Headlamp Bulbs

[Jamie]

Both my dipped beam bulbs have gone, within a week of each other (just short of the first MOT.

Short of enlisting the aid of a double jointed contortionist with very thin arms and long fingers, I can't for the life of me figure out how to get at the bulbs to change them!

Do the headlights need to come out?

The handbook is none too helpful on this!

Am I being a bit thick and can anyone help?

[Oliver]

A copy of part of my message in C3 \ PROBLEMS AND FIXES \ SENSODRIVE CLUTCH JUDDER - PAGE 2

'Has anyone tried to change a headlamp bulb yet?
Offside is just about manageable with a torch and mirror to see in reverse what you are trying to do and I'm thankfull that I didn't have to change the nearside bulb.(looks like you need to remove other things to get at the rear of the headlamp) For those old enough to remember the childrens' programme, you need arms like Twizzle (and a lot of patience with the clipping)'

Looks like this is a common DIY repair problem.
It all fits very nicely if you are assembling the vehicle in sequence in the factory, but to access certain areas afterwards for maintenance is almost impossible.
It should be obvious to Citroen that certain jobs like replacing bulbs are done by the owner so why do they make it so difficult.

Soon after I had my car I had to replace a stop / tail bulb - this was easy enough compared to the headlight bulb but, as an aside, the plastic clip in cover that you have to take out to access the screws is manufactured out of ABS (probably) which is totally the wrong material for a removeable / replaceable click-in cap. The clip legs distort and break as you try to prise it out. The cost to manufacture the cap out of an appropriate material would probably be insignificant.
Someone somewhere in this site said that to be fair to Citroen they've only been designing and making cars for 100 years !!

Regards,

Oliver

[Jamie]

Thanks for the reply, Oliver.

I asked my dealer for advice and they said only two of their mechanics were able to do the job without removing the headlamp units and neither of them were on duty yesterday.
They did do the job for me at a total cost of £34 inc VAT.

Another wonderful piece of "keep the dealers in work" design.

I feel a letter to Citroen coming on, but it will probably be a waste of time.

[pork_pie]

Think that is bad?

Some Citroen models - you have to remove the front bumper to acess the light bulbs.

Cost? £50 + vat.

Makes you want to save hurting them bulbs.

Drive in the dark.

[Jamie]

[quote name='pork_pie' date='Mar 29 2005, 10:46 PM'] Think that is bad?

Some Citroen models - you have to remove the front bumper to acess the light bulbs.

Cost? £50 + vat.

Makes you want to save hurting them bulbs.

Drive in the dark. [/quote]
I think that's what they may have done with mine!

And they've screwed up the beam adjustment, so another visit pending! :blink:

[Guest mart]

Both my dipped beam bulbs have gone, within a week of each other (just short of the first MOT.

 

Short of enlisting the aid of a double jointed contortionist with very thin arms and long fingers, I can't for the life of me figure out how to get at the bulbs to change them!

 

Do the headlights need to come out?

 

The handbook is none too helpful on this!

 

Am I being a bit thick and can anyone help?

 

 

It can be done although its not easy feel your way in then press in the two sides of the bulb retaining clip then pull it down you can then take out the lamp I had to take a pic with a digi cam to see whats in there be warned if you pull the clip off completely ....took me about 2hours to get it back on!!

[seefive]

It can be done although its not easy feel your way in then press in the two sides of the bulb retaining clip then pull it down you can then take out the lamp I had to take a pic with a digi cam to see whats in there be warned if you pull the clip off completely ....took me about 2hours to get it back on!!

 

Took mine to Halfords for a nearside bulb. No hassle - £5 fitting charge and 5 minutes. And he wasted a bulb by touching it and had to get another at no cost to me. Bulb cost about £4 I think.

[myglaren]

Took mine to Halfords for a nearside bulb. No hassle - £5 fitting charge and 5 minutes. And he wasted a bulb by touching it and had to get another at no cost to me. Bulb cost about £4 I think.

 

I have just had mine to Halfords, mainly as I was on the estate looking for a new cooker.

I saw when I filled up yesterday that the driver's side headlight was out and wasn't happy as the nearside (easy one!) proved iposible for me to fit correctl. Got the bulb in place but the retaining clip defeated me.

 

I asked if they could do it and they said it was no problem. Drove round the back and waited. After twenty minutes went back into the store to discover that I had been forgotten. Anyway, the lad had the bulb in in only a few minutes, once we had managed to get the plastic cover out of the way.

£13.98 including fitting.

 

Seems to be simple enough if you are double jointed and have the arms and hands of a five year old, or better yet tentacles with eyes on the end. :rolleyes:

[proinnsias]

Think that is bad?

