Styling Help! Fiat 500 daytime running lights. (Drl's)

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Styling Help! Fiat 500 daytime running lights. (Drl's)

My car has the standard 15" wheels but I can only just about touch the holder with the wheels at full lock. Think my hands are about average size. Will try it with some long nosed pliers.
Yep. I couldn't get any further than touching it with the tips of my fingers. If I don't jack up the car, it's almost impossible.

Without the wheel off, I cannot see in and I cannot remove the holder.

With the wheel off, you can see inside and see what you're doing .......... plus you can get your hands in there. Still not simple, but you can do it.

For the short time it takes to jack up and take the wheel off, it's worth it.

Thanks,
Mick.
 
How can you not see the bulb holder?!?!??!?!

I just went outside and managed to remove my DRL bulb and put it back in. All with the wheel on AND my car lowered by 20 or 30mm at the front. Taking the wheel off turns a simple one or two minute job into something far more complicated than it needs to be. Just because you're going to twist this, I also changed the bulbs back when my car wasn't lowered as well. My car also has 16" wheels with 195 wide tyres.

It is made easier by having a look at what's under there, then putting your hand up blind and then observing through the front lens. Just turn the holder clockwise (as seen from the back of the car to the front, I'm pretty sure it was clockwise.....) and gingerly pull the bulb out so as to not pull the bulb out of the holder accidentally.

Just because you can't do it Mick, doesn't mean that it can't be done and to tell people to take their wheels off for no real reason.

You'll need to use your fingertips, you won't get a thumb in there, but it doesn't need much force, so it's not too hard
 
Whilst this subject has come up, can I please appeal to all of those who have their DRL's activated, to remember to put dipped beam on when going out first thing in the morning now the mornings have got darker, especially on the motorway!

As someone who drives in excess of 40k miles per year and from my experiences over the last couple of mornings joing the M1 at 6 in the morning, far too many people merrily chugging along with no rear lights showing, seemingly fooled by the fact their instrument/dash cluster is fully illuminated. And today has been particularly bad with the horrendous amount of rain we've had today, seen far too many people almost get slammed in the rear end because they've got no rear lights showing, just driving with DRL's.

Trust me, it aint funny! :bang:


This applies to those even without DRLs TBH. They're all as bad as each other IMO.
 
to be fair if it's that rainy then people should slow down so that they can slow stop within the distance they can see.
 
Sadly, far too many of the people I see on the M1 during my 500 miles a week transiting it, have little concept of slowing down in appalling weather. This is the problem when there are so few traffic cops left to look out for this sort of thing.

Sadly, it's not just poor lighting etiquette from those with and without DRL's that we are facing. Just a couple of weeks back, this happened:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-34516827

I transit that section of the M1 five days a week. On more than one occasion in the last 12 months, I've seen the motorway matrix boards flashing 'ONCOMING VEHICLE' You don't want to see that :eek:
 
How can you not see the bulb holder?!?!??!?!

I just went outside and managed to remove my DRL bulb and put it back in. All with the wheel on AND my car lowered by 20 or 30mm at the front. Taking the wheel off turns a simple one or two minute job into something far more complicated than it needs to be. Just because you're going to twist this, I also changed the bulbs back when my car wasn't lowered as well. My car also has 16" wheels with 195 wide tyres.

It is made easier by having a look at what's under there, then putting your hand up blind and then observing through the front lens. Just turn the holder clockwise (as seen from the back of the car to the front, I'm pretty sure it was clockwise.....) and gingerly pull the bulb out so as to not pull the bulb out of the holder accidentally.

Just because you can't do it Mick, doesn't mean that it can't be done and to tell people to take their wheels off for no real reason.

You'll need to use your fingertips, you won't get a thumb in there, but it doesn't need much force, so it's not too hard
How can I not?

Maybe you are not me.
Maybe you are you, and can do it.
Maybe you are not me?

I cannot do it.
Maybe you have long slender fingers, but some of us do not?
Maybe you're car is different in some way, or maybe where your car is parked is different in some way?

I cannot get my fingers into ours. Maybe you can get your fingers into ours.
Please come down to Cornwall and show me.

Thanks,
Mick.
 
Yes, my car is different, it's got wider wheels and is lower l, so it should be even more difficult to change the DRL bulb on.

Why not for once just step off your high horse and consider that maybe your opinion is not the be all and end all and that it somehow invalidates the opinions of many others who have practical experience that suggests otherwise.

Yours contrarily

Daniel
 
It's not me on a high horse.

I'm trying to be helpful, and you aren't helping at all, just saying that you can do it and wondering why others cannot.

Yours HELPFULLY,
Mick.
 
Yes, my car is different, it's got wider wheels and is lower l, so it should be even more difficult to change the DRL bulb on.

Why not for once just step off your high horse and consider that maybe your opinion is not the be all and end all and that it somehow invalidates the opinions of many others who have practical experience that suggests otherwise.

Yours contrarily

Daniel

Most jobs are much easier once you know how to do them.

It's certainly possible to change the DRL's with the wheels in-situ, though you will be working largely by feel. When you're working out how to do it, removing the wheel improves access and means you can use your eyes as well as your hands. It also makes it easier to be certain everything is replaced securely. An additional benefit is that you can also check the pad thickness while you're down there.

