DIY: Headlight bulb replacement

Similar to Benny's post on brake install on his blog, the purpose of this post is to "show you how easy it is to install car stuff, so you don't end up wasting money to get them installed."

Today, we're tackling a headlight bulb replacement. This is probably one of the simplest maintenance item you can do on your car. On a scale of 1-10, this is a skill level 0 job.

Tools required:

• your hand(s)
  

As you can see, my right headlight is out. Just checking to make sure I replace the right bulb.


Item to be installed: one Sylvania SilverStar H7 bulb, purchased from a local Kragen store. I bought the more expensive SilverStar to match my other headlight, but less expensive OEM standard halogen bulbs will work too.

You can find the correct type of bulb to purchase from your car's owner manual, tirerack.com under products -> other -> lighting -> bulb, or in bulb catalogs at your local automotive part store.


Step 1:

Open hood. The back of the headlight assembly is exactly where you'd expect it to be - right behind the headlights.


Step 2:

Remove rear plastic covering piece. On a Volkswagen, it is held in place by a wire bar thingamajig (on the far left in the picture below). My headlights are not on, by the way. The amber glow is from the sun. Having your lights on while replacing your headlights = bad idea.

The bulb is also held in place by a wire clip thingamajig. To remove the bulb, unhook the thingamajig, unplug the wiring harness and pull it out. The main headlight bulb is on the far right in the picture below (plugged into the harness with the yellow and brown cables).


Here's a look at the burnt out bulb (left) and the new bulb (right). You can see the burned-out filament in the old bulb.

Step 3:

Install the bulb by doing step 1 and 2 in reverse. Really, it's that simple.

The GTi is now back to two functioning headlights. No fix-it ticket for me, baby!


Step 4:

Discard burnt-out bulb and and packaging in nearest trash can. Lucky me, tomorrow is trash pick-up day.



Step 5 (optional):

Pat self on back.


Total project time: 8 minutes, including photos.