Who would've thought bulbs were so hard to install?

[Wiscon_Mark]

Yeah, I can't get my old headlight bulbs out. The little rubber thing on the back has this on it:

===> PUSH <===

so that either means:

push between the arrows
or
push inwards on both sides to release the bulb

I tried both and nothing is working for me :(

Its about 37 degrees out (windy though) and my hands froze after 10 minutes of trying to get them to work, so I got impatient, reinstalled the old ones, and called it a day.

Anyone got any tips?

I'm so frustrated, because it should be so simple, and I've done it before! :x

[Plays_with_Toys]

HELL YEAH I DO! I was actually going to do a writeup because i have bulb changing down to 20 seconds (I can never decide which bulbs I like more).

So, looking down from above, it looks like this sorta:

towards cabin
..._____
..(_____)
/...........\
|_______|

towards front of car

(Ignore periods). Read this for driver side bulb. The big thing at the bottom is your rubber cover, has a little tab that says pull. The bulbous thing on the top has the wires going into it. Squeeze it (bulbous) from the sides (so a thumb on the side of the radiator and fingers towards the fenders (you might have to squeeze far towards the base of the bulbous rubber thing (towards the front of the car), and then simply pull it towards the battery.

Now, pull the tab so you can remove the fluid gaurd. Push the pin on the left side, and it should swing out (one of mine falls out because the screw doesn't hold it that well anymore). Then pull the bulb and as chilton says "installation is reverse of removal". Make sure you keep one bulb in, because if that clip/pin comes out, its wierd to figure out how it comes out. Also, its easiest to put the bulb in, clip it, then shieth the gaurd on, instead of putting the gaurd around the base of the bulb and trying to clip it. When you push the wire thing back on, it'll push the gaurd onto the bulb better.


Oh and if you think the headlights are bad, AVOID the turn signals, you have to reach in through the fender (pull the liner back) and one handedly twist out the bulb from the assembly, twist it out from the electrical clamp and then do all this again with the new bulb. Newer cars have the two part assemblies, so I am sure its wayyyyyy easier for them.

[Wiscon_Mark]

HELL YEAH I DO! I was actually going to do a writeup because i have bulb changing down to 20 seconds (I can never decide which bulbs I like more).

So, looking down from above, it looks like this sorta:

towards cabin
..._____
..(_____)
/...........\
|_______|

towards front of car

(Ignore periods). Read this for driver side bulb. The big thing at the bottom is your rubber cover, has a little tab that says pull. The bulbous thing on the top has the wires going into it. Squeeze it (bulbous) from the sides (so a thumb on the side of the radiator and fingers towards the fenders (you might have to squeeze far towards the base of the bulbous rubber thing (towards the front of the car), and then simply pull it towards the battery.

Now, pull the tab so you can remove the fluid gaurd. Push the pin on the left side, and it should swing out (one of mine falls out because the screw doesn't hold it that well anymore).

Okay, I got this far...the bulb doesn't just pull out though :?

Oh, for corners, pull the entire assembly out (its not hard) and do it that way, saves a lot of time..

[Plays_with_Toys]

So you have all the rubber out? Then its just a matter of the metal clip retainer holding it in. Once you undo that, it'll pull right out.

I tried removing my assembly, and it won't come out of the fender. The bolts come out no problem, its the stud that goes into the fender that won't come out.

[Wiscon_Mark]

So you have all the rubber out? Then its just a matter of the metal clip retainer holding it in. Once you undo that, it'll pull right out.

No, I have it out of the headlight assembly, its disconnecting the bulb from the wiring harness that has me.


I tried removing my assembly, and it won't come out of the fender. The bolts come out no problem, its the stud that goes into the fender that won't come out.

Pull. Straight & Hard

It'll come.

[Plays_with_Toys]

Oh ok. Yeah, literally, clamp it nice and hard from the sides (wires going down) and jimmy the sucker out. If the bulb is toast, then no problem grabbing it by the glass, but if it works and you're upgrading then don't, in case it doesn't come out, the bulb will atleast work.

.__
(...) <----- squeeze like hell (both sides)
.==
.|.|.....<---- bulb
..v...

[Wiscon_Mark]

yep, I thought that was the trick...I guess I need an extra pair of hands to really squeese that sucker...I've done this before, and it wasn't nearly so hard.