Change headlight bulb!

[Ray]

Good luck Ray!! Hope you have a nice warm garage to do it in

I wish... I did it on the driveway in between rain showers. Also replaced the rear wiper rubber but its still crap and smears on the edges but better than what it was.

[BurntCarcus]

Ive a scenic which has less space than a megane under the bonnet and i have changed my bulbs my self.

Haynes manual even says remove bumper, which is rubbish. Drivers side just need the water bottle neck moved out of the way, pasenger side needs battery cover to come off.



It is a tight squeeze but it can be done and saves you that rediculous price for a simple job.

[nickbell69]

now you mention it burntcactus i removed neck on water bottle gives you a better view in there. I also found it handy to have the wife holding a torch!!!

[Gordon]

Well, this is my last post on this seeing i started it all. I took on board everyones comments and again contact Renault UK attaching a copy of the handbook page.
They came back to me yesterday on phone and were very polite. But...

Peter Beck of Renault Uk said they had contacted my Dealer in Wigan and they had confirmed they removed bumper to access the light as this was normal. Renault agreed that this was the recommended way a dealer should approach this and that this was because of something to do with the way the front of the Megane was stressed for afety reasons!?

Therefore the £67.00 charge was fair as it took between 30 and 45 mins.

I am giving up on this now. I don't think i can afford a Megane the next time round which is a pity as I love it! Renault did sy tht it was in the handbook so that it shows an owner how to access the headlamp if they wanted to try themselves. This seems daft to me, because i they expect an aged pensioner like me to do it myself this way, then why can't dealer who is expert do it this way? Anyway, I have no recourse to any refund according to Renault and my dealer.

Gordon

[BurntCarcus]

Ive always imagined if i can do it, then so can renault. I would also suspect that there would be a fair few places would do it without removing bumper, but would charge you for it. If i lived near you m8 i would have done it for you no problem.

[nickbell69]

Its infuriating gordon but i know what you mean about giving up on it it's not worth the hassle now is it? Suspect a lot of garages out there are using this little trick to make a nice extra amount of money. Thing to do in future is ask garage 1st how much it'll be. if they do quote for removing bumper it'd be worth hanging around to watch them do it.

[Gordon]

Yes - I have learnt my lesson

Gordon

[AlexB]

Gordon,

I feel sorry for you, but unfortunately many cars nowadays are designed with poor access to the headlights. Yes, I managed to change dipped beam, sidelight and indicator bulbs on my 1.9dci-120 Expression accessing them from under the wheel arches. I failed to reach for the main beam bulbs in the same manner.

The bumper, on the other hand, is easy to remove. The car is probably designed to have its bumper removed every two years to have all bulbs replaced. This would virtually eliminate the chance of their failure in the period between services. It is a standard approach in the theory of reliability. The access holes in the arches are provided only for the purpose of "emergency access" to the most essential lights, driving without which is illegal.

Your car is about 4 years old. It means that all front bulbs are supposed to have been replaced twice by now. They were not, so you are facing the reliability issue. You should have ordered replacement of all bulbs in one go...

[Gordon]

Thanks for that. I did not know this about changing all them in one go!
Let's hope another does not fail. If it does then I will replace all others

Gordon

[nickbell69]

Bulbs should i think last alot longer than 2 years. Just because that is a recommended time to replace them i think it's a bit over the top to replace a full set every couple of years or just because 1 has gone and "the bumper is off". Yet again a manufacturer scaring people into getting unecessary work done and making more money. Bulbs are bulbs some last days some last years

[AlexB]

nickbell69,

There is no such official recommendation. I am just trying to explain the design solution, which I don't like. In many cases the full beam lights are almost never used and their bulbs do not need replacement. The other lights are accessible, but the dealers prefer the expensive way of doing things.

Dipped-beam bulbs, however, usually fail in pairs within a few months from each other. So it makes sense to replace them in pairs, together with the cheap sidelight bulbs.

BTW, use only high-quality bulbs. My car came with Osram/Phillips bulbs all around factory fitted. The first
H4 failed after 2.5 years and the second a couple of months later.

[Ray]

when you use the electronic level switch... does the passenger side beam meant to move as well?
I'm gonna guess it does... but i was playing around with my beam heights earlier and the drivers side clearly moves.. but not passenger. causes?

[AlexB]

You guessed it right, sorry...

[onlydiesels]

it could be that the motor is working but has become detatched from the innards/reflector of the lamp (especially if it has ever had a headlamp changed,and the motor has been swapped over from the old unit and maybe not fitted properly or at all?) sit someone in the car with lights+ignition on and get them to operate the switch whilst you listen behind the lamp to hear if the motor is operating.

or it could be that the motor has closed it`s account sorry!!

[Ray]

well i changed a bulb.. but i dunno if i could have knocked anything loose?