Loose headlight bulb/housing???
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,868
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From: West of Burlington, Ontario Canada
Loose headlight bulb/housing???
Went for a drive with my wife tonight and noticed while hitting some bumps that my right headlight beam was moving up and down rapidly with each bump like it was loose. When I got home I turned the lights on in the garage to shine the beams on the wall and while thumping on the top of the headlight I noticed the bulb housing seems to bounce up and down confirming it is loose. Has anybody had anything like this happen? I hope it's just a matter of getting into the fender well to fix this. I really don't want to take the front bumper off again.
Thanks for any suggestions and please don't tell me to take it to the dealer. Even though it's under warranty I do all my own work if I can get away with it.
Thanks for any suggestions and please don't tell me to take it to the dealer. Even though it's under warranty I do all my own work if I can get away with it.
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St. Jude Donor '17
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2003
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From: West of Burlington, Ontario Canada
Supporting Vendor
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 11,216
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From: Pensacola Florida GO GATORS!!! www.rlsebring.com www.c6c7vette.com
St. Jude Donor '17
The repair can get pretty involved. Worst case taking the lens off the housing to get to the clips.
Depending on which clip(s) is broken, there are 3, some have replaced the bottom clip by removing the headlight from the car and going in through the ballast. The top clip is almost impossible to get to and the side can be did if you are very nimble.
If you have to remove the lens then you'll most likely need a replacement lens as the old one is destroyed in the removal process. You may be able to remove it so it's reusable but plan otherwise just in case.
Once the headlight is apart it's relatively straight forward to replace the clips. You do not have to remove the bumper or fenders to get the lights out. I have some pics and a vid to show how. Also with a lens purchase I include detailed instructions.
With that said this may be a warranty issue that GM or the Dealer may take care of. Certainly would warrant an attempt. IF you go the dealer route and are successful please let them know I'd be quite interested in purchasing the headlight from them when their warranty paperwork is finished.
The headlights can be aimed after the installation is completely finished. Pretty much the last thing to do.
Depending on which clip(s) is broken, there are 3, some have replaced the bottom clip by removing the headlight from the car and going in through the ballast. The top clip is almost impossible to get to and the side can be did if you are very nimble.
If you have to remove the lens then you'll most likely need a replacement lens as the old one is destroyed in the removal process. You may be able to remove it so it's reusable but plan otherwise just in case.
Once the headlight is apart it's relatively straight forward to replace the clips. You do not have to remove the bumper or fenders to get the lights out. I have some pics and a vid to show how. Also with a lens purchase I include detailed instructions.
With that said this may be a warranty issue that GM or the Dealer may take care of. Certainly would warrant an attempt. IF you go the dealer route and are successful please let them know I'd be quite interested in purchasing the headlight from them when their warranty paperwork is finished.
The headlights can be aimed after the installation is completely finished. Pretty much the last thing to do.
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From: Pensacola Florida GO GATORS!!! www.rlsebring.com www.c6c7vette.com
St. Jude Donor '17
Forgot to mention to verify this before going through all these steps by getting to the high beam bulb like you were going to change it. See if you can move the bulb up and down with your finger. If it moves more than a MM or 2 then there's a clip problem that holds the projector housing in place.
Look at the aim adjustment arm as well to make sure it's in place. Should be horizontal pointing toward the engine bay.
Look at the aim adjustment arm as well to make sure it's in place. Should be horizontal pointing toward the engine bay.
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From: Las Vegas NV
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,868
Likes: 294
From: West of Burlington, Ontario Canada
Forgot to mention to verify this before going through all these steps by getting to the high beam bulb like you were going to change it. See if you can move the bulb up and down with your finger. If it moves more than a MM or 2 then there's a clip problem that holds the projector housing in place.
Look at the aim adjustment arm as well to make sure it's in place. Should be horizontal pointing toward the engine bay.
Look at the aim adjustment arm as well to make sure it's in place. Should be horizontal pointing toward the engine bay.
Thanks again for the tips. As much as I work on these things I'm always learning something.
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From: Pensacola Florida GO GATORS!!! www.rlsebring.com www.c6c7vette.com
St. Jude Donor '17
Courtesy of Mike @ vettesthetics
Link to Vid and pics to take out lights from car.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8xce37k2k9lxtpe/QozXQo7TzT
Link to Vid and pics to take out lights from car.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8xce37k2k9lxtpe/QozXQo7TzT
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,868
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From: West of Burlington, Ontario Canada
Well I got my headlights today. Not too bad a job installing them but definitely needed three hands. Lets hope they don't do the same thing and get loose like the originals.
By the way I removed the ballast from the originals to see inside and could not find a broken clip. The clips appear to be a pliable but not brittle plastic and weren't broken but had some slack where they are supposed to be tight. Frankly I think they would probably be fine for a while. It's possible that the slack would increase and as the clips age with heat from the sun and the bulbs them selves they would snap off. Anyway we're good to go.
By the way I removed the ballast from the originals to see inside and could not find a broken clip. The clips appear to be a pliable but not brittle plastic and weren't broken but had some slack where they are supposed to be tight. Frankly I think they would probably be fine for a while. It's possible that the slack would increase and as the clips age with heat from the sun and the bulbs them selves they would snap off. Anyway we're good to go.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,868
Likes: 294
From: West of Burlington, Ontario Canada
Well my new headlight joy was short lived. I took the car for a drive tonight and found a good flat area with a flat wall to align them and was pretty happy that they weren't bouncing. Anyway I got home and parked in the garage and the left light lens has fogged up in the lower corner about a 6 inch diameter. It was only 72 degrees but humid evening. The right side light was fine. Any ideas what would cause this?
Heel & Toe
Joined: Oct 2013
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From: Queen Creek Az
Jim did you remove the lens when you did the Clip fix? Condensation shows up in perfectly sealed headlights form time to time too but the most probable cause would be a gap in the lens seal or one of the boots in the back being off. A miss conception is these headlights are totally sealed and they are not. There is three vent tubes on the rear housing that are suppose vent the headlight. This too can provide a point of moisture. In some cases if the relative humidity is too high, mixed with the temp the low beam, about 140-160F, this can cause internal condensation to form on the lens… think green house. The temp difference alone with moisture in that confined space could be fogging the lens. It’s probably worth a look to remove the light and inspect it. Check the seal around your ballast too since you removed that. Having the headlights on and going through the car wash will reproduce this type of issue if it has since dissipated. You can use this trick to find and also verify issue resolution. If you think it’s the lens seal and don’t want the hassle to pulling the lens, you can buy silicone moisture bags to put on the base of the housing (I have them if you need some). They wick the moisture out of convened spaces. This will cure your “normal” condensation issue in these lights. Good luck!