'96 civic headlight replacement woes

on sunday night i came home from the auto parts store with my newly acquired set of silverstars. it's now tuesday, and i still can't get the damn stock headlights out. i don't have an owner's manual, but i do have a repair manual, which has been no help whatsoever. i know there was a similar thread on this subject a little while ago, but i've tried everything that was suggested short of taking out the whole headlight assembly, which i'd like to avoid if at all possible. my basic problem is this; i can't get the wiring harness/connector thing to pop out like it's supposed to, and i can't get the little rubber boot thing to come off either. is there a secret, or is there just something really obvious that i'm missing? if i need to take out the headlight assembly, what's the procedure for that? aargh! any help anyone could offer would be greatly appreciated.

this might be slightly off topic but maybe helpful none the less...

with racing in the SCCA you are required to have the "factory service manual" for any car that you race. I got the basic repair manual for the Miata at an Advance Autoparts store... that book was helpful, but when I got the actual factory service manual for the car straight from Mazda I was shocked at the knowledge that could be gained... the leve of detail on any repair no matter how large or small was amazing

I'm sure nearly the same thing is available for Hondas... might be a good investment if you want to know every last detail about the car you drive and how to work on it

:smile: It shouldn't be that much of an issue to change bulbs. You should be able just to squeeze the connector on either side to pop it off, then pull on the tabs for the rubber ring and then press the metal holding spring in and to the side to release. On the drivers side, you'll have to slide out the resevoir to get to everything. Just be sure when you put it all back together you put that rubber ring back on or you'll get all sorts of moisture in there. But I agree, the stock manual will show you how to do it. If you want me to send you a scan of those pages, let me know.:bigthumb:

Yeah, on 92-92 Civic's you just have to squeeze each side of the plug and it slides off.