On the way up to campus today the driver side headlight went out, but the high beams seem to work.
My hayne's manual is at home so I'm wondering how hard it is to fix this? Hopefully it is just a simple bulb swap, right? Is this someting I can get at the local AutoZone?
No, they don't. A US 1990 model would use a 9004 bulb. They also have two filaments, like the H4 bulb, so all the other information previously provided applies. In the US I have only seen H4 bulbs used in motorcycles. Automobiles use a different bulb to meet Federal requirements for light distribution patterns (IIRC).
I wonder what the Canadians have. I remember using H 4 bulbs for different cars when living there. Have they adapted to US-standards or mainly to european-standards?
There are a couple of answers to these questions. Some people (in the US) have replaced the factory lamps with units from Hella or Cibe that take the H4 bulb. Technically, these are illegal, but the difference is often missed by law enforcement.
While I'm not very familiar with the Canadian laws, I know that many car manufacturers design their products so that they are compliant with both US and Canadian laws. For example, GM touts that all its cars are equipped with Daytime Running Lights (DRLs) and hype this as a safety feature. DRLs are not required in the US, but they are in Canada. The US actually modified their laws to adapt somewhat to Canadian standards and allow DRLs, which, technically, were illegal 15 years ago. For the headlights, Canada may have made their regulations flexible to accommodate both US and European standards.
It was pretty simple...actually the longest part was looking at the unit trying to figure out how to replace the "bulb" before going into the store and realizing the bulb actually includes all the plastic and the washer as one replacement unit.
And yeah it was a 9004, which cost about $15 (US) at AutoZ> There are a couple of answers to these questions. Some people (in the US)
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