My rear tail light just quit and the dealer told me I need to replace the whole assembly. Priced at $111, I told him forget it. He did mention that there's a circuit board on each tail light, and mine has failed. If so, could someone tell me if it's worth trying to fix. I can get a used assembly on e-Bay for $15-40 and I'm wondering if it's worth the effort to attemt to repair.
Thanks!
John Fogarty
Huh?
Which tail lamp? Center/Left/Right? Brake light/Turn Signal/Backup light/All?
Circuit board??? I'm glancing at the schematics and I have no idea what this dealers talking about.
Series owner:
total of 7 times in 4 years. The cause: Printed circuit board assemblies in the tail lights CAN'T handle the current load and melt the plastic assembly. Five were replaced under warranty. We have paid for the last two at $182 each and it needs ANOTHER right rear light along with a new engine!"
what I found.
unhappy Saturn L Series owner:
replaced a total of 7 times in 4 years. The cause: Printed circuit board assemblies in the tail lights CAN'T handle the current load and melt the plastic assembly. Five were replaced under warranty. We have paid for the last two at $182 each and it needs ANOTHER right rear light along with a new engine!"
you know what I found.
jtfogarty4
Correct. I just pulled the tail light out and can see that the running lamb base (socket) melted. A new socket and bulb didn't fix the problem. I justed checked e-Bay: there are 4 or 5 for auction at less than $40, with the sockets. I'll check the salvage yard first. It is one (explicative) design and seems to fail quite frequently - it's a shame. I'll pull this one apart on the wekend and see if it can be repaired.
This is the exact crap that will keep me from ever buying a Saturn again.
I thought it was just the bulb socket. I guess I got lucky, I replaced the socket only last year. To date, it still works. The socket cost about $25. L200 2001.
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