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Car Forum / Honda Cars / February 20092008' Accord, Changing headlight bulbs.
Hello: i would like to know is there a simple way to remove and install new 9006 bulbs in a 2008' Accord? > Hello: > i would like to know is there a simple way to remove and install new > 9006 bulbs in a 2008' Accord? Did you read the owner's manual?  Signature"Ubuntu" -- an African word, meaning "Slackware is too hard for me". The Usenet Improvement Project: http://improve-usenet.org Ahhhhhhh!: http://brandybuck.site40.net/pics/relieve.jpg >> Hello: >> i would like to know is there a simple way to remove and install new >> 9006 bulbs in a 2008' Accord? > > Did you read the owner's manual? That isn't normally an "owner's manual" thing though - it is more of a "service manual" thing. Owners have to know how to replace fuses in an emergency but headlights are considered a service shop deal. So... do you know how it is done? I don't, but here are some clues taken from my daughter's 1993: 1) Identify the bulb, There will probably be a low and a high beam bulb and perhaps a running or parking light bulb. Turn on the low beams and hold your hand in front of the lens on the opposite side so you can identify the socket. 2) (From here on a flashlight is helpful.) If the rear of the bulb, and the wiring, are accessible from the back proceed to the next step. If not, look to see if the assembly comes out easily. 3) Once you have access to the back of the bulb, look to see how the bulb is held in. If there is a collar around the bulb it will have to be turned CCW about a sixth of a turn or so. It may be very tight; I had to judiciously pry it around the first little bit with a screwdriver. Patience is the most important tool in the box! If there is no obvious ring, try turning the bulb CCW a sixth of a turn instead. Either way expect it to be tight - silicone spray is useful to get it loose. 4) Once you get the bulb loose lift it out to where you can most readily remove the socket from the base. There is a locking tab to pry up or press; look closely. Assembly is the reverse of disassembly. Do not touch the new bulb glass with your fingers - the oil from your skin can cause premature failure. A clean shop towel or non-lotion tissue is good. 5) It is recommended (I recommend it, anyway) that you replace the bulbs in pairs: do both sides. The second side won't be a mystery at least. Mike >>> Hello: >>> i would like to know is there a simple way to remove and install new [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > "service manual" thing. Owners have to know how to replace fuses in an > emergency but headlights are considered a service shop deal. Actually, the Owner's Manual goes into a great deal of detail on headlamp bulb replacement. <https://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/pubs/om/ATA520/ATA52008OMA.pdf> See page 329. SignatureTegger The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ www.tegger.com/hondafaq/ >>> Hello: >>> i would like to know is there a simple way to remove and install new [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > "service manual" thing. Owners have to know how to replace fuses in an > emergency but headlights are considered a service shop deal. Replacing a blown headlight isn't important enough to be done roadside like a fuse? It's covered in my owners manual. > Replacing a blown headlight isn't important enough to be done roadside > like a fuse? No - most people carry spare fuses but not spare headlights or other lights. After all, you have two headlights but many fuses have no mate. If you are carrying spare lights you probably already know how to change them. If you are carrying spare HID lights you probably are in a whole different league ;-) > It's covered in my owners manual. So I'm told. I am very surprised; I've never seen it in any owner's manual I have had.... but I stand corrected. Mike > So I'm told. I am very surprised; > I've never seen it in any owner's manual I have had.... but I stand > corrected. You need to open the manual first to see it in there... ;-) I saw the head light replacement info in ALL of my user manuals. Camry 1995, Sentra 1994, Accord 2004 - what cars did you drive before? >> So I'm told. I am very surprised; >> I've never seen it in any owner's manual I have had.... but I stand [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > I saw the head light replacement info in ALL of my user manuals. > Camry 1995, Sentra 1994, Accord 2004 - what cars did you drive before? 1984 Nissan (no owner's manual with it when I bought it) and more recently a 1985 Volvo 765T. I know for positive it had nothing in the manual for changing the headlights beyond "replace in pairs" because although the car has gone to salvage the manual is still here. The headlight replacement is something I did on vacation once, but only because I had to. Remove the grill, remove the headlight bezel, remove the retaining clamp, replace the sealed beam, reverse the procedure. The Nissan was about the same - something you don't want to do in the dark. Ditto with my daughter's '93 Accord - it was tough enough with a screwdriver, silicone spray and plenty of light. The right lamp required removing the coolant reservoir, too. Mike >>> So I'm told. I am very surprised; >>> I've never seen it in any owner's manual I have had.... but I stand [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > screwdriver, silicone spray and plenty of light. The right lamp required > removing the coolant reservoir, too. We've made great strides here in the 21st century... You should try joining it. Signature"Ubuntu" -- an African word, meaning "Slackware is too hard for me". The Usenet Improvement Project: http://improve-usenet.org Ahhhhhhh!: http://brandybuck.site40.net/pics/relieve.jpg >>> You need to open the manual first to see it in there... ;-) I saw the >>> head light replacement info in ALL of my user manuals. Camry 1995, [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > We've