So this is the harrowing tale of my 3 hour tail bulb replacement... not for the meek at heart.

I have replaced all the bulbs on the front and rear lights of my 1995 940 station wagon turbo for years. I've changed that bulb in cold and dark and rainy conditions. It has always been a slightly troublesome job. So it seemed a unreal that it was NOT working today, a beautiful sunny day.

I once replaced the heater core unit on my 1980 Volvo 240 (a major project) - so I'm not a total beginner mechanic. I've done plugs, distributors, radiator hoses, j-pipes, batteries, etc. So a light bulb is gonna give me trouble??? Are you nuts???

I had recently changed the left brake bulb, so today's bulb on the right seemed it'd take 3 minutes. I carefully took note of the alignment of the bottom bulb and unscrewed it. Then without even changing my grip I took out the old bulb and put in the new bulb- at least I tried to put in the new unit.

Still holding the bulb unit, I put in the holder and turned... but it did NOT go in to connect. It felt around as the unit did NOT seem to fit in anywhere. It just jiggled and scratched like crazy. I tried turning, and nothing held fast.

I tried again... still it only wobbled and refused to slip into place naturally... just a lot of hand-cutting hellish frustration. I tried a different angle - no luck. I got on the Brickboard and tried reading to see if there is some secret to how to do it. I tried taping my knuckles to keep from cutting up my skin... to little avail.

Did I have the one notch with the angled side facing up? I watched a youtube video to see if I could tell what was going wrong.

Anyhow - 3 frickin hours of trying to get that damn bulb holder in. I was almost ready to unbolt the whole tail light assembly (which I've replaced before) when I thought I might try a little electric bulb lube.

So I squeezed on dabs of lube onto the aluminum brackets that previously were the source of most of the scratchy feeling of trying to put in the bulb. And this time... with the lube on... it actually WENT IN and held firm!

So that's my tale. Make sure the notch with the angled side attachment of the three tabs is facing towards up (slightly to left before insertion so it will be up when in) and then smoothly slide it into place. Try some lube on those aluminum blades - so it goes in without scratchy resistance. I'd never have guessed that would make any difference, but apparently it really did finally work... just in case anyone has the same problem.

lol!