Headlight/indicator bulb change explained-its gone again?

[jpgreenwood]

Loads more great info on this thread. Just to point out my errors though, it was the drivers side dipped beam bulb gone this time and not the same bulb as I originally thought. It was my wife that passed the information on. Anyway, i,ve just taken 10 minutes out of my busy schedule to change the offending bulb. Straight in from on top of the engine covers. I only removed the large cover and reached straight in. Now I need to find the black handled screwdriver that I took the cover off with. Its gone and i,m damned if I know where. I,ve driven up and down slowly, swerved sharply, braked hard to try and dislodge it but god only knows where its gone. 3 days later and still no sign and everything running ok. Fingers crossed. Bulb changes are not a nightmare. My hands are quite small but it makes my willy look big which is a bonus!

[steves]

Anyway, i,ve just taken 10 minutes out of my busy schedule to change the offending bulb. Straight in from on top of the engine covers. I only removed the large cover and reached straight in.

I'm beginning to think our car is a different design to yours under the bonnet. When I remove the plastic covers, I have a large black metal bar that runs from one side of the car to the other, which makes access ot the entire area behind the headlamp fittings impossible. You can just about see behind it to view the fitting, but there's no room to get your hands down there (and even if you did, not enough space to remove the bulb or bulb cover).

Ours is a 1.6 petrol.

Cheers,

Steve.

[jpgreenwood]

2002 megane 1.6 Dynamique. Maybe you have to get the top spec to have it easy? Stingeys pay the penalty.

[Scenic]

[quote=" I have a large black metal bar that runs from one side of the car to the other, which makes access ot the entire area behind the headlamp fittings impossible.
Ours is a 1.6 petrol.
Cheers,Steve.

Thay was most probably jpgreenwood's black screwdriver that he lost

[steves]

2002 megane 1.6 Dynamique. Maybe you have to get the top spec to have it easy? Stingeys pay the penalty.

Ours is a '03 Privilege... It has the glass roof - I wonder if they fit this bar to cars with the glass roof to make it more rigid?

Thay was most probably jpgreenwood's black screwdriver that he lost

I nearly dropped the bulb cover somewhere inside ours

[sailpics]

I've got a 1.9DCI CC and it has the metal bar across the engine above the lights.

I can't get the connector off the back of the headlight bulb - should it just pull straight off? I have fat hands and can only just get a grip on it

Edit: Finally managed to get it off - it was stuck on. I managed to release the bottom of the metal clip to get the bulb out with the connector attached and then used a srewdriver to prise the clip off!

[PGuk]

Hi,

I tend to look on the forum from time to time to see if any of the problems I've been having are "common faults".

In the same week I got the car, the passenger indicator bulb stopped working. I first thought the bulb had gone, but it turned out that it had simply become loose in the holder. I simply touched the plastic bulb back holder and tried the indicator and it came on.

Six months later, the driver side indicator also appeared to "blow". A gentle unscrewing and re-tightening failed to solved the problem. It worked for a few hours at a time then stopped randomly. I've now overtightened the bulb holder by about 5 degrees and had no further problems.

I think the problem is caused by the different types of plastic Renault have used on the bulb back holder and light casing. The first bulb "blew" on a very hot day suggesting expansion of one away from the other. The second bulb stopped working on a very cold day.

Just thought I'd let people know that you don't always need to buy a new set of bulbs to solve the problem.

Hope this helps someone.

[darel]

Well done Steve, great explanation and detail, so for anybody with a Megane they should have no probs

The only remaining thoughts of dodgyness I have left are the "hatch covers". They didn't seem to fit back very well. Especially the passenger side one. I imagine that driving on wet roads at motorway speeds, a lot of water is thrown at high speed in their direction. Just hope it doesn't matter if they're not completely water-tight.

ECU failures have been attributed to water ingress caused by ill fitting or missing water hatches in the wheel arches!