made great strides here in the 21st century... You should try > joining it. The Volvo and Nissan had glass headlight lenses - sealed beams, you know - not plastic (see TeGGeR's apt comment in this thread). >>>> You need to open the manual first to see it in there... ;-) I saw the >>>> head light replacement info in ALL of my user manuals. Camry 1995, [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > The Volvo and Nissan had glass headlight lenses - sealed beams, you know > - not plastic (see TeGGeR's apt comment in this thread). Yes, I know. My point was that the method for changing headlight bulbs has changed since the mid-80's/early 90's that you're talking about. You might find it easier now, if you were to get a car of less than 16 years old... Signature"Ubuntu" -- an African word, meaning "Slackware is too hard for me". The Usenet Improvement Project: http://improve-usenet.org Ahhhhhhh!: http://brandybuck.site40.net/pics/relieve.jpg >>> We've made great strides here in the 21st century... You should try >>> joining it. >>> >> The Volvo and Nissan had glass headlight lenses - sealed beams, you know >> - not plastic (see TeGGeR's apt comment in this thread). (Oops - a different thread) > Yes, I know. My point was that the method for changing headlight bulbs > has changed since the mid-80's/early 90's that you're talking about. You > might find it easier now, if you were to get a car of less than 16 years > old... Simpler, but not necessarily easier. Capsule lamps are often a wrestling match to change - one my old fingers have an increasingly tough time with - unless they fail prematurely, as the OP's did. And newer cars are at least as likely to need something removed to get to the bulb. The last lights I changed (in my daughter's Chevy) required removing the light assembly, and that car is a 2004. Her Accord uses capsule lamps that are a booger to change because the plastic is no longer willing to move. Other than styling, I don't know why sealed beams fell out of favor. They had no problems with condensation, lens clouding or reflector deterioration. The lamps themselves were only slightly more expensive than capsule lamps and I never heard of them getting into the mysterious premature failure problems that occasionally crop up with capsule lamps. I have seen several threads complaining of lifetimes of only a few months - sometimes on one side, sometimes on both sides - and I have never seen a solution. I remember my mother having cars that took headlamp bulbs back in the '50s... this seems like another step backward. Mike > >>> We've made great strides here in the 21st century... You should try > >>> joining it. [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > > Mike Sealed beams are indeed a better way to go. I am facing a complete front bumper removal to deal with the massive amount of condensation on my 98 Civic. What a pain in the arse! I wish it were as easy as my 87 Accord. > Other than styling, I don't know why sealed beams fell out of favor. Sealed beams had low output and poor beam distribution. Sealed beams were state-of-the-art for 1940. Problem is, by 1980 they were still state-of-the-art for 1940. No other country on earth except the US was forced by its government to install 1940 headlamps on cars made forty years later. Sealing technology in 1940 was crude, to say the least. It was very difficult back then to properly seal the rear of the headlamp from moisture, especially considering the rear of the headlamp was fully exposed to road splash. Sealed beams were an attempt at alleviating this problem through the simple device of making the back of the reflector permanently, well, sealed. There is absolutely no reason why a sealed beam lamp cannot have the very same lens, reflector and bulb as a replaceable-bulb lamp. In fact, the earliest sealed beams actually /did/ have an entire ordinary bulb "sealed" into the reflector. However, sealed beams were solely a US government imposition. Nobody else in the world thought they were worth imposing, so the entire world's stock of sealed beams ended up conforming to US law. That's why they're all so crappy. The US did eventually (about 1981 or so) allow halogen sealed beams with output and beam pattern closely matching regular sealed beams. These eventually were suppplanted by the new aero lamps. Replaceable-bulb lamps that conformed to the two standard round and rectangular sizes were widely available all over the world for decades (except in the US, where they were prohibited). What changed everything was the advent of "aerodynamic" styling, lower hoodlines and ever-more crowded engine bays. It's this that makes those bulbs so damned difficult to get to. Also, bulbs last quite a lot longer than they used to, so there's much less need these days to be able to get to the rear of the lamp assembly. > They had no problems with condensation, lens clouding Lens clouding is another fact of government regulation. Apparently the safety nuts thought broken plastic presented less of a hazard than broken glass to the pedestrian who gets run over by a car. The NHTSA requires that plastic lenses must have an epoxy coating that resists abrasion. It's this epoxy which clouds and yellows. How often have you seen cars with yellowed headlamps, but the marker lamps right next to them are crystal clear? > or reflector > deterioration. Moisture-caused reflector deterioration was the primary reason the old separate-bulb lamps were outlawed. > The lamps themselves were only slightly more expensive > than capsule lamps and I never heard of them getting into the [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > that took headlamp bulbs back in the '50s... this seems like another > step backward. Sealed beams were made mandatory for the 1940 model year in the US. Prior to that, every car used replaceable bulbs. SignatureTegger The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ www.tegger.com/hondafaq/ "What changed everything was the advent of "aerodynamic" styling, lower hoodlines and ever-more crowded engine bays. It's this that makes those bulbs so damned difficult to get to. Also, bulbs last quite a lot longer than they used to, so there's much less need these days to be able to get to the rear of the lamp assembly." Here's the big problem with those replaceable halogen bulbs: they tend to fail in Winter, which is the same time that people in colder climates find that the plastic is too stiff to flex properly. Add that to the general inconvenience of working on a car outdoors or in an unheated garage in Winter, and the fact that you have to worry about getting even a tiny bit of skin oil or engine bay grease on the bulb while maneuvering it into place, and you have people like Michael (and, often, me) wishing for the days of sealed beams again. > "What changed everything was the advent of "aerodynamic" styling, lower > hoodlines and ever-more crowded engine bays. It's this that makes those [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > while maneuvering it into place, and you have people like Michael (and, > often, me) wishing for the days of sealed beams again. What you're wishing for is not specifically sealed beams. You want lens/reflector assemblies that can be easily removed towards the front so the bulbs are easier to get at. Hey, here's an idea I think is a wonderful one: Arrange the lamps such that you'd undo a couple of clips and the lamp assembly would slide out towards the front and off the car. Maybe mount the electrical connector such that seating the lamp all the way home automatically reconnects it. Bulb replacement then would be, as the British say, a doddle. This would be even easier than the old sealed-beam mounting method, and would also allow continued use of aerodynamic lamps. SignatureTegger The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ www.tegger.com/hondafaq/ >> So I'm told. I am very surprised; >> I've never seen it in any owner's manual I have had.... but I stand [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > I saw the head light replacement info in ALL of my user manuals. > Camry 1995, Sentra 1994, Accord 2004 - what cars did you drive before? I've just had a look at two old Owner's Manuals I have: The 1975 Toyota Corolla (7" round sealed beams), and the 1981 Corolla (large rectangular sealed beams). The '75 manual describes -- both in text and pictures -- headlamp replacement. The '81 manual mentions the headlamps not at all. Weird, huh? SignatureTegger The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ www.tegger.com/hondafaq/ >>> i would like to know is there a simple way to remove and install new >>> 9006 bulbs in a 2008' Accord? >> Did you read the owner's manual? > That isn't normally an "owner's manual" thing though - it is more of a > "service manual" thing. Owners have to know how to replace fuses in an > emergency but headlights are considered a service shop deal. Ummmmm... it's been in the manual for every car I've ever owned, Honda or otherwise. A "service shop deal" to replace a headlight bulb? Are you kidding? Signature"Ubuntu" -- an African word, meaning "Slackware is too hard for me". The Usenet Improvement Project: http://improve-usenet.org Ahhhhhhh!: http://brandybuck.site40.net/pics/relieve.jpg >>>> i would like to know is there a simple way to remove and install new >>>> 9006 bulbs in a 2008' Accord? [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > otherwise. A "service shop deal" to replace a headlight bulb? Are you > kidding? I've read every manual for every car I've owned (and had the manual for) and never saw anything but the recommendation to replace them in pairs - no kidding! I stand corrected for the Honda. Mike >>>> i would like to know is there a simple way to remove and install new >>>> 9006 bulbs in a 2008' Accord? [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > otherwise. A "service shop deal" to replace a headlight bulb? Are you > kidding? Headlight replacement being a "service shop deal" made me do a double-take as well. Today I took my wife's Accord in for tire balance and rotation. During the half-hour that I was there, I was really surprised to see two different able-bodied men bring their vehicles in for an air check! I always figured that only ladies or disabled men were taking advantage of that service. Go figure.... > Headlight replacement being a "service shop deal" made me do a double-take > as well. OTOH, a lot of people take their cars for oil changes and I am always surprised how few do their own brakes. I changed the headlights in my daughter's other car, a 2004 Malibu (her husband is now the main driver of the Honda [eek!]). I didn't look to see if the procedure was in the owner's manual (I am not the owner) but it was in the Chilton's. First step: remove the bolts that hold the light assembly to access the bulbs. Last step: re-aim the headlights. My wife would change fuses but would never wrestle with headlights, on the road or in the garage. If she didn't have a mechanic at home she would take it to a shop. The headlights in her Prius are like those in the Malibu: inaccessible until the headlight assembly is removed. There are indeed instructions in the owner's manual - three pages of them. Well, I'll be! Mike >> Headlight replacement being a "service shop deal" made me do a >> double-take as well. [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > Mike I think older cars didn't have instructions in the manual because the replacement of those sealed beams was so easy and obvious. The ones I did, on several cars, required removing 3 or 4 screws on the rim, popping a new bulb in the socket, and replacing the rim and screws. I'm no ace mechanic, but I didn't really need to look that one up. As for the sealed beam topic, I think the newer lights are much brighter and more efficient, and to build them into sealed beams would be significantly more expensive than making them in pieces as they now do. mg |
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