Replacing bulb in factory-fitted Disco front fog lamp ?

I do hope this isn't a "Doh!" question but I'm struggling to work out how to replace the bulb in my fog lamp.

This is a Land Rover factory fitted front fog lamp in a 1997 Discovery ES Tdi.

I presume I need to remove the whole lamp unit before I can replace the bulb. There is a threaded bolt at the top of the unit which, I presume, is used to adjust the angle of the beam. The bolt is attached to the top of the lamp unit by means of another pin/bolt which I /might/ be able to pull out.

I don't want to go removing nuts and bolts willy-nilly ....... I'm sure it can't be difficult!

Can anyone give me a clue, please?

Thanks Judith

Reply to
Judith
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I must've googled for the wr Pull the pivot/adjuster off at the top of the lamp unit - carefull as its only plastic. then there are two torx screws half way up both sides, these are a pain because not only do they hold it all together they provide the pivot action for adjustment. So its fiddly getting them back in. While you have the lamp in bits its worth soldering the earth wire to the bulb base, I had too after I disturbed it all for the first time. Its damn annoying when you have struggled to get the damn thing out like your trying to do, then you put a new bulb in and find its a bad earth thats stopping it coming on!

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Can anyone explain the first bit about the pivot/adjuster? What do I have to pull? Do I pull the threaded bolt away from the front of the vehicle? Or do I pull the bolt sideways out of the plastic case of the lamp? This is hard to explain in words!

I suppose it would also help if I knew which bulb it needed - all I know is it is 55w. I think I have a spare headlamp bulb ...... but I bet they're different!

Judith

Reply to
Judith

I have done it on mine. remove screws each side of bracket lamp will come down. Lamp will open on crack threre is a gasket between. bulb is standard halogen replacement 55 fog lamp bulb H3. Pain is getting the halved together and holding it up while you get the screws in.

Reply to
news

Thanks very much. I'll give it a go once I've got the new bulb.

(Not sure why the owner's manual says take it to a dealer and HBOL doesn't mention it at all!)

Judith

Reply to
Judith

Oh, the bulb has a spring release and wire plugs in you dont need to solder turn on headlamps low beam fog to check if it goes on make shure you have the brake on. put it all back and hope the lens is not too scratched up. peter

Reply to
news

You may not need to, but it's a good idea to as the H3 bulbs are notorious for making a bad earth contact and either not going, or flickering and blowing in very short order.

Reply to
EMB

I went to Halfords and asked the little lad if he could check the computer to see what bulb I needed. Surprise surprise! Disco front fog lamps aren't in their database!

They had several different H3 bulbs. There were 55W, 100W and 130W.

Also, some had a wire attached and some didn't. Do I need the sort with the wire?

(I still can't get the blasted lamp apart! I've only been able to have a quick look but I still can't figure it out, despite what people have suggested. I'm going to put my overalls on, at the weekend, and see if looks any different from underneath. It's only a chuffing bulb fer pete's sake!)

Judith

Reply to
Judith

On or around Tue, 08 Feb 2005 20:25:32 +0000, Judith enlightened us thusly:

I thought all H3s had wire. You want (probably) a normal H3 55W. best bet, of course, is to get the light apart first and take the bulb in to halfrauds to compare.

Reply to
Austin Shackles

Perhaps it was just the way it was packaged but one of the H3 bulbs didn't seem to have a wire.

BTW .... don't go telling me I need to take the flipping thing apart! I *KNOW* I do ...... and I'm getting sick of staring at the flaming thing!

Oops sorry, I think a little frustration came through there. I've had a cold for the last 3 weeks. I'm nearly recovered now but have not been in the right frame of mind to figure out how to get the flipping lamp apart. The only screws which are visible are half hidden by a bracket ...... so I can't get the screwdriver onto them!

I think I'll buy a 55W H3 with wire and sort it out, once and for all, at the weekend. If I find that the bulb is not right (and I haven't taken it out of the bubble-pack) then I'm sure I can swap it.

Judith

Reply to
Judith

Not surprised, Halfrauds only list one size of front wiper blade for all Discos. A Disco II has 21" blades not the tiddly 18" or so they have in the book. Even if you get the length right I suspect the fitting isn't quite standard, the blade body narrows on the Real Thing by the pivot pin, the Halfrauds ones don't...

Reply to
Dave Liquorice

On or around Wed, 09 Feb 2005 00:10:00 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Liquorice" enlightened us thusly:

might be that the "real thing" blade is wider to make it stiffer or something. On some things, I've found that they'll take longer blades. Not looked at the disco, TBH. I gather there are different wiper motors, too, on the earlier ones, some are 14W and some 28W.

Reply to
Austin Shackles

I didn't take a ruler to the metal back but the "real thing" looks the same width as the Halfrauds ones but narrows by 1/16" or so for a couple of inches each side of the pivot/fixing pin. This matches a plastic moulding that is on the end of that arm carrying the slidy fixing catch (and spoiler on the drivers side).

Reply to
Dave Liquorice

Finally got it fixed so here's a few notes to help me remember what I did for when the other one goes.

I reckon I may have gone over the top removing things. I removed the entire bracket that the lamp sits in. It's possible, like someone here said, that I only had to remove the beam alignment adjuster from the top of the back of the light. (For future ref: it's easier to reassemble if you just pull the ball out of the socket rather than pulling the plastic pin out sideways. Hindsight, hey!) Anyway, it was easier to figure it out with it all removed from the vehicle. (For future reference, once you decide to remove the entire bracket it is simple to work out what needs to come undone: two nuts at the top and two cross-head screws at the bottom - all captive.)

As I pulled the lamp out of the back cover, to get access to the bulb and the earth, the earth connector disintegrated. Luckily a passing man was able to solder on a new connector. (I recommend keeping a man, and a soldering iron, in a cupboard in case you ever need them.)

The whole lamp assembly was damp, and there is green stuff growing in the bottom of the lens, and all the connectors were at least dirty of not broken. I cleaned it all up, tested the old bulb in case the problem had just been the earth, then reassembled with a new bulb.

The bulb is an H3 but these are numbered 453 at Halfrauds and do not say H3 on the packet. It does say H3 on the bulb, though. About 5 quid for a standard Halfrauds one. I could have spent 12 quid if I wanted a super megawatt blue lamp.

All in, it only took 2 hours (plus two week's preparation) ....... to change a bulb!

Judith

Reply to
Judith

Judith composed the following;:

Some people take years and still don't change anything .. ;)

Heheheh, well done, though.

Reply to
Paul - xxx

You're not a civil servant are you??

;~)

Nige

-- Subaru WRX (The Bitch)

Series 3 Landrover 88" (Albert)

"If you tolerate this then your children will be next"

Reply to
Nige

Ha ha! Not exactly but almost and, now I come to think about it, nothing ever gets done that quickly at work!

Judith

Reply to
Judith

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