[john10001]

A while ago my front passenger side indicator stopped working. Yesterday, my headlight bulb went also. I bought 2 new bulbs from my local autoparts shop. £5.50. It has just taken me approx 20 minutes to change them both. Heres how I changed the headlight bulb....
1, removed panel in wheel arch, quarter turn anti-clockwise and pulled out. ( I only used this to access the indicator)
2, removed headlamp upper trim under bonnet-2 small quarter turn plastic fasteners. I also removed battery cover trim for more access.
3, Reached in above headlamp, twisted quarter turn and pulled off the headlamp rear weather cover (round plastic cap).
4, Pulled off the electrical 2 prong connector.(remember how this is orientated)
5, unclipped the small metal spring clip at the top by pushing it downwards and removed it by pushing in the 2 lower securing prongs.(remember how this goes for refit) You probably don't need to fully remove this clip but I didnt know this at the time
5, pulled out the bulb-no turning involved.
6, fitted new bulb, spring clip, electrical connector.
7, turned lights on to test bulb works.
8, refitted weather cap.
This is how I changed the indicator bulb.....
1, reached in through the wheel arch access cover.
2, felt a flat spade like plastic handle (roughly in line with the bulb).
Turned the plastic handle slightly to the left-anti clockwise.
3 pull out rearwards, with some wiggling. The whole bulb, holder assembly removes-no wiring involved-purely metal/metal connections. The holder has to go further back into the wing than where you can retract it. Then bring it forward and down out of the wheel arch access hole.
4, push and twist the bulb out of the holder, fit new bulb.
5 Place back in wing rearwards, then bring forwards to align with indicator holder. Push and twist slightly clockwise to lock the holder in place.
6, check from the front of headlamp for alignment and swich on indicators/hazzards to test.
7, finally refit wheel arch access cover with a twist and all under bonnet trim panels.
8, Wash up and give yourself a smug grin knowing reg vardy,s have'nt ripped you off.
p.s I spent 18 yrs fixing Harrier and Tornado aircraft so this was no challenge for me.
Hope this is of help to a lot of you.




Should it be this difficult to change headlight bulbs on a car though??? And how can you remember how something is connected if you can't even see it? Not that I have been able to get the connector off in the first place, it is welded on by the feel of things!

It's okay for you as you say you have spent years fixing Tornados and Harriers etc, but for ordinary John simpletons it aint no easy task.

[john10001]

- Again, through the access hatch, pull the connector off the bulb, and then unhook the clip (feel the top of it to work out whats going on, it needs to be pushed in slightly and then moved to one side to unhook it from the "claw" on the light fitting - as others have said, it attaches sideways, and *not* over the top) This action shouldn't require a lot of effort, don't pull too hard at it, you might do what I did and bend the bracket, which appears to be quite delicate.

- The spring clip hinges downwards (its attached to the bottom of the light fitting on two lugs). Its easy to reattach if it comes off completely... look down from under the bonnet to see the two lugs.

Steve

For the drivers side headlight, which direction do you need to move the clip when you move it to the side after you push the clip in slightly? Is it to the left or the right? I didn't know this was hooked to a claw on the bulb fitting? Nobody else has mentioned this in their headlight changing instructions.

And when you are pushing the clip, do you push up, inwards, outwards (toward you) or down?

Cheers

John

[smudge]

Indicator bulb holder

When putting the indicator bulb holder back in I had a huge amount of grief when trying to get the final clockwise twist to enable the indicator bulb holder to secure itself in the connection. (thanks for all the helpfull posts by the way)

The local garage gave up. I tried for an hour and battled through a sore hand. Almost resigning to costly trip to Renault I tried one last idea and it worked.

On the holder itself there is a removable circular rubber seal. I took it off and soaked it in spray grease......tried it again and bingo....she firmly clicked into place.

Hardly rocket science but if anyone is having the same problem, give this a try.

[jpgreenwood]

My same front indicator keeps failing and I now have 3 bulbs in my glovebox which I have removed and replaced. The last change lasted only 8 days before the indicator started flashing fast again. I decided to wiggle it this time and whaddya know, it works. So, I probably have 3 perfectly good bulbs in my glovebox as spares. Owners should check the housing first before replacing perfectly good bulbs.

[cyclonebri1]

Well for once something on the renault went right for me. 1.5dci s/tourer dipped beam lamp to change, plastic corner cover swivelled out of way, bayonet rear lamp cap taken off, wiring plug tight but prised off with screw driver, clip sprung off and bulb released.
Very similar to wifes clio, which took a bit longer the first time, and because I had the bulb to hand took no longer than 5 minutes and all from under the bonnet.
Don't know what you guys are complaining about, how many gaenacologists(sp) does it take to change a light bulb
Cheers,
Bri,

[davelowe]

03 plate 1.9dci dynamique with standard 16" alloys.

Thanks to you guys for your explainations on how to get the head lamp and side light bulbs fitted - your advice was invaluable, I printed it off and used it as a Hayes manual whilst doing the job this morning. The head lamp took about 15 minutes and the indicator about 5. However, the job itself took 2 hours (more below).

I had one headlamp (dipped beam) and one indicator (they would be on opposite sides of the vehicle wouldn't they).

Anyhow, I parked up the vehicle on level ground, and took the boot panels out to get the jack, etc out.

Problem number one: The spare wheel is sat in a plastic tray, which was half full of water. No trace of a leak anywhere, nor was the carpetted panel wet or even damp. Where did the water come from? I suspect it was coming in from under the rear plastic trim panel that sits near the rear bumper. All the rubber seals on the tailgate were dry and in good condition - yet to crack that one.

Problem number two. The jack, having sat in water for god knows how long was rusted up - so I had to clean and grease it before use.

Problem number three: the alloys have a plastic antitheft trim plate that requires a special key to remove to get to the antitheft bolt. I bought the car second hand, and the key is missing so couldn't remove the wheel. I now carry a centre punch and hammer to knock the key loose as part of my tyre changing kit. Thank god I've never had a puncture before.

Problem number four: Car finally jacked up - wheel bolts off - can't get the wheel off the hub. Stuck fast, and I meen stuck. I tugged at the thing in vein until i was convinced that if I pulled it any harder, it would fall off the jack and have the whole car sat on the floor. I put it in gear and tried to rotate it loose - no luck. Finally, I found a suitable bit of chassis, a piece of wood and some bricks, and had the whole car sat on that. Finally after kicking it, hitting various parts of the alloy with a block of wood, and then bracing the back of the alloy against the shock with a wrench found myself flat on my back with the wheel sat on my chest. Might sound funny, but not a good combination if you have a puncture on the motorway. I've changed a fair few wheels in my time, but this is rediculous. Is this a common problem with alloys?? Contemplating this, lying on my back, I had a sudden daydream about women trying to change wheels. Not meaning to be sexist, but if some of them don't forget to loosen the wheel bolts before jacking up the car, and then spending hours wondering why the wheel keeps spinning round when they try and remove it, what chance do they have at the roadside when you need a crow bar to get the damned alloy off. Anyway, concussion subsiding, I changed the lamps and all is now well.

One piece of advice I would like to add, is that when changing the dipped beam lamp, I found it a lot simpler to do with the aid of an assistant. Fishing around with your arm up the wheel arch is fine, but you can't bloody see what you're doing, unless you have a 9 foot long multi-articulated arm. An assistant who peers down from the top and gives locating advice when you are reaching for the spring, lamp & connector (especially on re-assembly) made the job ten times easier. Hence it only took 15 minutes. I'm no mechanic by any means, but I've replaced break pads, and replaced cylinder head gaskets in my time while decarbing engines and regrinding valves which does require some skill so I'm not a complete novice.

[dougsinnott]

I tried without success to replace my front nearside indicator bulb on my Megane 2005 Sport Tourer.
I just couldn't manage to remove it from the headlight assembly,although I could(just) grip the end of it.
I'd taken off the wheel,mudshield,etc.,but no go!
Solution:
I took the car back to Halfords,where I'd bought the bulbs the day before,and they replaced the bulb in 20 minutes,for £3.99!
It's just not worth the hassle!
They did say that "it's a bit difficult"(understatement?),but it's certainly do-able,at least by Halfords!
So don't struggle,let the experts do it,(but not at Renault,it'll cost you more than £3.99)!!