License Plate Light Assembly - Fixture Only Replacement?

[MCTurman]

I noticed one of my license plate lights was out so I took the lens off to check the bulb and the entire bulb and receptacle fell out. I removed the assembly and found that the inside is pretty rusted, but only the internal light fixture piece that's riveted to the chrome. It looks like it would be pretty easy to get out but then I'm stuck with the task of replacing it.

I was searching eBay and came across these:

License Plate Rear Light fit Toyota Land Cruiser J60 Series FJ60 FJ62 HJ60 HJ61

TOYOTA LAND CRUISER 60 SERIES FJ60 FJ62 HJ60 HJ61 LICENSE PLATE LAMP LIGHT NEW

Are these exactly what I'm looking for? Does anyone have any experience with these or possibly know of some other options before I plunk down $350 for a used replacement complete assembly?

 

[EastCanFJ62]

@Grench8a has a used one for sale. I was going to buy it but our canadian dollar is low at this time and decided to wait until it gets closer to the usa dollar.

 

[MCTurman]

The entire light assembly or some sort of replacement for the fixture?

 

[MCTurman]

I'd really like to salvage mine if possible... The outer chrome shell is still in great condition. It's just the internal fixture piece that's rusted.

 

[EastCanFJ62]

The entire light assembly or some sort of replacement for the fixture?

Entire thing is for sale...sorry misread your original post..my bad.

 

[MCTurman]

sorry misread your original post..my bad.

No worries at all.

I actually PM'ed @Grench8a immediately after reading your post but I was just a bit too late.

I'm looking a little more closely at this thing now that I have it inside under some good light and the rust actually isn't that bad. The little flimsy arms that hold the lamps rusted off but otherwise it looks like I might be able to get away with a good rust scrub and some primer/paint.

Does anyone know of a replacement lamp arm/insert for just replacing the light parts?

 

[SteveH]

I wonder if a trip to the pick-and-pull might reveal a good donor. Look for a minivan or something with a hatch-mounted license plate that would have a similar style light assembly that you could mount behind the Toyota emblem. You might find the raw light sockets at Pep Boys or some such place.

 

[MCTurman]

Going to hit the parts stores today. Here's what I'm dealing with:

Any suggestions?

 

[open country]

I ended up replacing mine with a used unit after the same issue. The lighting grounds to the inner bracket so if that's rusted the lights are inop. Could maybe re-wire and route a ground somewhere along the lighting wiring to the chassis? Just spitballin here.

 

[MCTurman]

Yeah, I'm in the same situation. The rust is preventing a good ground to the existing lamps and painting it will exacerbate the issue. I was thinking along your same lines of running a new dedicated ground wire but I still need to locate a viable fixture replacement. Otherwise I'm shelling out $300+ for a used replacement...

 

[Kleatus]

When I tore into mine to fix it, I found it all rusted out too, with literally nothing to put bulbs in.. I ended up using about a 6" strip of flexible adhesive LED ribbon light right up under the chrome above the plate. I also ran new wire up to where the original ran into the harness under the rear bed and ran a new ground. Works great, actually if I did it again I would use less lights as it's probably brighter than it needs to be, but you don't actually see the LED's from behind.

 

[MCTurman]

Great idea! Can you give me a link to what you used?

 

[Kleatus]

I got the lights on eBay. I think it was about $15.00 per 5 meters of the stuff.
There's a bunch of different types out there, just be sure and get the waterproof ones.
I want to run a few strips on the bottom of the hood (just in case of course ). I originally got this stuff to put under the trusses in my garage, after seeing how well 2 strips of it worked down the inside roof of an underground fruit cellar.


It's much brighter than this photo gives credit for.



About 1/8" thick and self-adhesive.



You can cut it every 50mm (where it shows the scissors) and there are little clips that pinch into the conductors (or you can peel back the rubber and carefully solder on a wire).



Maybe not the best picture, but you get the idea. If you'd like I'll get a picture at night with it on, but lately I'm about 1,300 miles away from my cruisers so it would have to be next weekend.

 

[MCTurman]

Good stuff! Thanks for the pics. Is that run outside the assembly or is it behind the lenses? It's hard to tell in the pic.

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

Have you tried Jason@ Cruiseryard (@arcteryx) or Eric (@ginericLC) to see what they have. I'm sure they have an item in a good conition/price range you could afford.

There are still good used components out there that can be had.

J

 

[MCTurman]

I have... that's where I get the $300 - $350 prices. And while I can easily afford it ( ) , I'm hoping to salvage the original as it's not really in that bad of shape.

 

[Kleatus]

Finally remembered to take a picture of the lights at night in case anyone is interested. I overestimated how long of a strip was needed, this is with about 6 or 7 inches of lights - looks a little too fast and furious. I put some electrical tape over all but 2 of the LED's and it's much more subtle now, but still plenty bright.

 

[MCTurman]

Just wanted to follow up on this and post my results.

I went with a 3 coat method.

I scrubbed out as much loose rust as I could with a wire brush and some soft steel wool, then applied a few coats of rust treatment with the prescribed time-frames in between. Then I applied several coats of primer.

I was careful to get a good coat into the all the little nooks and crannies. Then I applied a few coats of the metallic paint.

I found the same LED's @Kleatus mentioned above on eBay. I ended up cutting them into two sections of 3 LED's -which is the shortest length they can be cut and by total coincidence almost exactly the length of the openings- and connecting them with some waterproof connectors. I mounted them inside the assembly and directly over the openings using clear caulk. Unfortunately I can't seem to find those pics... If I have time this weekend I'll pop it off and get some.)

Here's the end result:

The light looks a little blue-er in the pics than to the eye. As you can see they're all buttoned up and safe from the elements. Total cost: ~$35.

 

[sk8salomon]

Had similar issue w housing not grounded due to rust. I was able to sand down most of it and drill new holes w rivets to make new ground connection. Works like a charm now. Although the led kit looks nice, id rather not draw attention to my license plate. Especially after a day wheeling in the woods