How To Change Headlamp In 2008 Pt Cruiser

It'south worse than running at night with 1 centre airtight: You lot've lost the illumination from 1 of your headlights. Either a seedling has burned out or a minor accident has claimed the lens, the reflector, or perhaps the lamp's entire housing. And besides the obvious danger, there are also the risks of a citation from a sharp-eyed law-enforcement officer and the possible gouge from a repair store'southward hourly rate. Only you can handle the state of affairs yourself, saving precious greenbacks in the process while feeling the warm glow of accomplishment by replacing a broken headlight yourself. We at Car and Driver know yous can. Here's how to alter a headlight:

How to Replace a Headlight Bulb

Fortunately, it'due south often easy to change a headlight. Most of today's halogen loftier-intensity-discharge (HID) or light-emitting-diode (LED) bulbs are simple to supersede. They are held in place by thin wire clips or rotating bayonet-style retainers. They can be quickly popped out from behind the headlight housing, unplugged from wiring, and swapped for a working bulb. Merely in order to change a headlight, you must first identify the type of bulb you need. The first place to look is in your owner'south manual.

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If the manual is missing just you know the make, model, and year of your car (you exercise know that, don't you?) you tin can consult with a counter person at an auto-parts store or refer to the headlamp booklet that usually resides in the parts store'south headlamp alley. And finally, you can always pull the bad bulb and bring it to the store for reference.

How to Extract the Bulb

Yous can unremarkably proceeds access to the headlight's bulb by simply opening the hood and removing the lamp connections at the back of the headlight housing. Some vehicles may provide added service space through small hinged or rotating panels inside the front end wheel wells.

A few tricky models, all the same, may crave removal of diverse splash shields, air-cleaner housings, and even washer-fluid bottles for full admission before you tin can alter a headlight. That's why we'd propose keeping a pair of mechanic's (or latex) gloves, a flashlight, a apartment-bladed screwdriver, a small box of sockets, and a pair of needle-nose pliers handy.

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Erstwhile-school square or circular sealed-beam headlamps are different and larger merely very easy to replace. They're usually retained by a sparse metallic ring screwed into the lamp's vanquish assembly. The retentivity ring's screws are easy to loosen from the front of the motorcar. But sometimes, other vivid front-end trim must be removed commencement. A harness plug under the hood at the dorsum of the lamp slides on and off the lamp's copper terminals.

Remember This most New Bulbs

Filament lamp used in automotive headlights in vehicle

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When you lot change a headlight, information technology'southward disquisitional to avoid touching a new bulb's glass, since contamination past the natural oil from your skin and even small amounts of dirt will crusade early failure. Use a bit of dielectric grease (available at an motorcar-parts store if it doesn't come with the bulb) for a weather-resistant connection on all lamp plugs and terminals. And try not to confuse headlamp-beam adjustment screws for the ordinarily smaller retaining screws.

Replacing a Headlight Housing

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If the lamp's lens is broken, if the lens is super cloudy, or if an blow has damaged the housing, things are more complicated. You lot'll want to replace the unabridged headlight unit, referred to as a housing. These molded housings are clipped or bolted to the forepart'due south metal radiator support. At the dorsum of the housing are the wiring-harness connections, which must be removed. And unfortunately, in some cases (for example, versions of the Ford Fusion, Chevy Malibu, and Toyota Camry), the front-bumper fascia must be loosened or removed to accomplish the housing'due south fasteners.

We'd advise purchasing a repair manual or at least watching multiple YouTube videos for housing replacement specific to your vehicle. (But exist careful—these gritty DIY videos vary in quality and thoroughness.) And if replacing an unabridged headlight housing requires removing parts like a bumper comprehend, you'll probably too need admission to slightly more sophisticated hand tools.

The cost for new housings, including a new lens, ranges from expensive to very expensive. And yet a relatively inexpensive fix is still possible, specially if you lot have a good salvage yard nearby where you can pick up used (way cheaper) parts. You tin even practice your outset removal procedure on the yard's "you pick it" donor car.

Most headlight bulbs are like shooting fish in a barrel to supersede; headlight housings require more work.

After you've installed the replacement housing only before you lot reinstall any parts yous've removed to get access to the headlamp unit, bicycle the lights on and off to make sure that the high- and depression-axle replacement bulbs and reattached wiring are fully functional. That will salvage you the fourth dimension and frustration of discovering a loose connexion or an incorrectly installed bulb also belatedly, which will crave removing and reinstalling the bumper cover or grille pieces. And, of class, the headlights volition need to be aimed. For this nosotros suggest taking the car to a repair store; you could attempt to aim them out on the road, but this is a hit-0r-miss process at best. A shop has the expensive aiming gear to do the job correct.

DIY Tips

For working on your vehicle, choose a clean section of driveway or a workspace (like a garage) with good light. Exist patient and allow yourself plenty of time (2 hours minimum) for changing a headlight. It might exist elementary, only it could likewise be more than complicated than you planned.
Identify any retaining clips and fasteners that you lot've removed in a jar or tin. They're also piece of cake to lose otherwise.
Use masking tape and a felt-tip pen to marker where the wiring came off, so it goes dorsum on in the same way, meaning correctly.
An sometime throw rug, a safe mat, or a large slice of clean cardboard to prevarication on can make kneeling or working nether the car more comfy.
Mind for a precipitous click when connections are fabricated.

Heed these tips and we await that your headlight replacement efforts will get well. And nosotros hope that you don't accept equally many bulbs to supervene upon as this guy: