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Some weeks ago, the offside dip beam went on our ****-stra. I changed it, not without some difficulty and getting absolutely filthy, by going in under the wing, as per instructions. The bulb was a pain to remove and once the new one was fitted, it was obvious I didn't have it fitted properly....beam was sat far too high.
So yesterday, being a fine day, I decided I'd replace all four bulbs with Ring 130% uprated ones, since I will be driving 500 miles through the night to the house in France at the start of the Easter holiday.
So...remove the bumper? I decided that was the best idea, so watched two You-Tube videos and set out to have a go.
The three clips that hold the V-Grille in place were screws.
One of the clips on the V-Grille at the bottom would NOT release and when it did, broke.
The four screws holding the bumper, two under each wing, well three came out with difficulty, one had to have a screw extractor on it, despite only being screwed into plastic, and had to be replaced.
Three clips alomg the bumper under the V-Grille came away without fuss, but there were only two of them and no place for a third.
And the row of clips UNDER the car...all missing, as was the undertray.
Then you release the sides and pull forwards...and would it move? Would it b*ggery!
Eventually found another row of clips that were holding it, which looked as if they were holding some air-smoothing trim to it. Released these and away she came.
After that lot, the headlights unscrewed easily, the H1 bulbs were easy to replace but it became obvious that the H7 bulbs could NOT be replaced from under the wing, (no wonder mine went in cockeyed), since their bulb holders were held in place by two T15 Torx screws I also found that the nearside headlight had also had it's bulb replaced, judging by the fact that he left the rear cover off...I wondered why there were moths inside the light...oh and a spider...
Once that was mastered, both sides were replaced and all screws greased up with copper slip, it was relatively easy to get it all back in place. I even went out and bought ten 5.5mm trim clips, two of which now hold the bottom of the bumper to the crossmember. £4.47 for ten!!!
What happened to the time when replacing a headlight bulb was open the bonnet, disconnect, remove, replace, reconnect, close bonnet? And it took ten minutes to do both sides, not two hours?
I had one of those fail on my Civic, right ball ache of a job, took me an hour to do 2 bulbs, can't fit the connector to the bulb until it is in and fitting the connector tended to dislodge the bulb.
I had one of those fail on my Civic, right ball ache of a job, took me an hour to do 2 bulbs, can't fit the connector to the bulb until it is in and fitting the connector tended to dislodge the bulb.
That's good going (or more accurately bad luck), HIDs tend to be good for 1000s of hours.
That's good going (or more accurately bad luck), HIDs tend to be good for 1000s of hours.
LED headlamps for the win (until they get moisture in and fail leaving you with a £400 bill for a new headlamp )
HIDs like halogen lose brightness with age, and of course eventually fail.
My HID bulbs (OEM Philips D2S) were ten years old and still worked but the brightness was pathetic compared to new bulbs....didn't need to remove lights/bumpers/arch liners to replace, but of course, it is a Golf
Because most cars are badly designed, badly built and with the aim of stopping anyone working on them themselves, so they all have to go back to the dealers and therefore lots more money made. Or like VW, where they ensure that every job needs it's own unique tool, which only the dealers possess....
It looks like $h!t (for now) but it goes like a stabbed rat... to be fair it is almost 33yrs old... doubt much of what's being built these days will still be around and running in 33yrs time.
26 March 2017, 10:26 AM
See, this is why I now hate working on cars.
I also found that the nearside headlight had also had it's bulb replaced, judging by the fact that he left the rear cover off...I wondered why there were moths inside the light...oh and a spider...
)
