Sheesh.. Changing a headlight

[frank_f15]

Me too. But don't worry, you will find it right after you buy and install another one.

heck i thought i was the only one i have a box of bulbs and most of them will still be there when i pass on, always forget about them and then like BIRD I GO buy 2 more, .

 

[mjarrels]

Lights are odd... changed the headlight on the passenger side of a 19 year old car three times... driver side is still original... same with side marker lights... some changed three or four times while others are original... New house lights... some changed many, many times while others are still the original bulbs...

mark

 

[tallyho8]

Yes, I have 2 lights on my front porch that I installed after Katrina in 2005. Each one has three 3 watt flicker bulbs in it and 5 are original bulbs and I have replaced one four times. Last week I changed it and it burned out 3 days later. Even if a socket was bad it doesn't seem like it would burn out a 3 watt light. And bulbs are about $3 each.

 

[QRTRHRS]

My 97' Dodge Ram is easy once you change a headlight the first time.

You just twist the plastic ring and the assembly pops out of the back of the headlamp housing. Unplug the old, plug in the new and pop it back in.

The trick is to do that by feel only because once you have your arm in there, you cannot see what you are doing.

 

[MossRoad]

My 97' Dodge Ram is easy once you change a headlight the first time.

You just twist the plastic ring and the assembly pops out of the back of the headlamp housing. Unplug the old, plug in the new and pop it back in.

The trick is to do that by feel only because once you have your arm in there, you cannot see what you are doing.

That's the same way most of our Chevy's are.

 

[WVBill]

" The trick is to do that by feel only because once you have your arm in there, you cannot see what you are doing."

Same way with my Pontiac Vibe. And on the Driver's side I can barely squeeze my hand in the space.

Anyone else notice that you're having to change headlights more often with newer cars. Maybe it's the daytime running lights. The headlight bulbs on my 2005 Vibe burn out every 6 months.

WVBill

 

[Soundguy]

That's so they can charge an hours labor to do it at the dealership... IE.. 60$ to change a 5$ lamp...

soundguy

My headlight burnt out. I drive a Dodge Dakota quad cab.
After checking the manual I went out and picked up the lightbulb.

Once back home I started the replacement process. The manual was short and useless. First I needed a Torx driver. After un-doing that I needed a large flat screw driver to undo the quick connects to the turn signal unit. There was no slack in the wires so I used the screwdriver to pry off the connectors. I could then remove the turn signal unit.

Next I had to remove the headlight and its' housing. This required a 10 mm socket and 10 inches of extensions to reach the 3 nuts. What a pain. I replaced the bulb and then re-assembled eveything.

In all it took about forty minutes. If I didn't have a Torx set and extensions for my socket set I would have been stymied. Changing a lightbulb should not be so hard.

The conspiracy theorist in me thinks they do this by design so the average owner will take it into the shop to get replaced.

Phil