To ensure visibility of the vehicle during parking and braking in the dark, side lights are used. They are available both in front and behind the car. As a rule, side lights are equipped with low-power lamps that are not in the focal point of the reflector. Powerful LED or halogen lamps should not be installed in side lights.
For more detailed information on how to select and install, read the material from our specialist.
Reasons for replacing the side light bulbs
Replacing lamps in restyled and pre-restyled cars is different. As a rule, in the first case, replacement is somewhat more difficult. Nowadays, replacements do not need to be made so often because LEDs have replaced the old incandescent lamps.
However, there are situations in which replacement is definitely worthwhile.
- You want to improve the appearance of your car and get brighter bulbs. It is worth remembering that LEDs combine well with cold xenon.
- You want to increase the life of your side lights. LEDs have a longer lifespan than incandescent bulbs.
- You want to reduce the amount of electricity you consume or simply keep up with current technological trends.
The reasons for the lamp malfunction may lie in a manufacturing defect. Cheap Chinese lamps quite often fail before the stated end of their service life. Also, the malfunction may be hidden in the car’s electrical network or a leak in the headlight.
How to Choose Suitable Replacement Parking Lights
You can choose a suitable lamp both in car services and at car flea markets. At the same time, experienced drivers do not recommend purchasing cheap Chinese products, since the likelihood that they will burn out ahead of schedule is quite high.
When choosing a light bulb, you need to pay attention to the following characteristics.
- Brightness. This is the most important characteristic of a light bulb, which is assessed by its luminous flux. Luminous flux is measured in lumens. For an incandescent lamp this value is approximately 50 lumens. Remember that the purpose of side lights is to inform other road users of the size of your vehicle. Light sources should not dazzle other road users, but at the same time they cannot be too dim. The upper threshold of luminous flux for side lights is 150 lumens, and the lower threshold is from 50 lumens. Traffic safety sometimes directly depends on the brightness of the side lights, since failure to inform in a timely manner that your vehicle is starting to slow down can lead to an accident.
- Design. In the design of cheap Chinese light bulbs, the base is made of plastic. In this case, there is a high risk of melting, since plastic is by no means a heat-resistant material. If the part gets very hot, the plastic begins to melt and, as a result, the light bulb fails too early. More expensive models feature high-quality plastic that is heat-resistant. With increased brightness, the incandescent lamp begins to produce heat, which heats the lampshade. Therefore, recently the most popular are baseless lamps, the contacts of which are made on the basis of a glass plate and a sand board. Incandescent lamps are also very energy-intensive. With increased electricity consumption, fuel consumption begins to increase. When choosing a light bulb, it is also worth remembering to save energy.
- Price. The side light bulb is one of those car parts that you definitely shouldn’t skimp on. By buying lamps at low prices, you run the risk of replacing such lamps too often, and in the end, such “savings” will only lead to more serious expenses. It is best to purchase lamps from trusted manufacturers such as Osram and Phillips.
How to replace the side light bulb in restyled models
Before replacing a light bulb, it is advisable to place the car on a relatively flat surface so as not to tilt again, and also turn off the engine. This way you will avoid electric shock, which is supplied to the light bulb when the engine is on. To avoid a short circuit during operation, on most cars it would be a good idea to disconnect the negative terminal of the battery. It is always better to start replacing from the right side. The headlight unit is equipped with a plastic cover. It is dismantled using a socket and extension.
There may be some minor additional complications with this operation. The socket with a light bulb is sometimes more difficult to get due to the fact that it is quite small in size and is located in a hard-to-reach place. To remove this cartridge, find it and start rocking it up and down until the cartridge is completely removed. There is no need to rotate the chuck.
Start installation work from the side where the washer fluid reservoir is installed. Then you should move on to the headlight installed on the battery side. The cartridge on this side is more difficult to reach due to the body. While removing, use your hand to lift the part up.
The dismantling process requires the presence of a special tool. Manufacturers place a protrusion on the lamp socket. Use a flat blade screwdriver to grab onto this tab and use a lever action to remove the cartridge.
