How To: restore door-handle courtesy lights

[GTOger]

Are your door-handle courtesy lights looking cracked and old, but the plastic is in good shape? If so then you may be able to get very good results with a quick restore job. This little project took me about an hour, not including the time spent trying to figure out how to get the disassembly done. By posting here, maybe you will benefit from the results of my frustration.

TOOLS USED:
Flat-head screwdriver
Needle-nose pliers
Testors gloss-black model paint
Small paint brush


Here is a before picture:


Even though the rest of the interior looks great, these light fixtures have not aged well.

IMPORTANT: Please keep in mind that this plastic is pretty old by now, and may be brittle. You always want to use caution and common sense because there is a risk you might damage or destroy something. You don't want to do that, right? Also, I'm posting as a general reference. I'm not a mechanic and don't warrant this how-to to be error-free and can't guarantee it will work as well for you as it did for me. Stupid disclaimers aside, here we go.

The first step is to remove the fixture from the door panel. To do this, gently insert your flat-head screwdriver right above the top of the lens and carefully pry downward to release the snap-catch of the lens from the door panel. Tilt the top down, letting the lens "hinge" from the bottom.



Now rock the lens assembly out of the door pocket by pulling slightly up and out. You should now have the assembly free from the door. Notice how cracked and dirty the assembly has gotten over the years? Remove the festoon bulb from the socket-clips, being careful not to burn yourself because the bulb is going to be hot if it has been lit for any period of time. I use the flat-head screwdriver to pop one end out, and then grab the bulb with my hand and work it out of the other clip.



Now you need to remove the clips from the plastic assembly. Notice the metal clips have little metal tabs cut out on them so that they maintain a positive lock on the plastic. You can simply give the clip a good squeeze with your needle-nose pliers and push them out of the assembly.



Now you still have some wires coming out of the assembly, which is the little LED that lights up orange/red when the headlights are turned on. To remove it, find the small retaining pin that is set vertically through the assembly and push it out either through the top or the bottom. I found it relatively simple to give it a push with the end of the needle-nose pliers so that it stuck out from the top enough to grab with the pliers and pull the rest of the way out.



Did you see the pin in the above shot? That's the one you want to pull.

Once that is done, your assembly is essentially free from the car. You'll have 3 things dangling from the hole in the door panel: white wire, orange wire, and the LED. Make sure that the metal pieces don't contact each other, or else you'll get a short in your 12-volt.



You may want to use a little electrical tape to cover up the metal pieces just to be safe.

Now grab your fixture assemblies, your paint and a brush and head to your workbench!