How long to change a light bulb?

[Sharky]

In my case, about three days!

One of the headlight bulbs on my car had failed. Now being a good boy, I carried a spare bulb pack, so thought it would be simple.

First attempt, found which bulb had to be replaced, but no room under the bonnet to get to the bulb. Asked my friend (you Tube) and realised I had to remove the whole of the bulb housing to get to it.

Second attempt, loosened two bolts and it appeared to be loose, but wouldn't budge.

Back to you tube, and realised there was a third bolt to undo.

Third attempt, got it loose and with a lot of jiggling, managed to get the unit out and swapped the bulb.

All now working.

 

[LocalLad]

Would have cost a tenner and done in minutes at your local garage! I've given up doing stuff like that myself...leave it to the guys who know what they're doing

 

[gbb]

Even if you know the sequence, its not always easy...
2010 Astra headlamp, access is via an inspection cover in the wheel arch..no problem there. But you have no visual sight, your hand is in the way so its done by feel. Took me half an hour and still wasnt convinced it was located correctly. Been working since but i wasnt sure.

Ford Focus, pre 2005 i think, they were a headlamp unit out i think, swine of a job.

Avensis brake lights, swine of a job.

Being in maintenance, everyone comes to me...its a bugger sometimes.

 

[Milkfloat]

You are lucky - the official method on some cars is removing the front bumper!

 

[cosmicbike]

Very lucky, it's a lamp. Bulbs are planted and grow into nice flowers

 

[Sharky]

Would have cost a tenner and done in minutes at your local garage! I've given up doing stuff like that myself...leave it to the guys who know what they're doing

That would have been my next option, but was just frustrated with the complexity of getting to the bulb. All the cars I've had in the past, have been straight forward and having the spare bulb already and being a safety aspect, thought I should be able to do it myself, especially if I were to be a long way from home etc.

Although it took my 3 days elapsed, probably took me an hour in total to research and fit. Now that I know what's to be done, could probably do it in about 15 mins, so a good lesson learned.

 

[gbb]

Would have cost a tenner and done in minutes at your local garage! I've given up doing stuff like that myself...leave it to the guys who know what they're doing

. My H7 (i think), 55 watt was £9.99 at Halfords, just for the bulb. Local motor accessory shop...£4.99, Eurocarparts..£1.98 each.

I have read some drivers use the excuse when caught by the police with a defective light..yebbut, a new lamp cost in excess of £200 . Probably these HIDs or similar...tough i say, don't buy the car if you can't even afford to run it at a basic level.

 

[snorri]

Would have cost a tenner and done in minutes at your local garage!

You've had an instant repair and garage bill for £10 or less in the last 10years?

 

[Levo-Lon]

Renault megane..lol
halfords wont touch em as a rule.

there not too bad once you've done one..

dislocate elbow,chop off 3 fingers leave thumb and fore finger..
get someone to dislocate shoulder..
lay on ground..stop whinging its only pain...use other arm to push flexi arm and hand through small wheelarch inspection cove...seriously stop your whining...change bulb..

go to hospital

 

[tyred]

Peugeot 205

Open bonnet
Put hand down back of lamp
Unplug wires
Undo clippy/springy thing
Swap bulb
Stab finger with clippy/springy thing
Replace clippy/springy thing
Replace wire
Close bonnet.

Time taken - 2 minutes.

But people tell me I should buy a modern car as they're better designed.

 

[awomaninsane]

I had mine in the garage last week to have a headlamp replaced because try as I might I just couldn't do it. Who thought having access to the bulbs through a tiny slot in the wheel arch was a good idea?
Anyway, took the garage 15 mins and cost me £5, so a bargain!

 

[PaulSecteur]

This is one of my bugbears with modern cars - and more so if going on the continent and need to take spares and change them as soon as they go.

My Mk7 fiesta for example...

Front bulbs require taking the whole headlight out. Easy enough to do but there is one spring clip that requires a good pull to pull it free. It feels like something is about to break.

The rear also need the whole light to be removed. This means pulling the boot carpet away from the area, inserting a hand through a hole in the rear wing, into the rear light to undo a butterfly nut that's inside the light - the remove the unit. The rear one being the one most likely to be dropped as you are leaning inside the car as you release it has no retaining spring clip.

Imagine having to do that at the side or a motorway in the dark.

 

[Dirk]

My wife had a Suzuki WagonR - one of the earlier ones, not the Agila type.
Cracking little car, much better than you might expect.
However.......
The nearside rear indicator bulb blew and I decided to change it myself. After all, it would only be a two minute job........
First thing I noticed was that there were no visible screws on the outside of the lens. Refer to manual. Two hours later I had successfully changed the bulb. Easy peasy - just remove the whole of the rear bumper / valance to access bulb from the rear of the unit!
Try doing that by the side of the road!
Unbelievable!

 

[accountantpete]

Another Megane

1. 1
   Loosen the lug nuts on the front wheels by turning them one-quarter turn counterclockwise using a tire wrench. Do not unseat the wheel from the wheel hub. The only reason for doing this is to make it easier to remove the lug nuts when the wheels are off the ground.
2. 2
   Raise the vehicle onto jack stands. Jack up on the jack point behind the radiator and place jack stands under the front pinch welds of the Megane under the front doors. Then, lower the vehicle onto the jack stands.
3. 3
   Finish removing the lug nuts with a tire wrench and pull the tire off the wheel hub.
4. 4
   Remove the inner wheel-liner screws using a screwdriver and pull the wheel liner down.
5. 5
   Pry the access panel off the inner wheel well to expose the access hole to the headlight assembly. You won't be able to easily see what you're doing in here, so you'll need to do this largely by feel.
6. 6
   Squeeze the release tabs on the headlight connector and pull the connector off the back of the headlight.
7. 7
   Pull the spring clip off of the back of the headlight and the headlight will come out of the headlight assembly with no trouble.
8. 8
   Insert the new headlight into the back of the housing assembly through the access hole in the wheel well. Installation of the removed components is the reverse of removal.
9. Sell the car

 

[shouldbeinbed]

My Qashqai is relatively straightforward and largely pain free.