I'm a constant moaner about duff lights but discovered this evening that the n/s dip bulb on SWMBO's Focus was dead. I want to get onto the case in the morning and I've sussed that there is some instruction in the 'Owners's Guide'.
After recent posts about difficulties in changing bulbs, have I got trouble ahead - or is it as easy as a quick glance at the 'Guide' seems to suggest? Any comments from Focus bulb changers would be most welcome. Thanks.
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I had a hell of a job changing the n/s bulb on my '02 Focus diesel. Although as someone later advised, it looks as though it would have been a lot easier just to remove the top headlamp mounting bolt(s) to gain access by tilting it forward.
If you do this, remember to mark the brackets position before slackening the bolts, so as to keep the dip alignment something the same as it was.
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Believe it or not, I've just changed the sidelight bulb on mine about 10 minutes ago. It's a pain messing around with the battery so close to you and I've got severely grazed knuckles but it's done anyway.
Not a job I'd want to repeat.
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It's a bit of a sod to do the sidelights, I dropped the sidelight in to the casing the first time I did it, the headlight however takes less than 30 seconds. i'd say max 5 minutes a side
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Thanks for the replies, chaps - from going out of the door to coming in and washing my hands took about 3 quarters of an hour, but this includes a 5-minute revision course while SWMBO checked her knowledge of where the dipstick was etc! The sequence was as stated in the manual - but rather more fiddley!
The car is a 52 Zetec 1.6 - Chic variant and, as the n/s bulb had failed, it was obscured by the battery. The first obstacle was the back plate of the lampholder which needed a fair bit of down-tugging to get off. Next problem was not being able to get a clear view of the assembly - this is where SWMBO's make-up mirror came in handy. As previously suggested, there isn't much room and you are working blind - unfortunately there wasn't room to keep the mirror there and get your hand in to do the job. Next problem was the bulb falling out of position whilst trying to fasten the spring clip. I made a bit more room by slackening the battery holder and edging the battery over by another (very useful) inch. Eventually, after every cuss in the book, I managed to get the clip back into position.
I noted that the failed bulb was an original E1 Philips and the replacement from my local friendly motorfactor (cost £2.50, but he's a mate) was an E13 [see Discussion thread on the difficulties of replacing bulbs]. When I shone the lights onto the white garage doors, the new replacement bulb gave a noticeably whiter light than the yellower original o/s bulb.
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When I shone the lights onto the white garage doors, the new replacement bulb gave a noticeably whiter light than the yellower original o/s bulb.
That's because halogen bulbs, as the filaments age, will progressively reduce their light output. Might be worth changing the other side as well.
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That's because halogen bulbs, as the filaments age, will progressively reduce their light output. Might be worth changing the other side as well.
Thanks, Chaz, you've confirmed what I'd suspected - but after the problems I had getting the first one in, I'm in no hurry to tackle the second one ;-)
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That seemed easily sorted;is it possible to do it on a 2000 Escort without completely removing the lights?
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When the nearside bulb failed on my 2002 TDDI, I ended up taking it into the dealer to have the bulb changed. OK, it was a company car, but I couldn't believe how tight the access was against the battery tray / box, and we weren't allowed to do anything on the cars that involved undoing nuts and bolts. It has to rank among the more embarrassing moments of my motoring career that (I cringed as I asked the service receptionist), but that was that.
The only car I've come across worse than this was a Lotus Elise. Access to the bulbs was via a "plug" in the wheelarch. When your arm is in the hole, it obscures what little view you have. AARGHH!!
Cheers
DP
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I had a hell of a job changing the n/s bulb on my '02 Focus diesel. Although as someone later advised, it looks as though it would have been a lot easier just to remove the top headlamp mounting bolt(s) to gain access by tilting it forward.
If you do this, remember to mark the brackets position before slackening the bolts, so as to keep the dip alignment something the same as it was.>>
Andy - having struggled through using the method described in the manual, I had a look for the mounting bolt(s) that you mentioned. There appears to be one flange at the top of the lamp assembly and another at the (out)side - each with a bolt attaching it to the bodywork. Are these 2 bolts the ones that you are referring to? Depending on what is holding the lamp assembly at the bottom, there does appear to be a deal of logic to doing the job as you suggest.
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There should be another bolt on the pointy tip of the headlight at the very bottom through a small gap but I don't know whether this would need loosening to do that job.
I should point out, I have a pre facelift Focus so no indicators in the headlights. Whther that means removal is different (I very much doubt it) I don't know.
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