Some folks like working with plenty of access and remove extra stuff that may not be strictly necessary to get the job done*; others prefer to disturb as little as possible and work like a gynecologist. Both ways of working are perfectly valid; there's no right or wrong, but someone doing this job for the first time will probably find it easier to remove the roadwheel.

Which itself only takes a few minutes, once you've done it a few times ;).

*myself included; for example, I'll remove the coil pack before working on the plugs, which takes seconds and significantly improves access to a rather awkward part of the engine (on the 1.2).
 
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I just object to people saying "it cannot be done" without removing the wheel.

You're turning what is an easy if fiddly task into one which people will now not do because they think they need to take the wheel off.

I posted a method that makes sense, why not give it a go that way rather than sending people on a 100 mile roundtrip when leisurely stroll around the corner will do?
 
For what it's worth maxi as I know you couldn't give a stuffed fig for much of what I have to say, but I do get what you're saying. My problem when I tried to look at swapping a DRL bulb on one of our old 500's, was I had to take a wheel off because I've got hands bigger than David Seaman and so I had zero chance of getting my fat chubby sausage fingers in there anyway :D

That's why I cursed so badly when trying to change the pollen filter on these cars, such a stupid place to put them on a right hand drive car and virtually impossible to get one's bloody fingers in there unless you've got hands the size of a Barbie Doll.
 
For what it's worth maxi as I know you couldn't give a stuffed fig for much of what I have to say, but I do get what you're saying. My problem when I tried to look at swapping a DRL bulb on one of our old 500's, was I had to take a wheel off because I've got hands bigger than David Seaman and so I had zero chance of getting my fat chubby sausage fingers in there anyway :D

That's why I cursed so badly when trying to change the pollen filter on these cars, such a stupid place to put them on a right hand drive car and virtually impossible to get one's bloody fingers in there unless you've got hands the size of a Barbie Doll.
yeah an absolute mess to change it i just go to the garage i do all my stuff and make them do it. I did it during the service so they only charged me a lightbulb as it was intermittently going on and off so i figured what a good time to change it.
 
I just object to people saying "it cannot be done" without removing the wheel.

You're turning what is an easy if fiddly task into one which people will now not do because they think they need to take the wheel off.

I posted a method that makes sense, why not give it a go that way rather than sending people on a 100 mile roundtrip when leisurely stroll around the corner will do?
You may object, but it's true non-the-less.

If you can do it, good on you and I'm very pleased for you.
Personally, I could not, even though I tried.

Maybe other folk are blessed with your dexterity and talents, but I can assure you that there are some other folk who aren't.

By removing the wheel, everybody can do it.

Regards,
Mick.
 
You may object, but it's true non-the-less.

If you can do it, good on you and I'm very pleased for you.
Personally, I could not, even though I tried.

Maybe other folk are blessed with your dexterity and talents, but I can assure you that there are some other folk who aren't.

By removing the wheel, everybody can do it.

Regards,
Mick.

And nobody will want to do it.....
 
Nobody?

That's a rather sweeping statement.
I think you mean "some people" may not want to do it.

It's not helpful for someone like you to suggest that it can be done without taking the wheel off. Yes, it "can" be done, but that doesn't make it do-able for everyone. I'm suggesting that to take the wheel off, it can be done more easily.

You obviously don't agree.
It doesn't do for everybody to agree with everybody, does it? :D
You speak from experience, and I speak from experience too.

TTFN
Mick.
 
I've tried several times, wheel on and wheel off, and still can't get it. At least I've had practice jacking the car and removing the wheel under controlled conditions - never know when you might have to do it roadside in the rain.
 
I've tried several times, wheel on and wheel off, and still can't get it. At least I've had practice jacking the car and removing the wheel under controlled conditions - never know when you might have to do it roadside in the rain.
I did mine by following the guide on here.
https://www.fiatforum.com/500-guides/314566-500-front-light-bulbs-change.html
I've just tried to do our full beam H1's.
I gave up! :mad:

Thanks very much indeed for your excellent guide and photographs, so I knew exactly what to do ..........................

Except that we have wide tyres (185 55R15) on alloys, and there was no way I could see into the housing well enough. I got the outer cover off easily enough and the inner round cover off too, but I couldn't see in sufficiently well to see what I was doing. Yes, I turned the steering to full lock.

The best way to do it, would be to take the wheels off. Maybe jacking the front up high might do it instead??

Too cold out there to carry on into the late afternoon, and the light is failing (Dec 30th), so I've given up and opened a beer. :)

Next time, I'll try jacking up as far as I can to see if when the wheel drops, it gives more room. Other than that, it's take the wheels off, but that seems like overkill just to change a bulb.

Thanks for the guide. Well written and easily followed.

Regards,
Mick.

Just to say that I've replaced the full beam H1 bulbs, and my hands don't seem too scarred! There's not much room in there for chunky masculine hands. :)

I jacked up the front, turned the wheel to full lock, and although I could see better, I couldn't see well enough for a newbie, so I took the wheel off.

With the front jacked up and the wheel removed, I could see very easily.

If and when I have to get into that compartment again, I reckon just jacking up would be enough as I'm familiar with the "feel" of it now.

Thanks again, and Happy New Year!
Mick.
 
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