3 Simple Ways to
Share What You Make

With Instructables you can share what you make with the world — and tap into an ever-growing community of creative experts.

PhotosPhotos

Share one or more photos of a project, recipe, or whatever you've made, quickly and easily.

Step by StepStep-By-Step

Share your step-by-step photos with text instructions of what you made so others can do it too!

VideoVideo

Share your how-to video. You'll need your embed code from a video site such as YouTube.

Improve Your Headlights!

Step 2Install

Install
«
  • P1010006.JPG
  • P1010007.JPG
  • P1010009.JPG
  • P1010013.JPG
As soon as all of my supplies arrived, I began putting them together. Altogether, it doesn't take more than 10 minutes to change out the headlights.
First, I put the new headlight bulbs in the new headlight casings. Be sure to not touch the bulbs with your bare hands, because the oils will shorten the life of the bulb. The gloves are only to show this, and weren't actually necessary because I only held the bulbs by the metal bases.
Next, remove your old sealed beams and put the new assembly in place of it. They should simply plug in and fit exactly the same as the old. Obviously, it will be different for each car. For my car, I have to pull off the front grill to access the headlight screws. The new headlights were a hair bigger than the old ones, but still fit in the hole.
Look for other problems while you change the headlights. In my case, I noticed that one of my female H4/9003 connectors that plug into the headlight was deteriorating. The plastic had been crushed, so it didn't fit tightly on the new bulb. I have ordered a new female connector and will be fixing the problem. For now, I just have to be delicate with the loose connection.

The extra wires coming out of the headlight unit are for an additional bulb on the inside. I was not aware of this when I ordered them. There is a small blue light on the inside of the headlight that runs off of 12V. It looks kind of cool from the outside. I considered wiring them into my ignition wire and onto a switch on the dash. That way I could choose to have them on or off, but they would always be off when the car was off. I decided against it because they are very blue, not very bright, and probably illegal. The last thing I need is another ticket!
« Previous StepDownload PDFView All StepsNext Step »
1 comment
Jan 21, 2011. 1:55 AMDatabanks says:
The blue light could possibly be for parkers. Or for adding a blue tint to the regular halogens. I'm not saying it *IS*, just thinking of possibilities.
As for the colour, guess it will depend on the local laws - some states/countries will let you do it, some won't. I know those washer nozzles with blue LEDs are popular over here in Australia, but I know someone who asked a police officer about them and was told they're a flat NO because they distract other drivers at night (or so they're saying - guess that means truck drivers with vast arrays of LEDs on the side need to take them off, huh?). You'd be best asking your local authorities about them

Pro

Get More Out of Instructables

Already have an Account?

close

All Steps Viewing
View all steps of an Instructable on the same page when you're a Pro Member.

Upgrade to Pro today!
29
Followers
19
Author:intoon
Developing projects for HowToons @ Squid Labs.