General Changing Passenger Side Lightbulb - How?

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General Changing Passenger Side Lightbulb - How?

liamandagnieszka

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Hi Folks,

Have had my little 1.1 2005 Panda since June of last year and absolutely love it. Not being terribly happy with my light bulbs I bought some recently with the intention of changing them over. I went out last night to do that, thinking it'd be a five minute job but how wrong I was.
How- on earth, do you get access to the rear of the passenger side headlight compartment? I can't find any information online and all the videos are for the Punto which seems to be different. I undid one bolt on the top of the compartment and had to take off the front grill to access a second bolt. There seems to be a third holding it in place but I couldn't see it.

Please tell me it's not a case of having to take off the bumper to change the light bulb?

Many thanks.
 
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It takes small hands and a lot of cursing. You need to remove the back from the light unit to change the bulb. First time I changed one, it took 5 minutes to remove the back and replace the bulb. It then took an hour of cursing trying to get the back cover on again. There is a little bit that juts out which needs to go into a hole at the right hand side and it almost had me worn down and pulling my hair out by the end.
 
Third bolt is between light and wing, you need to remove the wheel arch liner unless you can find some way of getting an arm between the front of the wheelarch and the rear of the bumper.

Some people manage to change the bulb with the light still in place. Long flexible fingers, patience and moderate pain threshold seems to be the key to getting the cover off, then remembering to pull the connector off while the bulb is still fastened, being ridiculously careful not to touch the glass of the new bulb on anything, reconnecting the wire, and still having the commitment/stubbornness/professionalism to refit the cover properly without torching the car.

Or, you can manoeuvre the light unit out by undoing the 3 bolts and patiently wiggling the light unit until it squeezes past the bumper. Taking the nearest 2 of the 3 top bolts out of the bumper help it to flex a bit more. I've only done this on warm days though. Not sure how flexible the bumper is when cold.

Other people take the bumper off.

Haven't found the easiest way yet.
 
If it's the same as mine (I changed mine a few days ago) undo the metal clip and then wiggle the backing plastic plate off towards the radiator,avoiding the headlight adjuster...the bit wee smurf was talking about ..(the dip in the plastic plate,at the top allows for it).I then pulled on the wires to remove the side light (It's a pull out fitting).
Try doing the drivers side first (more room,plus you learn how it fits)

Tomsk
 
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Third bolt is between light and wing, you need to remove the wheel arch liner unless you can find some way of getting an arm between the front of the wheelarch and the rear of the bumper.

Some people manage to change the bulb with the light still in place. Long flexible fingers, patience and moderate pain threshold seems to be the key to getting the cover off, then remembering to pull the connector off while the bulb is still fastened, being ridiculously careful not to touch the glass of the new bulb on anything, reconnecting the wire, and still having the commitment/stubbornness/professionalism to refit the cover properly without torching the car.

Or, you can manoeuvre the light unit out by undoing the 3 bolts and patiently wiggling the light unit until it squeezes past the bumper. Taking the nearest 2 of the 3 top bolts out of the bumper help it to flex a bit more. I've only done this on warm days though. Not sure how flexible the bumper is when cold.

Other people take the bumper off.

Haven't found the easiest way yet.

I think I'd probably pay someone to do it for me rather than go through that method!

On the bright side, the driver side isn't quite as bad.
 
Passenger side is easy,just do drivers side first and then shrink hands for off-side (says me 6 foot 4 inches :( )


Tomsk
 
Passenger side is easy,just do drivers side first and then shrink hands for off-side (says me 6 foot 4 inches :( )


Tomsk

Height is probably a good thing. I had to stand on a wee stool to see better (5' 2"). Another recommendation from me would be a head torch to see what you're aiming for.
 
Wee Smurf's headtorch is a great idea.
I couldn't do it without a good led inspection light. Headtorch is better.
 
Wee Smurf's headtorch is a great idea.
I couldn't do it without a good led inspection light. Headtorch is better.

It's good to have little scouts in the family! Bought for camp, come in handy for other things...
 
They're not nearly as bad as the H7's on a Stilo. Dealer wanted 45 minutes paid for the right side and 75 :)eek:) minutes for the left one.
After much practice (they blew ever 3-4 months) I could switch both in 30 minutes (with some swearing and scratches).
The H4's on a Panda can both be done in under 15 minutes:D.

For the swearing I always advise the threelettermantra (that would be four in English;)). Like Pitt, Ship, Hunt, Kick, Duck...:rolleyes:

gr J
 
For the swearing I always advise the threelettermantra (that would be four in English;)). Like Pitt, Ship, Hunt, Kick, Duck...:rolleyes:

gr J

4 letter words may not be enough... last time I think I may have invented a whole new language. Then again, I do have big hands and arthritis.
 
Thanks for all the advice folks. I had actually gotten the driver side changed in just a few minutes and thought it'd be the same again for the passenger side. I was doing it in low light so I'll wait until the weekend and give it a go again when I have some decent light.

I'll report back on whether it was successful or whether I threw something through the windscreen.
 
hardest part is getting the bayonet to twist into the headlight
if you have asbestos fingers put the sidelight on to help you find the hole
make sure cover goes back on properly or you will get constipation in the light fitting
 
So I had 'Fran'.... my wife's choice of name, not mine, in for a service yesterday. I needed a general service and two new tyres. While there I asked him how much it'd cost to install the light bulbs I had bought and planned to install myself. Cue a very puzzled look on his face. I went about explaining that the fuse box blocked the headlight housing on the passenger side and that all signs pointed to the bumper needing to be taken off. He wasn't convinced.

Towards the end of the day got a text as normal telling me that the service was done, tyres fitted and..... bulbs fitted without the bumper needing to come off. I'm not sure how he managed it as he has shovels for hands!
 
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