Imagine driving with one eye closed, now imagine doing that at night. Driving at night can put a lot of drivers on edge and when your headlight bulb burns out, your nerves shoot through the roof. Having any car part fixed can get expensive, but what if you could do a simple replacement yourself? A headlight that’s out can be dangerous, not to mention, that it puts you at risk for a citation from law enforcement. If you follow these steps, you can replace your headlight yourself and save money.
Replacement
The good news is, that most of today’s headlights are halogen high-intensity-discharge (HID) or light-emitting-diode (LED) which makes them simple to replace. They are typically held in place by thin wire clips or rotating bayonet-style retainers. They can be popped off from behind the car’s headlight housing. Check out your owner’s manual or go to an auto parts store to find out what kind of bulb your vehicle needs.
Extraction
To gain access to the headlight bulb, open the hood of the car and remove the lamp connections at the back of the headlight housing. Every car model is slightly different, so do your research on your vehicle beforehand. Latex or mechanical gloves are important to have on hand. You’ll want to unscrew the retention rings from the front of the car.
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New Blubs
There are some important things to keep in mind about new bulbs. When you are changing your headlight, it is imperative that you do not touch the glass on the new bulb. This is where brand new latex gloves may come in handy. The natural oils from your skin or even minor amounts of dirt can cause contamination causing the bulb to have early failure.
If dielectric grease doesn’t come with the new bulb, you’ll want to buy some. This grease is for weather resistance for lamp plugs and terminals. Replacing light headlight housing, if your lamp’s lens is broken or cloudy, can be a bit more complicated than a simple bulb replacement.
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