It can happen to any car owner who does not check their headlights or tail lights often– the sudden dimming of your car lights. Dimmed lights can cause you physical, economical, and even legal problems. Your safety is at risk when your lights suddenly dim out in the middle of the road. Worse comes to worst, you’ll encounter an officer who will pull you over for driving illegally with burnt-out lights.
This article details some of the reasons why it would be better to replace or change your lights on your own. Not only can self-replacement save you money; but it can also save you from the hassle of legal troubles.
Precautions
A word of precaution before you start rolling up your sleeves to do the job –If you are not confident of any skills that you’ve learned in this guide, it’s better be on the safe side and have an expert do the replacement. HID lights, for instance, are known for being potentially dangerous due to their high voltage. Consulting a professional will prove to be worth it, lest you end up paying more for the doctor than the mechanic.
Also, before you change or replace your headlights and tail lights, make sure you have compatible bulbs to replace the old ones. Choosing the appropriate bulbs is as important as the whole process of replacing and changing your lights.
5 Quick Steps to Replace your Worn out Headlights and Tail Lights
This article focuses on replacing halogen bulbs because they are the most common. After ensuring that you have these replacement bulbs with you, you can proceed to changing your bulbs. You wont need any major tools to get the job done.
- The first thing you have to do is to find the bulb holder. It has 3 wires popping out of a trapezoid-shaped plug.
- Disengage the bulb from the wires. Wires are commonly held in place by any of these three – a metal clip, a plastic catch, or a screw cap. For a plastic catch, just press down the lever that you’ll find sticking up at the top of the plug. Pull the lever on the plug just a bit and it will already slide off. For a metal clip, simply pull up and away. For a screw cap, just turn it counter-clockwise to unscrew.
- Take out the bulb from the headlight, making sure to do so gently but firmly.
- Careful not to touch any part of the glass with your bare hands, install the new bulb securely.
- Reconnect the wires and voila! You can test your new lights!
For your tail lights or break lights, just go through the same process. The only difference is that you can access your taillights via your trunk at the rear of your car.
Hopefully, this article was able to easily explain how to remove and replace dim headlights and tail lights. Now you can save money and time, and avoid a ticket!
Written by Marc Laferierre, owner of Dents Unlimited. Dents Unlimited has the best auto repair Columbia MO has to offer, where their expert staff can get your car back on the road in no time.