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Old 11-06-2006, 08:51 PM   #2
norbe
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Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Dracut, Massachusetts
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Re: Healdight / fog light change

I realize it is quite late to response to your question. Hope you changed the bulbs already. For other owner's benefit, just want to post this. I just went through replacing my headlight bulbs on my 2000 LHS. The instruction in the owners manual is not quite complete.

Plan on about 15-20 minutes to do the job, may be more. After 7 years, both headlight bulbs were so dim, I changed them both at the same time, plus both parking and directional lights. So, while you are at it, replace all the bulbs. You don't want to redo this procedure again to replace another bulb a few months later!

In order to change the bulbs, you have to remove the headlight housing. To remove the headlight housing, you have to roll out the plastic facial (bumper cover). At the top of the facial, there are 3 push pin fasteners. Pop those with a small flat screw driver. At the front of the front wheel well, remove the rubber plug on the access hole. It helps if you turn the wheel to one side. Reach in through the access hole, use a long extension (may need to stack a couple of extensions) and a 10mm deep socket to remove the nut inside. You can see the nut with the hood opened and shine a flash light inside the fender. Make sure you put some tape in the socket to make a snug fit to the nut, so that the nut will come out with the socket after you loosen it, without dropping it inside the fender. At the edge of the wheel well, there is an indentation, with a hex screw going up, that holds the facial to the fender. Remove that screw. This screw is not mentioned in the instruction in the owners manual. Do the same on the other side of the car, removing the 10mm nut and the hex screw. Now you can pull the facial off the car. You don't remove the facial, just pull it off and roll it out far enough to remove the headlight housing.

There are two hex screws holding the headlight housing to the brace bar on the top of the housing. The two hex screws are about 6 or 7 inches long. Once the facial is pulled back and the two light housing screws are removed, you can then remove the headlight housing to replace the light bulbs.

To replace the parking light, you need to remove the plastic tube that the long screw goes through. Remove the metal clip that holds the tube in place by using a small screw driver to lift up the locking catch to remove the tube.

One thing you need to know. The low beam is the 9006, with the 90 degree socket. The Sylvania guide listed the straight one. That is wrong. I got the wrong one based on the guide at the store. Had to make another trip to exchange them. There is not enough room for the straight one. Make sure it is the 90 degree one. For $4 more per bulb. I bought the Silverstar instead. They are brighter. The high beam is the 9005XS, the one with the straight socket.

I have not done the fog light yet. Looks pretty straight forward, only one screw that holds the fog light housing to the facial. The owners manual listed the bulb as H3, but the service manual listed it as 9040, the Sylvania replacement guide also listed that as 9040. Not sure if they are the same.

Have fun.

Norbe
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