To do this, you must first prepare the car as indicated above (place it on a flat surface and turn off the engine), and then begin installation work.
- Open the hood and disconnect the negative cable from the battery (to avoid a short circuit).
- Remove the plugs that go to the lamps, and then remove the element into which the plug is installed.
- Turn the light bulb clockwise 45 - 60 degrees, then remove the spare part. To remove the lamp, gently pull it towards you. The socket itself first rotates along with the light source, then it is removed.
- Install a new light bulb and carry out the reverse dismantling.
Safety precautions
During work, try not to touch exposed wires to avoid electric shock. The light bulb to be installed should not be dirty or greasy. It is better to carry out the work with gloves. It is definitely recommended to turn off the engine. After installation, check the functionality of the light bulb.
If the light bulb does not work, then the reason is either a manufacturing defect or you did not tighten it well enough.
conclusions
All of the above actions mainly apply to commonly used car models. On some premium cars (Merscedes-Benz or Infinity), changing the light bulb yourself will be quite problematic due to the complex modern design, so you will have to use the services of a service station. But for other cars (such as the Hundai Solaris or Renault Logan), it will be much easier to replace it yourself, so as not to waste extra time and money.
When choosing, give preference to ordinary lamps. You should not buy too bright LEDs or even xenon lamps. But you shouldn’t take ordinary cheap incandescent lamps either, because their service life is shorter and there is a risk of melting and cracking.
You should also not buy cheap Chinese lamps at flea markets. It is better to take spare parts from well-known foreign manufacturers. You should not save on light bulbs installed in side lights, because traffic safety in the dark directly depends on them.
Replacing lamps in the front headlight unit of Daewoo Matiz
Breaking the spiral of light bulbs is a fairly common occurrence; in this report I will write how to replace burnt-out front parking light bulbs on a Daewoo Matiz. These instructions can also be used to replace lamps head light, the only difference is in the lamps used.
I decided to use light-emitting diode (LED) analogues of lamps, not only because they are low-power, but primarily because, according to the manufacturers, they have an incomparably longer service life compared to conventional lamps. During the process I took several photographs, which I suggest you familiarize yourself with. 🙂
From tools and materials we will need a Phillips screwdriver and a lamp with a W5W base. For head light You will need a lamp with an H4 socket.
First of all, you need to remove the plastic cover holding the front headlight unit. To do this, you only need to unscrew one screw, using a Phillips screwdriver.
Rice. 1 Removing the plastic cover
The headlight unit is held in place by three 10mm bolts. It is easiest to unscrew the one that is in plain sight; the other two, located under the front of the headlight, are more difficult to unscrew.
Replacing a lamp in a Daewoo Matiz headlight
If for some reason you have not yet been to the World Matizov channel, I highly recommend checking it out first
Headlight Matiz: lamp replacement head light
How to replace light bulb in the headlight head light Matiz? Watch the next master class from Mir Matizov! Useful
Rice. 2 Bolts that need to be unscrewed
After all the screws are unscrewed, remove the headlight unit from the mounts, which allows you to gain access to the rubber plugs that prevent moisture from getting inside the headlight.
Rice. 3 Block headlight Daewoo Matiz in the extracted state
We disconnect the power wires and see the back of the lamps. Lamp side lights is removed together with the socket, and the lamp head light held by a clamp.
Rice. 4 Back of the lamp head light
We replace the lamp with a new one and repeat all the steps in the reverse order.
Rice. 5 New / old lamps for comparison
Rice. 6 Lamps head light now look yellow compared to LED dimensions
Rice. 7 Appearance at night
Replacement may be a little difficult due to the special headlight. Therefore, you may need a surgical instrument.
Such a trifle as replacing a side light bulb on a Hyundai Solaris, for cars of other models, can cause certain difficulties. Especially if you have no experience in servicing the machine yourself. Solaris also prepared a surprise when servicing the optics, but dealing with it is quite simple.
Ratings of side light lamps
Marker bulb in the headlight.
