Technical Front spot lights finally working + some other little jobs done

[BrianMcL]

Took advantage of some decent late Autumn sunshine today to finally get my front spots working - they've never worked since I bought the car, due them never actually having been connected!

Bit of a fiddle getting my hand in the small hatch but eventally got them connected up and working. And only 5 years after it left the forecourt.

Also cleaned out and disinfected the cabin filter which was full of gunk.

Cleaned out and lubricated the sunroof with halfords silicone lubricant which seems to have made a bit of a difference there too.

Lastly changed the passenger headlamp bulb but had to remove the washer bottle filler pipe to get the old one out.

Looking forward to seeing what kind of difference all of this makes.

 

[halilson]

I had to replace mine recently and they are a sod to get to! In the end I removed the front grill (2 min job) and accessed them from above. Much better but still not easy. From what I could see it's really a bumper off job.

 

[BrianMcL]

I can well understand why the dealer just couldn't be bothered taking it on themselves as it was a sod of a job.

I had a look at taking the grill and bumper off but in the end just squeezed my hand in and swore a lot.

Not that they make that much of a difference anyway.

Does anyone know what the rules are about when you are allowed to use them?

 

[halilson]

They are fog lights, not spot lights, so normal rules apply. I did try them in non foggy conditions a couple of times (to pick out the hedges on dark twisty Cornish lanes) but. as you say, they aren't much brighter than the normal headlights. So I just use them in poor visibility, as they were intended.
I needed better access because I couldn't get any leverage on the screwdriver! They are held in by 3 screws, one on each side and one underneath.

 

[BrianMcL]

That makes sense as they are good at lighting up the immediate verge and first 10 - 20 yards around the car but didn't seem to add anything much to even dipped beam at any sort of distance beyond that. Guess I'll just have to wait until it's foggy. Mind you out of everything I hate driving in fog the most.

 

[ginger kid]

Had to change one of my fog lights as a rabbit head butted mine at about 50 MPH. Bit fiddly but as well as opening small flap in undertray also took out the small grill piece just to side of fog light it meant i could get both hands in.

 

[BrianMcL]

I tried to see how they came out but couldn't quite get them to budge and didn't want to force them. What was the secret?