+ cars taillight part number is different than the one used on 2021-early 2024 models. And so far I could not find RJ8B-13A603-AB anywhere at all.

 

[Tiq]

Hi David, you need to remove the Liftgate trim panel to get to the taillights located behind there. Below is the instructions from the service manual.

Thank you A LOT for this, my tailgate lights screw got loose and it started to rattle on a bumpy road, thanks for showing those manuals.
Also used this video to identify the screw's location (they are hiding really well):

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