2004 Accord headlight bulb replacement

My wife just called to let me know that her right low beam headlight just went out. I'm going to buy a bulb today, but would like to review the replacement procedure before she comes in this afternoon. Can anyone direct me to a website that shows this or describe it? Thanks in advance...

Reply to
Steppenwolf
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"Steppenwolf" wrote in news:5oIvg.17228$ snipped-for-privacy@bignews2.bellsouth.net:

How about your car's owner manual?

I believe most headlamp bulbs are twist-lock. Unplug the connector,then twist.Reverse for installation. Don't touch the glass envelope with your bare hands or fingers.

Reply to
Jim Yanik

Manual with the car - car at wife's work - I guess I'll just wait until she gets home...

Reply to
Steppenwolf

You'll have to turn the wheel to the left or right depending which headlight is out. Also have to pull some screws/tabs from the wheel well, and try not to break them when you pull them. Pull part of the cover out to get your arm in there. You'll have to twist the old bulb out and swap for the new. It's a real PITA.

-Dave

Reply to
Dave L

Thanks for the response, Dave. Your remarks were right on, including what a HUGE PITA this project is. I waited until I had the manual in hand, and it has helpful pictures near the back for the R&R of each type of bulb, just not helpful enough when it comes to those &@#^ plastic clips holding the fender liner in place. I broke one of the two that had to be removed, but it is holding enough to keep the fender liner in place until I get a supply of them later today. Interestingly enough, while I was laying on the ground scrabbling around for one of those clips, I discovered a truly serious problem. The connecting link that connects the right side of the front roll bar to the lower suspension member had separated . I'm going to address that today. Thank God I dropped that clip!

Reply to
Steppenwolf

You're welcome. I remember changing the bulb a while back and also broke one of the clips. Considering how easy it is on other cars I have to scratch my head on this one. Looking on the brighter side, you discovered another problem before anythg serious happened. Good luck with the suspension!

-Dave

Reply to
Dave L

"Steppenwolf" wrote in news:ZZ1wg.10888$ snipped-for-privacy@bignews1.bellsouth.net:

Bosh. It's not very serious at all. You didn't even know about it until you saw it, did you? You didn't notice ANY difference in handling, did you?

Easy replacement. You can buy each side individually at the dealer. Get some silicone or other rubber-safe Permatex lubricant to grease up the rubber bushings.

Tackle the job whever you feel like it. No hurry.

Reply to
TeGGeR®

"Dave L" wrote in news:Z56dndwX6r0BEFzZnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

What was the design of your clips? Was it the kind with a Phillips head cross in it, or was it the kind with two small notches in the head 180 degrees from each other?

Reply to
TeGGeR®

if the link separates, it can be serious - if you're used to a certain roll characteristic and suddenly it's not there, you can end up upside down in a field at the side of the road. i /guarantee/ you notice the difference - i've experimented with sway bars extensively.

Reply to
jim beam

jim beam wrote in news:ffydnd8ixPmABV_ZnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@speakeasy.net:

For your average everyday driver who does not push the limit of his car in the manner of a racer or experimenter, a broken stabilizer bar link is quite invisible indeed. Such a driver will lose tire traction and plow into the ditch well before he rolls the car due to an inactive anti-roll bar.

We are also dealing with a car driven by the OP's wife. Women as a rule do

*not* push their cars to the limit in *any* sense of the word, other than how many kids they can cram into the vehicle on their way to Chuck-E-Cheese.
Reply to
TeGGeR®

interestingly enough, the loaded car is /exactly/ the situation where the sway bar's function is going to be most apparent to the "average" driver. when transitioning from a lean in one direction to a lean in the other, like when you're on the freeway having to do an emergency lane change because of some dangerous behavior ahead, if the return rate of the first lean happens to coincide with the turn-in rate of the second lean, and unfortunately there's a strong coincidence, suddenly you have a very dangerous roll moment. that's the mechanism by which heavy high center of gravity suv's flip over. heavily loaded cars can do it too.

sway bars do two things: raise the return rate so the chances of the driver turning into the second lean hard enough and fast enough to get this "coincidence" is much reduced. secondly, it reduces the actual degree of lean, so the overall body return moment is reduced in the first place.

sway bars aren't on all cars because they're associated with "sports", and unfortunately, the kind of bean counters that run car companies have all been to the same "management" school that tells them they must differentiate between product and extract the highest dollar for every marginal difference possible. if engineering school attendance was mandatory for these people, cars would be much safer. fortunately for more modern vehicles, the european "moose test" and thread of class action law suits keeps the worst behavior at bay, but it doesn't mean there's not significant room for improvement.

if you want to test all this, it's easy enough to disconnect the sway bars on your integra. just wire the ends up out of the way and the suspension can move through full travel without problem. put some bags of sand in the back seats if you really want to believe.

Reply to
jim beam

It's the one with the two small notches, where popping out the center will allow the three plastic legs to be pulled out of the hole. In removing them, the plastic legs have a tendency to break. Flimsy...

And in response to the other comment, I know that the broken link is not of immediate seriousness, otherwise I would not be allowing my wife to drive it to work while we wait for the local Honda dealer to get one in stock. It's supposed to be in early this week and she has an appointment for Wednesday for repair (warranty). They removed the dangling end of the link so it wouldn't flail around and strike other objects within it's reach, which it had been doing, was my more immediate concern. She is a safe and level-headed driver who I can trust to not approach the handling limits of her car, unless in an emergency maneuver. I'm satisfied that the lack of a sway bar doesn't represent an serious and immediate danger to her.

Reply to
Steppenwolf

Sorry it took so long to respond. Kept forgetting to check when I went to the car! The clip just pushes in, and does not have a Phillips head. It was a round, flat head.

-Dave

Reply to
Dave L

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