OT Grumpy old man. Moan mutter grumble ...

headlamp bulbs over there ?

Not really.

I find that it *does* take longer than I'd like to change a headlight bulb, but compared to the 'sealed beam' days, it's a piece of cake.

I noticed on my friend's car, the manufacturer was not overly generous with 'service loop' on the bulb wiring, so it does take somewhat longer to finesse the harness position so as not to put an undue strain on the wiring.

I do see that it is possible to get one of these misaligned but luckily, that is difficult to do if one is at all careful and patient. I've not touched a domestic car in a couple decades, so I don't know what challenges they offer WRT headlight service.

If history is any guide, I assume you still have to remove the bumper of the car behind you to get sufficient access to service any part of a domestic car. :)

--Winston

Sure, we have the same problem. It's far from epidemic, but still irritating when I get blinded by such a vehicle. However, it's NOT being caused by the mis-installation of the bulbs by doi-it-thyself mechanics. Most such lamp holders, that I've seen, are fairly fool proof and immune to misalignment thanks to bayonnet type mounting. Instead, what I've seen are vehicles that have been in accidents, where one or both headlights have been misaligned by the collision. I'm sure the owner knows about the problem, but without major body work, is unable to fix the problem.

Unfortunately, I don't have any statistics or personal experience with the current level of enforcement. I only have some experience from the 1960's, where the weight of the tube and dynamotor radios in my trunk, caused the rear leaf springs to flatten, thus causing the headlights to elevate well beyond their range of adjustment. I drove around like that for about 3 months before receiving the inevitable fixit ticket.

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Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann     AE6KS    831-336-2558

When I had to change a bulb in my Chevrolet about five years ago, it went in pretty easily, and the alignment was okay. Whatever problems I had were due to lack of familiarity, not something inherently bad with the system.

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What I miss most about the sealed beams is their glass lenses. Now I have cloudy plastic ones. Which were thoughtfully not designed to be consumer replaceable. The cost of new headlight assemblies is prohibitive.

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My car's maker strongly discourages DIY replacement, to the point of not giving the bulb part numbers in the owners manual. Although supposedly they are more concerned about amateurs leaving fingerprints on the bulb, which will lead to cracking and "POOF!"

On my car, the passenger side is easy: remove a plastic cover by popping a bail, then remove the bulb by popping another bail. The "base" is keyed to go in only one way, then swing the bail back to secure it, replace the plastic cover and away you go. I haven't noticed any mis-aiming.

The driver's side is harder because the battery limits the clearance.

ou

I see enough cars with only one headlight lit that I have to say enforcement is lax.

Just to add to the rant - I hate those eerie bluish headlights that seem to follow you like the eyes of a portrait in an old horror movie.

ALSO hate overly bright headlights. Good for the person using them, bad for everyone else.

I see some cars with up to SIX headlights. Another pet peeve.

Mark Z.

Aren't they the same? They're bad enough during the day, but at night they're positively blinding. I'm surprised they haven't been made illegal.

Misaligned headlights are a common problem; enforcement is pretty hit or miss. My theory is it depends inf the officer is on a quota, gets points only for 'serious' charges, and got laid the night before.

I've only had to replace one of the new style bulbs (but have replaced a number of the old style headlights). Since the vehicle in question has well over 120,000 miles, I'd say that isn't a terribly high failure rate. I'd say it's almost impossible to insert the bulb wrong, but it is understood that when something is made foolproof more persistant fools will come along.

PlainBill

There is a better solution. Go down to your local automotive supply house and ask for a headlight lens restoration kit. They run from $15 to $20. Sears has one for $40. Or you can go to Walmart and pick up a kit and a 12-pack of your favorite beverage. You'll deserve it after polishing the headlight lens.

PlainBill

Definitely not a crash damage problem. Far too many of them for that, and my buddy who works in a garage says that he sees wrongly fitted bulbs all the time. It's actually not that difficult to get them in wrong when you are working in a space that just about allows you to get two fingers in. The metal retaining clip can be hard to get back on under those conditions in the first place, and it only takes a little more force to get it to clip at least on one side, over a wrongly fitted bulb. I managed to do it on my son's car, but realised that I was only able to get one side on easily, and it didn't 'feel' right. I can see how kids without any experience, would give up with just one side latched, if the bulb appeared to be holding in there, and would figure that they must have got it right if it lit up ...

Arfa

$9.99 right now at HF.

--
You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.

Truer words have never been spoken!

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These are the 'plastic' experts we've used for years:

TAP Plastics, San Leandro HQ 510 357 3755

TAP Plastics (408) 292 8685

1212 The Alameda San Jose, CA 95125

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1008 Blossom Hill Rd # F San Jose, CA 95123

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They have polish systems to 'recover' CD's and DVD's with video

En el artículo , Arfa Daily escribió:

I hope you used the right bulbs, or you'll find the plastic lenses going yellow in short order.

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Wife picked 'em up from Halfords. They were the recommended ones, and looked exactly the same as the ones that came out. Standard output 55 watters from what I recall, rather than "Super Enhanced up to 80% more light output !!!! " types ...

Arfa

En el artículo , Arfa Daily escribió:

It's not that, they need to be the UV-filtered ones, 'cos that's what makes the lenses go yellow. You'd be wise to get the 'proper' ones from a Ford dealer.

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I've never bought a genuine Ford bulb in my life, and I know I have replaced several over the time we have had that car. The only place that they are going to have come from, is Halfords, as there is one a couple of miles from me. Just as a matter of interest, which 'lenses' are you referring to that are plastic ? The actual fronts of the headlamp units are glass ... ??

Arfa

En el artículo , Arfa Daily escribió:

The inner lenses are plastic, which you would have discovered if you'd bothered to google it:

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OK my friend. No need to get snotty about it. There is actually no text on that page anyway. I thought you might be referring to the bit at the front which is what I would normally consider to be the headlamp 'lens'. On our Mondeo, that is glass. On our Focus, it is indeed plastic, and I was thinking that perhaps it was plastic on a later Mondeo, and that's what you meant.

Arfa

En el artículo , Arfa Daily escribió:

Well, I just feel like I'm leading you by the nose. I'm saying there is a well-known problem with yellowing headlights on Mundanos and you're having none of it. I'm trying to help you out here, you know, and the information may be useful for other Mundano owners.

There is, actually. Your crappy news client has broken the URL cos it's too long for it to cope with. Try this:

it even gives you the Ford part numbers you need for replacement lenses and the UV-filtered bulbs.

You're welcome, by the way.

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