change headlight bulbs without taking out the whole headlight assembly?

it said in the manual that it was no necessary but it seems like everyone takes it out anyways.

i just want to change my bulb, nothing else.

thanks!

FD3S wrote:change headlight bulbs without taking out the whole headlight assembly?

it said in the manual that it was no necessary but it seems like everyone takes it out anyways.

i just want to change my bulb, nothing else.

thanks!

It's tight but you can change them without removing the assembly. Just be able to bend your arm in a few funky ways.

And have really strong fingers...

i change my bulbs all the time and i never take the whole assembly apart. it takes a second, but its not hard at all. just in a tight spot.

Remove the plug and the boot. There is a clip that hinges on the outside (towards the fender) with 2 ends on the inside (toward the radiator). With your finger and thumb, push the ends to open the clip and swing it out of the way. The bulb comes right out. I wish someone had answered this earlier as I just learned this on my own. OK, so now you know! When you have the solution to something, SHARE IT!

So I just changed my bulbs to aftermarket ones... and it IS a pain in the a**, unless you know what to do.

None of the posts here explain it really well, so I'm going to try my best to do so...

First, you definitely DO NOT need to remove the whole headlight housing. It's a bit of a tight fit to get in there... I have pretty large hands, but as soon as I figured it out, it was really pretty easy.

Second, use a FLASHLIGHT. Seriously, this makes the whole procedure about 99% easier. Amazing what you can do when you can see...

Also when you are putting the bulbs back in, shining the flashlight through the hole from the front of the housing helps a TON...

Third, you DO NOT need pliers or anything, as some have stated in the forums...

Fingers work great as soon as you figure out how the clips work, in fact pliers may cause damage to the clips, etc... so I would definitely go without...

I wish I could post some pics of the replacement, but unfortunately the work space is too cramped to get a decent photo of what you need to see... seriously I tried.

Ok, so I will do my best to explain here:

1) Remove the plug from the back of the bulb. Pull straight back and it should just come off easily.

Try not to wiggle it too much, you don't want to break the tabs off the bulb...

2) Remove the rubber boot from the back of the housing.

It's the rubber thing around the area where the socket was plugged into.

Pretty easy to get off, just find an edge and work it backwards off the housing and bulb, it has no clips or anything, so don't worry about that, it is pressure fit on the housing only...

3) This is where most people get a little frustrated/insane... and it IS a bit of a cluster***k...

Ok, there are TWO clips holding the bulb in the housing, one upper, one lower.

These clips will open independently from each other, one at a time.

To open the clips... first you need to find the pointy tab side of the clip.

Next push the clip FORWARD (towards front of car) and UP for the top clip. FORWARD and DOWN for the bottom clip.

The clips should then be able to move around the retainers towards the BACK (towards the back of the car)...

The clips should now be loose and should swing back and away from the bulb.

Once you figure out the motion required to unlock/lock the clips, everything gets WAY easier, it might take a few tries, so be patient!

Remember, the bulb is now loose in the socket, and could fall out pretty easily, so be aware of that...

Pull the bulb out and replace with your fancy new aftermarket bulb... Don't touch the glass of the old bulbs (if you are keeping them) or the new bulbs!

If you do touch the glass by accident, you should use 99% alcohol to clean it, or something that WILL NOT leave any residue... residue can and will shorten the life of the bulbs, and fingerprints are a very bad idea... so be aware!

The repeat the 3 above steps in reverse to button things up... now you have new lights!

Be careful putting the plugs back on the bulbs at the end, it can be a bit of a pain, so take your time and be gentle... again, you don't want to bend/break the tabs...

These clips are seriously the biggest pain I have encountered in a car yet... at least until you figure out how they work, so try not to get frustrated, it's not you, it's the design.

And that's it!

I hope this clears up any issues with the whole bulb-changing issue. Good luck!