The Hyundai Solaris front headlights are equipped with:
- halogen headlight lamps with H4 standard socket, power 60/55 W,
- 21W turn signal lamps РY21W ,
- side light lamps with a power of 5 W with the designation W5W .
The design of the headlight block allows you to quickly replace any of the lamps, but on the driver's side, access to the left headlight is complicated by the fuse box.
You can use diode lamps.
Several years ago, official Hyundai dealers began offering special plastic tongs, with the help of which replacing the size lamp is easier. However, even without them, the operation can be performed in a couple of minutes with your own hands.
Replacing the side light bulb on a Hyundai Solaris
Before replacing the side light bulb on a Hyundai Solaris, you must disconnect the negative terminal from the battery to avoid a short circuit. We will start the replacement from the right side, where access to the headlight unit is not burdened by anything.
The operating algorithm is as follows:
- Remove the plastic cover on the back of the headlight unit by turning it counterclockwise.
Removing the headlight cover.
- We gain access to the halogen double-filament headlight lamp, side light lamp and turn signal lamp.
Gained access.
- To replace the side lamp, it is necessary to remove the lamp socket from the headlight housing by pulling the wires towards you.
Old and new marker lamps.
- The socket is returned to its place in the headlight and the plastic cap is put on.
To replace the left side light bulb on a Hyundai Solaris, we use the same algorithm, with the only difference being that it is better to use surgical clamp .
In this case, you do not have to remove the fuse box, and for convenience, you can only remove the plastic cover on this block. In some cases, if it is necessary to replace the headlight bulb on the left headlight, unscrew the two screws securing the headlight unit. This allows you to move it forward as much as possible and easily replace any lamp in the housing.
At the end of the video
Happy lamp replacement and bright lights on the road!
Your vehicle's side lights must be in good working order for it to drive safely on the road. But not every driver changes burnt-out lamps immediately. This is usually done when visiting a service station, and before that you can drive hundreds of kilometers without working lamps. Let's figure out how to replace the side light bulb on some domestic and foreign cars. Often the work is carried out according to a similar principle, but there are also minor differences.
General information
To indicate the vehicle at night when parked, the design provides side lights. They are present both in front and behind the car. Usually these are low-power lamps, which, unlike the head light, are not in the focus of the reflector. For this simple reason, it makes no sense to install more powerful halogen or LED lamps. Moreover, this can lead to melting of the wiring, which is not designed to withstand such a large load.
As for the reasons for the failure of side lights, there are several of them. Firstly, the light bulb has a limited lifespan. The original shines longer and better, but it is more expensive. Chinese analogues are cheap, but very often burn out. Another reason is a malfunction in the electrical circuit, as well as a leak in the headlight, which causes moisture to get inside the housing. Well, now let's figure out how to replace the side light bulb on a Kalina.
From simple to complex
The first step is to decide on the type of lamps to be installed. Everything is quite simple here. Kalina is equipped with baseless lamps of the 5W5 type, which are widespread, so they can be found in any car store. During replacement, it is advisable to disconnect the negative terminal of the battery. This is necessary for safety, although many do not do it.
The next step is to remove the headlight protective cover opposite the section responsible for the high beam. Next we see a yellow cartridge that needs to be dismantled. The main difficulty is that it is in an inconvenient place. By the way, if the lamp has not been changed for a long time, it will take an impressive effort to remove it. To make the task easier, you can remove the high beam chip. This will create additional space. Next we try to remove the cartridge from the seat. Please note that its body is plastic, so using pliers is not recommended. After this, remove the lamp from the socket and install a new one. Assembly is carried out in reverse order.
How to replace a side light bulb on a Niva Chevrolet
Now let's look at the replacement process using the rear headlight unit as an example. There is nothing complicated here, but there are several important details that are worth paying attention to.
The first step is to remove the protective cover. To do this, you need to turn it counterclockwise. At the next stage, the wiring block and the spring holding the side lamp are disconnected. Removing the lamp holder is quite simple. To do this, you need to turn it counterclockwise until it clicks, after which you can remove it from the headlight.
