Changing a headlamp

[Nigel H-J]

Is it just me this happens to?

Finished work in the early hours of this morning, started the car and switching the headlamps on the nearside blows!! :doho:

Get up early and with the spare bulb in its' packet start to remove the failed one. Easy enough you may say......but is it?

To access the bulb the cover has to be removed which is right in front and slightly to the side of the battery, move the battery over but unable to get hand in fully to remove said bulb once cover removed due to lack of space can only reach as far as my knuckles. Unclipped the connector after much wiggling and cursing.

Now the fun really starts........There is a retaining spring holding the headlamp bulb inside carefully released it all being done by feel, then......boing!!!!.......%$@#ing spring sprung out into engine!! :brick: Tried many times again by feel to try and put it back before inserting bulb but then.......it goes boing....again!!!.......This time into the headlamp compartment :@

Now I'm going to have to take it to a garage and let them sort it out. HELP Why oh why is it that car manufacturers have to make it so bl**dy difficult?

Nigel.

[VEGAS]

Fair play to you for having a bash at it Nigel. So many people I speak to these days usually can't be bothered to change them or just simply don't check them at all. Sounds like a nightmare. What car is it? Perhaps its another way for manufacturers to get even more money out of the customer by ensuring that you have to go into a dealer to sort it. :roll:

Sod's law is that you'll get stopped on the way to the garage and get a vehicle defect notice from the cops.

Hope you get sorted.

[Nigel H-J]

Hi Eddie, got a Toyota Corolla 1.4 coming up to 5 years old but runs like a dream. 40,000 miles so far.

Going in to see my son as he can fix it. left work at the most likely hour for being stopped...03.00hrs but.....even working alongside the police I can expect no favours!!

Nigel.

[DaveB]

Understand your frustration Nigel

I noticed a lamp gone on my 406 a few months ago and thought I'd stayed one step ahead of the game in that I'd bought a Peugeot lamp kit some years back so already had spares. That was my first mistake! :o

Having dug the lamp kit out of the boot.. I set about taking out the duff one only to find it's a completely different lamp!! The one in my kit is a standard dual element halogen and the one removed is a much smaller, single element halogen :roll: . Okey doh.. spare bought (x 2.. just in case) and replaced. Turned the lights on and one still wasn't working. Then started checking fuses under the bonnet and under the drivers compartment and all fuses correct :o :roll:
In desparation, I oiked out the manual and found that main beam is one lamp.. high beam is another lamp.. both the same size, voltage and wattage but in different locations!! Casting my eyes slightly inboard of where I'd been fiddling.. I found another lamp cover and the lamp lurking beneath was the one that had gone.. not the one I'd just changed twice!

ATB

DaveB :tab:

[speedbird591]

A while back, I had a bulb blow on my Accord. Went to Halfords to get a new one. Easy? There are several different ones to choose from - Halogen, Fog, winter, extra-brite etc etc. I managed to find one that looked suitable and took it home to fit it (£18!). Got the old one out and when I opened the box, I found that some dishonest person had nicked the new one and put their old blown one back in the box - and I'd bought it! Now what are the chances that if I took it back, the shop will believe me? So I gritted my teeth and went back to buy another one. They'd sold out of that type so I decided to buy something similar and paid another £18 :-( The first time I went out at night, I could see that it was yellow and not at all like the good one. So I went back and found the right one, put the yellow one as a spare and paid another £18 - but at least I had a pair. Until a week later the old bulb blew :doho:

That was when I went back to Halfords and noticed on the next shelf down they were doing a buy one get one free offer and recommended replacing both bulbs at the same time :roll: If I'd looked properly in the first place I could have got two new ones for £18 and saved a whole lot of hassle.

You'd think that changing a light bulb is the easiest job you could do on a car, and here we are, all technically minded men, and none of us can do it without without screwing up! it's a good job there aren't many women on the forum!

Ian

[Nigel H-J]

Well, what can I say!! I am not alone!!

I am sure that manufacturers could make it much more simple for us. Anyway, now have a perfectly legal car once again, that is until the other one decides.......No......Musn't tempt providence. :roll:

Nigel.

[DaveB]

The price of these things is equally annoying isn't it. The little tiddlers that fit in the 406 are, as already mentioned, half the size of the old-style lamps.. you need two of the darned things.. and they're twice the price of the older dual-element lamps!! How the hell does that work??? The chap in the garage thought I'd gone off my rocker when I bought two.. so much so he actually pointed out that they were £8 each and that two was going to cost me £16!! Bless him

Of course.. another question is.. where the hell did I put the spare? :roll:

ATB

DaveB :tab:

[Harry Basset]

We have two cars, our Corsa needs a tough knuckled gynacologist to change a headlight bulb, the rubber cover over the end of the bulb is a particular nuisance. I drive a Chrysler Neon, no bulb has blown yet but according to the handbook it looks easy, one side has a lug engaging the beam adjustment carrier, the opposite side is held on by one screw, so undo the screw, lift up the headlight, out with the old bulb, in with the new, it should be a doddle. I'll probably find that the bulbs need to be imported from the USA.

[Rick Piper]

Hi Guys

Now that my almost 20 years in the Motor Trade is history i can tell you that your not being non texhnical or useless.

Having changed just about every bulb in cars from the last 20 years and more the new cars are a nightmare.

All i can do is recommend you ignore the Car's badge and buy a car that the headlamp is marked Bosch and the bulds will be changable without the clip dissapearing into the stratosphere as soon as you touch it.

The problem we have here in Europe is almost every car has a lamp made by Valeo which i am pretty sure is an anogram of SH**e and they are designed to explode when touched.

the only way i can change the nearside headlamp on either mine or the Wifes 2 year old Nissan Micras is to remove the front Bumper & loosen the lower bolts on the Nearside front wing to wangle the headlamp off the car as you cannot even get a finger in the are you need to be to remove the bulb cover.

Normally uopu would just move the battery but it has ABS Brain and varous other modern rubbish we never needed attatched to it and would take a week to remove.

So don't panic as it's the Car makers deliberately forcing you to pay extortionate rates to get a spotty teenager that can't even speak properly to do it!.

why do you think the "Cam Belt" became so popular?.

you don't need a belt at all, it's just a dealer service part to generate income after sale.

(thats why i buy Nissan Micras as they're British Built and has no Cam Belt!

Sorry for the slight Rant chaps & Chap'esses

& Please guys don't spend money at Halford's!
next you will buy your PC at PC World!.

I can buy a std H4 bulb from Lucas at about £4 or less when Halfords charge £17 for an inferior chinese bulb that has had sticky fingers all over it so it will last a year at most.

I think most newer cars use H7 (seperate high & low bulb) which i can get for £3.70 Each!.

Find your local

Lucas
Brown Brothers
Movac etc etc
or proper car Parts dealer and you will save a fortune and get real answers & help.

Regards
Rick

[Nigel H-J]

Rick, I think you have talked me out of buying a Micra

Nigel.