Dude, thanks a million, those are really detailed instructions. Probably try it this weekend when I have a whole day to not drive just in case. I feel like there are a couple of super easy repairs (should be) that nissan really made a pain in the rectum with this car. that in cabin air filter.....

yes thank you for the instructions, i'll be putting it to test this weekend.

have some of these on the way.

http://www.powerbulbs.com/prod...od=43

wow i did this today.

not fun, the passenger side wasn't horrible with the directions posted, but if you have a CAI, the driver side is ALMOST impossible, for me anyway (big hands). my arm is a lil red from trying to stuff it in the slight opening, but i got it done. lets hope i never have to f*** with the bulbs again.

Thanks so much! You were a big help. Read your directions to my husband and worked no problem!

Thank you.

Thanks for this post. It's helped me change a bulb that burned out. Forums are a great thing.

I HATE DOING THIS JOB!!!!MY ARM ALWAYS HURTS WHEN IM DONE!!!

br4dysays wrote:yes thank you for the instructions, i'll be putting it to test this weekend.

have some of these on the way.

http://www.powerbulbs.com/prod...od=43

How do you like them??

lol, you guys. It's not that hard.... especially in comparison to other cars. I can do mine in about 5 minutes, by feel. haha.

Great Post cbramall, you saved me a Bunch of time I'm sure!

Thank you!

Great post. Thanks for the instructions.

Yeah, very useful info in here.. thanks a lot!

regards from Brazil

It's pretty easy... I've done it 4-5 times now. Key is patience. Just gotta get the clip off the slots... you can use a flat head or something. Just make sure you're watching it as you remove so you don't break anything.

DUDE ya instructions were spot on. I however couldnt do the passenger side after doing the drivers side. Dont know if its exhaustion from working all day or jamming my full sized american built hand into the mini japanese sized opening (no disrespect intended) I physically dont have the stregnth to pull the plug out of the back of the other side Ill try again tomorrow but thanks a million great directions. NO ASSEMBLY REMOVAL NEEDED!

Thanks cbramall, very easy directions to follow!!!! Took a lot less time than trying to figure it out on my own.

Thanks cbramall. Read your directions and found a video to support your description. Here is the link http://www.carcarekiosk.com/video/2008_ ... /headlight

Took me about 5 min. or less to complete the process

cbramall,
GREAT post about changing the headlight bulb in a Versa! Very detailed and easy to understand. It helped me sooooo much! Thank you.

OMG!! Cbramall, you are awesome.
I just changed the bulb in the dark in less than 5 minutes following your instructions.
Thank you so much for taking the time to post the process!!
And yes, it helps to have a flashlight (headlamp won't do). I put mine on whatever was behind the headlight inside the hood and it held it at the right height, so I had 2 hands to work with, although I did all of it with my right hand going lateral facing the car

Anyway, thanks a ton.

Some Photos of the driver's side lightbulb assembley.


The rubber gasket


They say a picture is worth something or other.


The links to the full size pics
http://postimage.org/image/v3jst7asv/
http://postimage.org/image/r8geqmrn3/

Are both the headlight bulb clamp thingies (the metal clips holding the bulbs into the housings) going the same direction? I've had to change the driver's side bulb multiple times but never the passenger one. I JUST can't get my arm to bend the right way to un-clamp it. I even tried to get my 5-year old to reach in there but she didn't wanna.
Where I live, you can get a ticket for burned out bulbs and I'd like to avoid that.

Daan, to answer your question of "Are both the headlight bulb clamp thingies (the metal clips holding the bulbs into the housings) going the same direction?" The answer is yes. The wire loops that go over the top point and bottom point and then slip into the notches on the housing "bracket" are located on the left side (driver's side of the vehicle) for both headlights. They are both hinged on the right side (passenger side) of the vehicle. I just replaced the bulbs on my 2009, 1.6L Base Model, Versa 15 minutes ago. This post is a month a half after you asked the question, so your probably know the answer by now, but maybe this help someone else.

I think its okay to post links on this forum? There is an excellent instructional video on how to do this at:

http://www.carcarekiosk.com/video/2008_ ... /headlight

Yeah I got mine changed but it took some arm contortion (and swearing). It's all good though.

Great info Duuuuude!! Thanx a million. I wouln't have figured it out otherwise. Up and out! and Down and Out! Once I figured that part out , the bulb came right out. Now let's see if I can put it back together