Headlight bulbs

Just lost a headlight bulb on a 1993 9000.On all the previous 9000 models I have had, changing the headlight bulbs was damned awkward but straightforward but on this model I can't even figure out how it is done. Can anyone out there enlighten me before I get a ticket for defective lights.

TIA

Paul BJ

Reply to
Paul BJ
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Awkward, but not impossible. Turn the gray plastic house until it comes out. There is a lot of junk in front of it, so access is fiddly. Undo the wire springs from the bulb and it comes out. This is the dipped+parked headlight lamp which is most likely to go as it's used most of the times. There's a separate bulb & house for the long light (I believe).

Reply to
Johannes

I've been there. It's not too tricky to unscrew the cover - about 30 degrees of rotation. My problem is that the new lamp ( H1 type ) is not retained well and makes intermittent contact. I gather that I need a new retaining spring maybe.

Long light = UK 'full beam' ? Yes. It's inboard of the main light cluster.

Graham

Reply to
Pooh Bear

"Johannes" skrev i en meddelelse news: snipped-for-privacy@spamblackhole2654sizefitter.com...

And if you REALLY want light, you replace the original bulbs with some HiD, like I've done:

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Cheers!

Reply to
Henrik B.

How much did it cost to convert to Xenon bulbs? Was it just a matter of using a Xenon bulb, or did you have to change the whole assembly? I have Xenons in my Saab and I'm so glad I paid the extra money for the option. I'd love to put them in my other car (a non-Saab), but I haven't looked into it at all. Just wondering what it might cost.

Reply to
Shane Almeida

Last time I looked into it, it was around $1600 for a basic setup. You have to buy the entire optical assembly as well as bulbs and electronic ballasts, it's very much not trivial.

Reply to
James Sweet

"Shane Almeida" skrev i en meddelelse news:0eednem9x5N-hl snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com...

Hi Shane.

Yes, the Xenon-light is a brilliant invention. It simply gives so much more ligt, and the worse the weather, the better the light - compared to conventional lighting.

I bought a complete kit for around $400.- It comes with bulbs that go right into the socket: H1 - H4 or H7. Comes with ballest and everything. And you use the original wiring - no cutting or anything:

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Reply to
Henrik B.

Xenons are awesome. A couple months back, I decided to take a last-minute ski trip despite very stern warnings about an impending blizzard. I left the mountain early, but not early enough, and got stuck driving in the Blizzard of '05 (Massachusetts). On the way home, I had to use just my fog lights at points because the Xenons were reflecting so much off the incoming snow that I couldn't focus on the road. I have excellent vision (20/15) and it was a very clear night (aside from the snow, obviously), so I could see the road fine, but I found it very difficult to force my eyes to stop focusing on the very bright snowflakes as they whizzed by the windshield. I found that the fog lights, which are as bright as some cars' headlights and just a little bit closer to the road, were actually easier to drive with than the regular beams. I'm very, very glad I had the dealer turn off the daytime running lights, otherwise I would have been stuck with the blinding snowflakes all the way home.

This was all before I got my snow tires too, so I was riding on the Pirelli PZero Rosso Asimmetrico ultra-high performance summer tires. Definitely not my brightest moment. I said a prayer of thanks to the Trollhaettan trolls when I got home and purchased and installed dedicated snow tires the next day ;)

Hm, looks easy enough. I'll have to look for a US shop for something to fit a Crown Victoria.

Reply to
Shane Almeida

Be very careful doing this, the vast majority (if not all) optics designed for halogen lamps are *NOT* suitable for the arc position of a HID lamp. Kits to retrofit them are available, but they're illegal to use on road and result in excessive glare to oncoming drivers.

Reply to
James Sweet

Thank you, that's an important detail I would have missed. I'll guess I'll have to look into complete assemblies.

Reply to
Shane Almeida

Been there - done that - but the spring doesn't appear to hold the new bulb in place properly. It 'wobbles about', giving intermittent illumination. I've heard the springs get weak. Is it simply that ?

Graham

Reply to
Pooh Bear

"Shane Almeida" skrev i en meddelelse news:QNKdnUhQ_M5 snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com...

Naaah, you can always go to parking light + fog light. :o)

Reply to
Henrik B.

Not if I didn't have the dealer turn off the daytime running lights first.

Reply to
Shane Almeida

"Shane Almeida" skrev i en meddelelse news: snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com...

Aaaah yes? The daytime running lights are only "on", when the lightswitch is turned to "0".

Reply to
Henrik B.

The low beams are on when the switch is on 0, the low beams and parking lights are on when the switch is on P, and the low beams, parking lights, and brake lights are on when the switch is in the on position.

Reply to
Shane Almeida

In message , Pooh Bear writes

Over time the heat from the bulbs do cause the springs to become less springy and the bulb then starts to rattle in the housing making intermittent contact which leads to early bulb failure. My old 9000 used to eat headlight bulbs until I replaced the springs - easily sourced from your friendly neighbourhood Saab spares place.

Andy

Reply to
Andrew Sinclair

Thanks for your confirmation of my suspicion Andy.

I'll drop in there maybe later today even.

You don't have any advice as to how to replace the 'sidelight' too as well do you ? The owner's manual says take the plastic cover off the back of the headlight assembly and simply replace it. There appears to be some magic involved in doing this too ! I don't 'get' the way the bulb is fitted. I see no way to replace it when I have access. The fitting for the bulb doesn't appear to want to have anything to want to do with me. It doesn't budge.

Graham

Reply to
Pooh Bear

In message , Pooh Bear writes

Ah, you have me there - despite repeated bulb failures I never managed to figure out how to replace the sidelight bulbs - they usually got done at service (and I never asked my mechanic how he managed it).

No, I lie, I changed a side light bulb once by removing the headlamp glass and removing the bulb from the front - bayonet fit, twist and pull

- (this of course requires the whole of the headlamp assembly to be removed from the car). I was however replacing a broken headlamp glass so this was not too much trouble. Overkill I fear for replacing a bulb!

Andy

Reply to
Andrew Sinclair

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