I would like to draw your attention to the fact that you cannot touch the glass part of the light bulb with your bare hands. This is due to the fact that grease stains will remain, and since the lamp heats up to a very high temperature, this can lead to its failure. But if you touched them with your hands, then it makes sense to clean the glass with a regular alcohol solution.
How to replace the side light bulb on a Renault Logan
On this French sedan, the replacement process comes down to just a few simple steps, so even a novice driver can handle it. In order to change the lamp, you need to do the following:
- use a 10mm socket and an extension to disassemble the headlight unit;
- the wire going to the negative terminal of the battery is disconnected;
- If there is no headlight corrector, the latch is released and the headlight unit is removed.
Some models are equipped with headlight range control. It is located behind the front bumper under the cover. Therefore, replacing a light bulb in this case will be much more difficult. The bumper and cover will need to be removed. Only then will you be able to get to the headlight adjuster and remove it. The cartridge is removed by unscrewing it counterclockwise in the case of the right headlight, and clockwise for the left one. Everything is relatively simple, but at the same time quite labor-intensive to replace a regular marker light bulb.
Replacing a lamp on a Hyundai Solaris
This Japanese car has long become a people's favorite in Russia. This is one of the most popular cars used in taxis. This is because the vehicle is reliable and easy to maintain. This also applies to side light bulbs. Even someone who has no idea about the design and structure of a car can change them.
You should start by disconnecting the negative terminal of the battery, which will avoid a short circuit during the work. It is easier to replace on the right side, since there is more space there. It's worth starting with. The headlight unit has a special plastic cover. You can remove it by turning it counterclockwise. After this we get access to the direction indicator lamps, headlights and dimensions. We replace and tighten the lid. Since replacing the side light bulb on a Hyundai Solaris is quite simple, you can do it in 10-15 minutes.
Let's sum it up
On some modern premium cars, it is not possible to even change a light bulb yourself. Whether this is good or bad, we cannot say for sure. But on budget models this option is available. Moreover, it is advisable to carry out the replacement yourself, because there is nothing complicated or impossible here.
Visiting a service station to replace a marker lamp is not the best solution. This way you will waste much more money and precious time. And when you replace it yourself, you will gain valuable experience that will be useful in the future. It is recommended to take a burnt-out lamp to a car dealership and buy a similar one. You shouldn’t chase more powerful lighting devices, they usually only bring problems. On some brands of cars, like Renault Logan, it is more difficult to replace a lamp than on others. But nothing is impossible, so it’s definitely worth addressing this issue.
I studied in detail the video on how to change the side lamp. I wanted to ask the guru how to replace a side lamp with your own hands?
Comments
Peter wrote on 06/14/2014
To replace a marker lamp you need a minimum of tools and straight hands. When replacing a front marker lamp, you will most likely have to remove the headlight through the hood, this depends on the model of your car. Just unscrew a few bolts and the headlight is removed. We remove the headlight housing, unscrew the lamp from the socket and screw in a new one, after which we install the headlight in place. If it is necessary to replace the taillight marker lamp, it is removed through the trunk. Bend back the casing, unscrew the fastening bolts and remove the headlight housing. Unscrew the burnt-out side lamp and screw a new one into the socket, then install the headlight in place.
Andrey wrote on 12/15/2014
Thank God, on my Mercedes 190 this operation is carried out in a couple of minutes; I removed the headlight cover and replaced it. No additional analysis. Despite the fact that it seems simple - like replacing a light bulb, on some cars this is not possible on your own, or is difficult (rather than climbing there at night in the cold or torrential downpour, it’s easier to go to bed). At one time I worked in a car service center and saw a lot of jokes from automakers. Someone needs to remove the headlight to get to the light bulb, and to remove the headlight, in turn, remove the bumper. Some manufacturers, who have not yet become completely insolent, leave the opportunity to replace the light bulb through the fender liner - they leave a small window the size of a fist.
