My driverside low-beam has burnt out. I have a GM replacement on the way. In looking for guidance on replacing, I come across this:

Headlamps, Front Turn Signal, and Parking Lamps
A. High-beam Headlamp
B. Low-beam Headlamp
C. Front Parking/Turn Signal/DRL
If the low-beam headlamp needs to be replaced, you will
need to see your dealer. See High Intensity Discharge
(HID) Lighting on page 5-52 for more information.

Pretty much everything I had found says not to attempt to replace this bulb myself. The dealer quoted me $420 to replace the bulb which pretty much shocked me.

So can anyone tell me why replacing this HID bulb is not doable? I know that getting to the bulb is a challenge but since the low-beam is specifically being called out, I am really curious if anyone knows the technical reason behind this.

Alan

 

Here's what talon90 has to say about it.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/1578017075-post2.html

 

And from the same thread by RLSebring:


It is doable but you need to understand the system and exercise due caution.

 

Make sure you use a magnetic tipped Torx driver with a slim shank. Remove the front tire so you have plenty of room to stick your head inside the wheel well as the two screws are recessed and hard to see. Take your time. If you do drop one of the screws into the headlight housing you have two choices...

1) purchase a new headlight assembly from GM for around $700 to get the screw you need(pun intended).

Or

2) pick up a 4mm x 8mm long(phillips head is all I could find) made out of stainless steel, at you local hardware store. The thread pitch will be slightly different, but it will work.

When I was installing the phillips head replacement screw I used a small amount of contact cement to glue it to the screwdriver.

 

Just had both bulbs replaced - I paid. .7 hour labor per side from my corvette mechanic, not the dealer. Translated to about $75.00 per side. Its a simple do it yourself IF, and this is a big IF, you can jack up the car and take each front wheel off. My adventure follows, if you are bored and wish to be C6 corvette repair.

Access for the low beam replacement is through a compartment in the wheel well. You partially remove the rubber flap (remove the push fasteners), remove the rubber cover on each light and and then you see the back of the bulbs - high beam is simple plug and play halogen (just like the owners manual says). The manual also says you can change this bulb with the wheel cranked over to one side, providing access - I don't think so.... at least not with a z06 like I have, normal C6 might be exception. Not near enough space in there with those fat tires. Either way it doesn't help you if its the low beam that is dead.

Because...The low beam HID, is secured with two #10 torx screws - you can see one screw, you can't see the other unless the wheel is off. What you need to do is take off the wheel, then...

Remove those two screws, and then disconnect the cable connected to the HID bulb. Unless you stick your tongue on the end of the cable (the other end plugs into the ballast which is where the high voltage is, stored in a capacitor in that box, think taser), you really can't be shocked. It would seem obvious but bear mentioning that you don't want to do this when the bulb is hot, but if its burnt out, it can't be hot, now can it? Plug the cable into the new bulb (just don't touch the glass part of the bulb, its just like a halogen in that sense, the oil in your skin will damage the glass), reinsert the bulb with the two torx screws (hopefully you didn't drop/losethem on removal), check and make sure the bulb works before you put it back together. That is put the rubber cover back on, refasten the rubber flap in the wheel well, put the wheel back on, lower the car. If you put try the lights and the bulb still doesn't work, well you are on your own to get the ballast out for replacement - my mechanic said you could do it from the rear, like the bulbs, I couldn't even see the thing, its under lamp assembly.

My experience before i just paid the man?

I jacked the car up with my crappy (read cheap) floor jack; however, if you don't have a cross brace, you can't put jackstands under a C6 as a safety measure - go spend some quality time with Google seeing how well the best floor jacks perform under load. For me i thought about it long and hard and said F.... it, I'll pay Kent his money for this one. I didn't like the picture of my cheap a.. head squashed between the wheel well and that big a... disk brake, or that front suspension smashed cause the crappy floor jack collapsed. All so I could save $70.00.

The alternative for me was buy a decent floor jack that is low ($200 to $300), find a cross brace to fit said floor jack ($50), decent jack stands ($100), the you are prepared to remove the wheels and go to town.

Math didn't work for me - yes maybe i could then change my own oil again (like I was young and inspired) but where to dump it when done? Take it to pep boys and spill it all over my expensive a... car on the way? Done with that stuff at this point...

Plenty of fellow enthusiasts on this site that go to town, pull engines, change clutches, you name it. With the right tools you can do anything if you have the will. I stick to interior work and electrical (custom audio work). In this case lived another day to enjoy driving the beast. I know I am not the only one on this forum where wrench turning isn't an art form any longer, but pulling out the visa card is...

Go to your local Corvette shop and forget the dealer!

Thanks to Eismann's Corvette Center in Jupiter for a job well done. I am still amazed I walked out of their having spent under $100.00. Good work again Kent!

 

I'm with you on this one. I'll just take it to the dealer!

Andy

 

There's got to be one of those "How many does it taake to change a light bulb" here somewhere.

To the OP. You can change the bulb yourself. It's fairly easy unless something goes wrong...

 

The all encompassing liability disclaimer.

 

I double-dog dare you!

 

I just swapped the low beam with no jack and borrowed tools from O'Reilly auto. It came down to supergluing screws to the driver bit and taking phone pictures to see where you're at, but it can be done. It was on a base c6 and you fly mostly blind, but if you feel confident it is technically double albeit a pain in the ***. Just glad I didn't drop anything

YS

 

I did it about the same way but lost a screw, and am now working on finding a similar replacement at the hardware store. Anyhow after replacing it I noticed it still doesn't work and after doing some trouble shooting have come to the conclusion I should change out the ballast. My question is, does anyone recommend changing the ballast yourself or is it a job I should take to a mechanic? My biggest thing with doing it myself is I don't know how hard it is, do I need to take the fender off, do I have to take the entire light assembly out or is it a pretty easy unscrew and re-screw?

 

You have to take out the front wheel liner part as it is bolted underneath the headlight bucket.

If you have ever changed the foglight bulb you were almost there to replace the ballast.

It is easier if you have a floor jack and at least turn the wheel inward, you don't have to remove the wheel, though it would be easier to access if you did.

It is also easier on the normal body cars as there isn't the brake cooling duct piping. (the part I struggled with the most to get the fender liner part back in) as I have a grand sport. I was changing the fog light though not the ballast.

 

On my '08 Z51 I just turned the steering wheel all the way to have the most access, magnetized the tip of my torx driver (even thought it said it was already), took out the pushpins to drop the flap, put a good light source on top of the tire and another LED work light and went for it. I also used a hand mirror to see the the inner screw.
Take your time, don't touch the glass on the replacement bulb (use the cheap disposable Harbor Freight Tools gloves) and had no issues. Go slow and a steady hand will help.
I changed out the stock low beam HID's on both sides to the slightly blue tinted 6000K ones from Corvette Mods.com and been fine.
You do have to remove the mounting clip from the old HID to put onto the new/replacement one(s) but again, just take your time.
You can as suggested in other posts take off the wheel to have lots of room but you really don't have to do that to get the job done.
Good luck!
:-)

 

Take sg1reconalpha's issue to heart and check and make sure it's not the ballast. The ballasts are fairly easy to swap and test, and had I known that it seems like the ballasts fail more regularly than the bulbs, it would have saved my 100+ dollars and some headaches on my 05.

 

Can you replace the low beam on a C6 Corvette with LED?