 

Some Citroen models - you have to remove the front bumper to acess the light bulbs.

 

Cost? £50 + vat.

 

Makes you want to save hurting them bulbs.

 

Drive in the dark.

 

Ouch !

 

In fairness bulb replacement is fiddly the first time, but after that it's easy enough

• Remove the left side plastic cover on the engine, and/or the battery cover
  
• Twist off the backing covers from the headlight unit(s)
  
• Unplug the connector (this is the toughest part)
  
• Fiddle around blindly to undo the spring clip holding the bulb in place (I found it easier to remove the spring entirely, but replacing it was hard
  
• Remove bulb
  
• <haynes mode>Reassembly is the reverse of disassembly</haynes mode>
  

Total time, under 10 mins with good light ... I've done it in the dark in < 15 mins. Hardest part if you get stuck is undoing the little clips holding the engine covers in place :rolleyes:

 

Hope this helps someone

Yes, access is tight (more so on the drivers' side), but there are some wiring looms / hoses that can be unclipped and moved slightly (not disconnected mind !) to help.

[myglaren]

Think that is bad?

 

Some Citroen models - you have to remove the front bumper to acess the light bulbs.

 

Cost? £50 + vat.

 

Makes you want to save hurting them bulbs.

 

Drive in the dark.

 

Jamie's post is just coming up garbage for me - browser problem probably, so if he has posted the solution, apologies.

 

I did have a shot at the nearside bulb myself and screwed it up badly - one of the pair of new bulbs is still rattling around in the headlamp unit after I dropped it and I had to get my mechanic to refit the clip for me when the car was serviced.

The other one went last Friday and on Saturday, as I was nearby, I called in at Halfords and they fitted a replacement in just a few minutes, well worth the £4.99 they charge to do it.

[myglaren]

Weird, I couldn't view my last post and my previous one was not showing either, Jamie's, as stated above, was complete nonsense.

Changed browsers and all is OK. Had this problem before but have just reinstalled the OS and couldn't remember which browsers work with this site. Firefox and Opera both seem to dislike it.

[hobbsy]

I took the car to Halfords to have a new bulb fitted and was told that they now have a stop recommendation to all their parts staff on fitting to the C5.

 

Reason given was that it was to complicated to do given the time period they would normally allow!!

[proinnsias]

I posted this elsewhere - but I can't seem to find it easily :unsure:

 

Ah ... here it is Changing headlight bulbs

 

 

In fairness bulb replacement is fiddly the first time, but after that it's easy enough

 

* Remove the left side plastic cover on the engine, and/or the battery cover

* Twist off the backing covers from the headlight unit(s)

* Unplug the connector (this is the toughest part)

* Fiddle around blindly to undo the spring clip holding the bulb in place (I found it easier to remove the spring entirely, but replacing it was hard

* Remove bulb

* <haynes mode>Reassembly is the reverse of disassembly</haynes mode>

 

 

Total time, under 10 mins with good light ... I've done it in the dark in < 15 mins. Hardest part if you get stuck is undoing the little clips holding the engine covers in place smile.gif

 

Hope this helps someone

Yes, access is tight (more so on the drivers' side), but there are some wiring looms / hoses that can be unclipped and moved slightly (not disconnected mind !) to help.

[seefive]

This item is proving very popular! Here's an update to my previous post. Sad to say my Halfords bulb lasted less than a year, so I went to my Citroen dealer and paid the £20 labour charge to replace it again.

 

This is interesting - when I got the car back, | noticed one of the turn-buckles securing the radiator grille was loose. I reckon the way they do it is to remove the grille (2 screws and 2 buckles) to gain access to the inside bolt securing the headlamp unit. The other bolt is easy - topside of the unit. Ease the unit away and voila - you have open access to the back of the unit , connectors etc.

 

They did the job while I waited, and I didn't see any sign of the car going up on a ramp. Judging by the time it took, I'm fairly sure this is the way it's done. I have no way of testing my theory, as the screws are star-shaped, and I don't have the right tool.

[Harry]

Thought I would add my recent experience as I have had to change my headlight bulb on my 2001 C5

 

Fiddly and awkward !

 

In the end I removed the battery to get access to the to LHS headlamp backing covers, removed this, then seriously struggled to unplug the connector although made it with perseverance, after this it was pretty quick to undo clip and replace bulb.

 

As I bought Performance (50% Plus) Bulbs on a buy one get one free offer I thought I would replace both at the same time, however I took that long to replace one that it went dark and I still need to do the RHS although access looks easier....If i can move my fingers in the morning

[livewire]

Hi guys, does anyone know where I can purchase spare retaining clips for car bulbs (H1)?

Tried dealers and a few local shops to no avail.

