SGT

I'm swapping out my parking lights for LEDs but I was wondering what needed to be removed, if anything, to get to the bulbs. I already took off the engine cover and I can see the bulb, but it appears to be blocked by a piece of painted plastic/metal. I'm guessing that needs to be unscrewed first before I can access the bulbs. Is it the same for both sides? I know some of you guys have already done this, any ideas?

Hip_hop77

lol..the skinny metal bar just clicks off to the side.. u dont have to unscrew.. than pull the plastic cover off and your good

toyemp

yeah, though the bar isnt metal, its plastic. Dont pull on the tab either without turning it first, it *does* detach from the light socket -- I found out the hard way!

SGT, standing over the headlight housing, look for a black tab about 1/2" wide in-line of the back of the parking light. twist 1/4 turn (it will turn either way, but you might need a pair of pliers to turn it, mine was pretty tight and there's not a lot of room to get your hand in there) and after turning, pull straight out. The black plastic tab is around 4 inches long and attached directly to the light socket. There's not a lot of slack in the wiring either, so be careful.

SGT

Ok, I was able to pull off the tab along with the bulb. How do I actually get that bulb off??

toyemp

if you were able to remove the light socket and are able to see the bulb, just pull the bulb straight off the socket. It has a bayonet type connector, not a screw-on.

SGT

Ok, now I'm really in a jam. I switched the bulbs and as I was pushing the tab back in the headlight housing, the LED somehow got loose, probably when I was guiding it into the hole and just happened to fall into the housing. How am I gonna get the LED bulb out? It barely fit into the opening and now it's stuck in the housing.

kissbang

oh man... uhh... you're going to have to get creative with this.

Eternity3G

SGT... When playing with my xenon, I noticed how much easier it was to actually remove the entire intake box. It allows you much more access. worth a try? (as to losing the bulb in the housing.... maybe try inserting one of those mechanics magnets (magnet at the end of extension) and hopefully the magnet will catch the wire on the bulb)

toyemp

I've heard of someone else using a shopvac to get the bulb out of the housing. might damage the bulb, but might work. never had to try it myself though.

3m ta3

Oh that sux. Check craftsman tools at sears,the tool you looking for has a expanding hooks it's about 2' long. it has a push rod that expands the hooks,I forgot the name of the tool.hope this helps

SGT

Thanks for all the ideas, guys. I ended up taking my car to the dealer this morning since I had to get my 10k service anyways. They were able to extract the bulb by sticking in a coat hanger with some kind of sticky substance wrapped around the tip. Unfortunately, there are a few small smudge marks on the reflective housing left by the residue of the sticky substance. No biggie, but since I'm ****, anyone know what the best way to clean the inside of the housing would be? Is it difficult to take apart the housing?

On another note, I decided to give the LED bulb install another shot when I got back home. This time I armed myself with electrical tape to make sure that sucker wouldn't fall off the socket. However, I noticed that one of the LEDs was blue, instead of white, which was what I ordered. I need to ship these back and exchange them for two white ones now.

Eternity3G

Man, when it rains, it pours for you.... try using the coat hanger trick they did, but wrap some paper towel (tape it) around it and soak it in some alcohol...

like i said though, it takes 10 minutes to take the air box out. It frees up so much room to access the bulbs....

kissbang

I'm not sure but if it's like any other light housing, the only way to take it apart would be to take it out and bake it (or heat gun it) to loosen the adhesive, which I wouldn't recommend as it almost always screws up the plastic. You're better off just trying to clean it from there. Good luck.

Those LED bulbs tend to be quite blue. Is it bluish white or just straight up blue?

tekie99

iTrader: (1)

what bulbs did you purchase and from where? I myself am looking for a wedge bulb that will match the gs3 hids as close as possible, I changed my fogs out to the cool clue bulbs and they look perfect but now am trying to find the best wedge bulb

KIEUGS3

got any pics of the new bulbs installed?