license plate light housing won't come off!!

[Edmund K]

Has anyone else had this problem? I've tried searching for the topic, but no luck, so here's the deal> the two light housings for the license plate lights each have two phillips head screws that only spin and spin without coming out! I've tried putting a flat head screwdriver up against the screw head for a bit of leverage while attempting to unscrew the damn thing, but all I'm doing is scratching up the screw head (which seems to be made of plastic). It looks like it's one of those screws that's held in a pop-out carcass, not unlike the screws holding down the radiator shroud under the hood.
Anyone have any helpful hints or experience with these things? I've got one dead bulb already, and don't want to lose them both and get pulled over.
Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[thetechie01]

Yes they are the plastic holders that the screw kind of pops into. Worse case you can drill it out and just get some new ones. I am usually able to get them out by using a flat head screwdriver to put some pressure on it, almost like you are prying the whole thing out

 

[satcomtim]

I did LEDs in the plate lights and found using a flat underneath the "screw" head allows you to pop them out.

 

[Edmund K]

Thanks for the insights, guys! I used a bit more pressure in the flat head screw driver, since I knew what kind of screw they were, and, they both came off without much fuss.
We have lights and are back in business!