Technical Headlight Clip

[koopamaniac]

Hi all,
I tried replacing a headlight today and broke off the clip/latch that holds the retaining spring and bulb in place.

Went back to Halfords to see if they could do anything; they won't touch it and advised I'd need a whole new headlight unit.

Does anyone have any suggestions if theres another way to fix it? My biggest worry is the bulb coming loose or sitting at an angle if I hit a speedbump.

 

[PuntoHowTo]

Hi all,
I tried replacing a headlight today and broke off the clip/latch that holds the retaining spring and bulb in place.

Went back to Halfords to see if they could do anything; they won't touch it and advised I'd need a whole new headlight unit.

Does anyone have any suggestions if theres another way to fix it? My biggest worry is the bulb coming loose or sitting at an angle if I hit a speedbump.

I can't really picture what you have broken. would be better if you could post a picture, that being said while halfords guys are well known for have about a much training as your average school student, if they say it needs a new headlight, they might just be correct, as most of what's there is either a metal spring or plastic which forms part of the headlight.

 

[koopamaniac]

I was having a hard time explaining, so yeah a photo would have helped

This is from the nearside that I haven't broken. Its a piece of metal that has an arm which keeps the spring up and holds the bulb in place.

I've seen a couple other threads that suggest using a screw or just packing with paper, but these seem a bit risky.

 

[PuntoHowTo]

I was having a hard time explaining, so yeah a photo would have helped

This is from the nearside that I haven't broken. Its a piece of metal that has an arm which keeps the spring up and holds the bulb in place.

I've seen a couple other threads that suggest using a screw or just packing with paper, but these seem a bit risky.

You could pack it with paper if you want a fire, those bulbs can get extremely hot.

Honestly I would be looking on eBay for a new headlight, you could probably make up some sort of repair if you fudged around with it, but you’d probably still need to take the headlight out for better access, so you might as well just replace it