How To: Change Headlamp / Headlight bulb

I would happily change them myself but it's very rainy here at the moment and I would be worried about the moisture I allowed to enter the chamber area. I think I would feel more comfortable letting the service guys do it so it would still be covered under warranty. Being a girl though i have the perfect hands to get in there! :cheer2:
I think I might go for the VP's need to order them and in the mean time I will get them to put the old factory bulbs back in. they didn't charge me to change the bulbs so it shouldn't be too much of a hassle. It's nice going to a dealer and not getting charged!!

 

Crap... right so went to the dealer and a couple of the service guys showed me how to change the bulb the passenger one was really easy with the wire flick forward and then it just falls out, but with the driver one it was a whole nother story(keep in mind i'm in the UK and the driver's side is different). the housing for the electrical connection where the wires goes in was melted and the blue wire was exposed... the warranty is expired, is this going to be a problem? The light still works but I donno how much longer! I've not replaced the bulbs with the Xtremes again instead i've put the factory make ones in just to be safe. Can i buy another one of these plastic housings for the plug or do i have to get the whole thing rewired?? is it as easy as just snipping the wires and welding a new plastic bit on or do all the wires have to come out and it has to be redone?

 

oh you are a star!! the mechanics made it sound like i was gonna have to buy a whole set of plugs and wires and it was going to be a complicated expensive job. LIES!!!! I reckon I could do that my self! Now how i'm gonna find one of those here in the UK is another story... hwell: Any ideas??:blink:
found this one but it's out of stock... KYO H4 PLUG and PLAY Heavy Duty Headlight Upgrade Wire Harness | eAutoWorks.com

 

do any of these look right?? H4 automobile bulb wire - Google Product Search

 

nope just tried to order them and the amazon payment wouldn't connect properly, it kept returning me to my basket when i clicked pay. then when i tried to ring their showroom number it said it was disconnected. think they might have gone out of business?

do these look like the right ones? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/H4-BULB-HOLDE...vr_id=&cguid=82c3eb3b1240a0aad3f0aae0ffe9ba1f

 

Great info, I'm going to study this before my next headlight change out.

I'm not a grease monkey, average mechanic I suppose.

On a scale of 1-10, ...10 being very difficult, how easy is this to do?....and roughly how long does it take?

Thanks again.

 

A huge THANKS to you who have posted directions and tips. After the dealer replacing one, I read up on it (self-confessed nerd), order some Philips bulbs from England, and tackled the job. Because of all my e-support, both sides went great. Piece of cake, in fact!

Definitely an advantage to have small female hands. May go into business doing this. Took about one hour to do both sides and I stopped several times to reread directions and rewatch the video clips. Thanks again!

 

AHHHHHH (sorry caps) but i am screaming .... i just got my the bulbs i ordered from powerbulbs.com .... come to find out they are NOT the correct bulbs for my 2006 prius. the conections on the back of the stock bulb and new bulb arent even close to matching. the stock bulb is long and thin and this is short and fat. Philips Diamond Vision H4 5000K Xenon/HID effect are the bulbs i got i waited over a week and i am so angry!!!!! Thought id feel better venting and no it doesnt help.

 

Welcome Elaine.... Good job for doing what intimidates many guys!

I don't know many women that would tackle this..... thats awesome!

 

Make sure those aren't Halogen.. if they are... the connections are the least of the issues...... I don't like that term "Hid effect".. whats that mean... are they HID or not?.....

D4R type HID is what you need.... to make sure, ask your dealer to look it up, but thats what both of my 06's used.

 

Ok lets say i replace the D4R HID bulbs in my '06 .... i see there are different im guessing brightness ... 6000K = Diamond White 8000 = Light Blue 10000K = Tinted Blue 12000K = Violet Blue .... can i just nice person the brightest one? do i need to upgrade the balast?

 

Any of those kelvin will work with the same ballast.. the higher the number you go, the more bluer... even gets into purple around 10 - 12K and the less lumens as you go up.

4200 - 4500K will look like pure white blazing sun a noon day, 5000k will look like a white hot star with a hint of blue, 8000K will be bluish and quite noticable.

Just for the record, HID are not Halogen which need no ballast and are simply driven with 12Volts.

 

The D4R type HID use a ballast? I just need to know what is legal and illegal in PA NJ and NY. I live in PA and travel through NJ to NY ... where i work.

 

yes they do... all HID's use a ballast because they require a very high voltage produced by the ballast to fire them up and then a moderately high voltage to maintain them while lit.

If you have an 06 prius with HID bulbs, you already have a ballast in place.

 

HOLY crap trying to get info on what lights might be illegal in NY PA and or NJ ... is like pulling teeth .. nobody has give me a clear answer