Car Parts and Accessories

Most cars have a variety of lights to illuminate everything from the glove compartment to the street in front of the car. Fortunately, troubleshooting the lighting system is not too difficult. Nearly half of all lighting problems are caused by corroded bulb sockets, loose or corroded ground connections, bad bulbs, or blown fuses. Other problems can be caused by a loose alternator belt or a faulty relay or flasher.

Step 6-1. Getting to an Auto burned-out headlight.

Use a Phillips screwdriver to remove the trim. You should see additional screws behind the retaining ring. These screws adjust the headlight—don’t disturb them. Hold the headlight with one hand and remove the retaining ring.

Step 6-2. Installing the new Auto headlight.

Remove the old headlight and carefully unplug the wiring plug from the back of the lamp. Push the plug all the way onto the prongs of the new lamp. Place the lamp in position and reinstall the retaining ring and trim.

Step 6-3. Aiming the Auto headlights.

Headlights should be aimed professionally, but youcan adjust them yourself if you accidentally moved the adjusting screws. First, make sure the car is on alevel surface. Move the car so that the headlights are about a foot from a wall. Turn the lights on low beam. Use masking tape to mark a cross on the wall at the exact center of each beam. Now move the car straight back so that the headlights are about 25 feet from the wall.

Step 6-4. Adjusting the Auto headlights.

Use the adjusting screw at the top or bottom of each light to move the beam about 2 inches below the horizontal line in each cross. Now use the adjusting screw at the side of the left light to move the beam so that the center of the beam hits the vertical line of the left cross. Adjust the right light so that the center of its beamstrikes about 2 inches to the right of the vertical line on the right cross. If your car has four headlights, adjust them all the same way. No separate adjustments are made for the high beams.

Step 6-5. Getting to the dome, map, or Auto makeup-mirror bulb.

If you don’t see any screws around the light, squeeze the lens and snap it out. If you do see screws, remove them and take out the lens.

Step 6-6. Replacing a Auto dome, map, or makeup-mirror bulb held by clips.

If the bulb is long and looks like a glass fuse, carefully insert a small screwdriver under one of the metal ends and pry itfrom the clip. To install a new bulb, simply press it between the two clips.

Step 6-7. Removing a standard Auto bayonet bulb.

Press the bulb into the socket and turn it counterclockwise to free the pins. Removethe old bulb and notice the location of the pins on each side of the base of the bulb. If the pins arenot the same distance from thebottom of the bulb, the bottom pinmust go into the bottom slot in the socket to be reinstalled.

Step 6-8. Installing an Auto bayonet bulb.

Insert the new bulb into the socket and turn it clockwise. If the bulb doesn’t want to turn, the pins are probably in the wrong sockets. Remove the bulb, give it a half turn and reinstall it.

Brake, turn-signal, parking, and backup lights are usually mounted in the body of the car or in the front grill. If you can see screws holding the lens, the bulb can be replaced by removing the screws and lens. If no screws are visible, you’ll have to reach the bulb from inside the trunk, behind the fender well, or inside the engine compartment.

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