[DaveHerns]

I've struggled to change both sidelight bulbs on my 2006 C5 Estate . I'm interested how the panel between the headlamps is removed on the new style cars . There are 3 torx screws which I have removed but the panel seems fixed to the bumper

Any suggestions ?

 

Dave

[daffy4895]

i'm not sure why everyones having problems changing bulbs, changed my H1 bulbs in about 10 mins both sides on my 03 C5 estate, only the near side one was a bit tight because of the battery, haven't tried the sidelight bulbs but they don't look to difficult to access

[DaveHerns]

Maybe there's less space on mine as the headlamps are Xenon and swivel with the steering

Or maybe my hands are too big

[iannez]

lol. we dont use special tricks or secret ways to change c5 bulbs.

 

DRIVERS SIDE- put your hand and arm up between the back of the light and the suspension reservoir. remove the cap. put your hand inside the light and get hold of the plug on the back of the bulb (do not remove the clip yet). work the plug up and down while pulling it. not side to side!!!. after its come off then feel for the 12 O'Clock position on the top of the bulb and you will feel a raised bit of wire. push it down and move it to one side and the bulbs out. replace with new bulb with the tab up and refit the clip and then the plug. replace the cap and your done. same with the passenger side but put your hand between the wing and the battery. if its still to tight for you simply remove the battery and you can get access no probs. make sure you follow the shut down procedure before removing the battery if you chose to do this. just like to add my wrists a thicker than most peoples forearms and i am in no way double jointed and i dont have tentacles with eyes on the ends as someone wrote lol. also to move the headlight foreword you would have to remove the bumper to get to the bottom light fixing bolt. if you pull on the headlight without doing this you Will snap the bracket.

[Guest Ray.S]

A few months ago the nearside headlamp bulb needed replacing on my C5, after a couple of hours of struggle I finally managed to replace the bulb.

Today the offside bulb went but thanks to the advise from members on this site I took it to Halfords who replaced the the offside headlamp bulb and nearside sidelight bulb for £17 including the cost of bulbs.

They took about 15mnutes to do the job.

[coastline taxis]

Thought I would add my recent experience as I have had to change my headlight bulb on my 2001 C5

 

Fiddly and awkward !

 

In the end I removed the battery to get access to the to LHS headlamp backing covers, removed this, then seriously struggled to unplug the connector although made it with perseverance, after this it was pretty quick to undo clip and replace bulb.

 

As I bought Performance (50% Plus) Bulbs on a buy one get one free offer I thought I would replace both at the same time, however I took that long to replace one that it went dark and I still need to do the RHS although access looks easier....If i can move my fingers in the morning

Hi to remove the wire clip that holds the bulb in just press the top in and move slightly to the left to put back in push and move to the right and that bulb is in the right way with the nipple piece pointing down or youl lose yore pattern

[davidad]

Hi to remove the wire clip that holds the bulb in just press the top in and move slightly to the left to put back in push and move to the right and that bulb is in the right way with the nipple piece pointing down or youl lose yore pattern

Yes, the trick is knowing how to undo the clip as you can't see it and have to do it by feel. The first headlamp bulb I changed took ages and left me with skinned knuckles but I can change one in a couple of minutes now :) .

[Malcolm]

Thought I would add my recent experience as I have had to change my headlight bulb on my 2001 C5

 

Fiddly and awkward !

 

In the end I removed the battery to get access to the to LHS headlamp backing covers, removed this, then seriously struggled to unplug the connector although made it with perseverance, after this it was pretty quick to undo clip and replace bulb.

 

As I bought Performance (50% Plus) Bulbs on a buy one get one free offer I thought I would replace both at the same time, however I took that long to replace one that it went dark and I still need to do the RHS although access looks easier....If i can move my fingers in the morning

Hi every one. This might help. I recently had to take off and replace the washer pump and to do this I had to remove the front bumper. The thought was quite daunting. It took 10 minutes and about the same time to replace it and with the bumper out of the way I noticed you have excellent access to the headlamp securing screws. When the time comes for me to replace the headlamp bulbs that is definately the route I shall take. The bumper is quite large of course and an extra pair of hands lifting it off and on would not go amiss to prevent scratching the paintwork although I did manage it on my own. As I said the thought of removing the bumper is a bit daunting but in fact it was very easy. The car looks very strange with out it though.

 

Regards

 

Malcolm

[davidad]

All this removing of bumpers, batteries etc is very confusing. My C5 is a 04 2.2Hdi estate and I don't have to do any of that to change the headlamp bulbs. All I have to remove is the plastic cover over the coolant expansion bottle/hydraulic fluid reservoir on the driver's side and the plastic battery cover on the passenger side.