[urfankhaliq]

Hi all

So got a low beam bulb failure on the left side on my 2010 E90 (LCI I think).

Went to Halfords, got the bulb and they charge £9 to fit it, guy went in via the wheel arch and said it can't be done that way and the unit needs to come out from the top... Is that right?

[Silver Streek]

No the light unit does not need to come out.
Please never let Halfords touch your car.

My sister in law paid for them to change the rear brake light bulb in her Alfa Mito. To get to the cluster you have to pull the carpet back, but they guy there just pulled out his Stanley knife and slashed the carpet instead.

The headlight bulbs can be accessed from the inspection flap in the inner wing. It's not the easiest of places to reach but that's how it's done.

YouTube clip below for low beam bulb replacement, it's earlier than LCI but should be the same method.

I take it your car has halogens?

[Rich_D]

I just did mine from the top, no need to remove anything, just a bit tight / fiddly, but it's not as difficult as some cars I've changed bulbs on.

[urfankhaliq]

I popped in to my local mechanic yesterday and showed him as he was closing and he said its not a standard H7 bulb but a more costly one and will find out the price today and let me know...

[urfankhaliq]

Originally Posted by Rich_D

I just did mine from the top, no need to remove anything, just a bit tight / fiddly, but it's not as difficult as some cars I've changed bulbs on.

was yours the dipped beam light and if so what bulb did you use?

[urfankhaliq]

Originally Posted by Silver Streek

No the light unit does not need to come out.
Please never let Halfords touch your car.

My sister in law paid for them to change the rear brake light bulb in her Alfa Mito. To get to the cluster you have to pull the carpet back, but they guy there just pulled out his Stanley knife and slashed the carpet instead.

The headlight bulbs can be accessed from the inspection flap in the inner wing. It's not the easiest of places to reach but that's how it's done.

YouTube clip below for low beam bulb replacement, it's earlier than LCI but should be the same method.

I take it your car has halogens?

That seems to be pre LCI. Mine is slightly different. its this bulb marked on the photo..

[Rich_D]

Originally Posted by urfankhaliq

I popped in to my local mechanic yesterday and showed him as he was closing and he said its not a standard H7 bulb but a more costly one and will find out the price today and let me know...

Unless you have xenon headlamps, then for halogen headlamps they're H7 bulbs on for both dipped & full beam, same for LCI or pre-LCI. For cars with xenon headlamps they're D1S bulbs.

[Rich_D]

Originally Posted by urfankhaliq

was yours the dipped beam light and if so what bulb did you use?

I've done both dipped and main bulbs, but I am running Twenty20 Daylight +150 bulbs from ABD, which won the Autoexpress bulb test a couple of years ago when I bought them.

I've had Philips Racing Vision 150 in the past as well, also very good.

[Rich_D]

Originally Posted by urfankhaliq

That seems to be pre LCI. Mine is slightly different. its this bulb marked on the photo..

Yours are xenon headlights, so you need D1S bulbs.

https://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/d1...der_type=bulbs

[urfankhaliq]

Any idea if the bulb replacement is an easy diy job? Instructions anywhere I can use?

[335i54n]

its a pain, the bulb cover is extremely hard to remove without breaking the tabs. imo you have to remove the wheel and liner and be careful popping the bulb cover off. if you break a tab or the cover doesnt reseal well you end up with condensation inside the lens

[Rich_D]

As above it's trickier than replacing a halogen bulb, you do need to go from the wheel arch access flap for this, as there is less room at the top unfortunately.

Also replace xenon blubs in pairs, as they deteriorate over time and they'll be mismatched in terms of colour & brightness, plus the other side is probably not far behind failing either.

[Mikasa_e92]

If its anything like the Pre lci, you have to remove the wheel arch liner, since the cover for the d1s is screwed into place, not just tabs you can do by hand.
just did mine yesterday, you can do it with the wheel on, on the ground, but you need to take the arch liner off completely. its only about 5-6 screws tho.

you can get d1s bulbs from ECP, for like £50 each btw. i got phillips whitevision 5k ones.

[Andy198712]

I did mine recently, pretty sure I got the bulbs from Halfords on a trade card.
DS1

I took the wheel off and arch liner down. Just makes life easier and the bulbs are expensive and wanted to not fumble them.

The osram ones say you can replace singles and the new one will match the older one some how?!
Best to replace in pairs, I’m sure mine are brighter now too.

I’m
Sure the headlight cover is small torq bits.
Then a simple metal clip (you’ll work it out when you see it.) and an electric plug.

[Rich_D]

Xenon bulbs degrade over time, so new ones are always brighter and a slightly different colour, I always replace in pairs personally.

[Andy198712]

Mine started going a shade of purple/pink with the dash warming on and off over a day or two, think I paid about £70 for two? Osram ds1’s

[urfankhaliq]

Thanks all. Got the bulb replaced and all good. Reasonably priced at my local garage.