Replace Bulbs

Changing a light bulb at home is ideally an uneventful experience. Switch goes off. A ladder or rickety chair comes out. Out goes the old bulb, and in with the new. The procedure is mostly the same when it comes to automobiles. There are just more sorts of bulbs. While some modern vehicles might tell you when a bulb or headlamp has burned out or gone dark, older vehicles require the driver to occasionally inspect bulb and lamp condition. Replacing an automotive bulb is usually more simple than it looks, but may require some basic hand tools and a little patience. The rickety chair should only come out if you have to sit down to think of how to get after the pesky dark bulb.

Check Check

Checking bulbs is easy. Have a pal or the kids stand out back while you hit the brake pedal and work the blinkers. This might involve some yelling out the window, but is a five-minutes deal that can save a heap of trouble. If there’s no one around use a garage door or wall to observe reflections of bulb operation. Check for high beam, low beam, parking lights, and finally left and right blinkers without having to leave the comfort of your own seat.

Remove and Replace

Dark bulb? Take a trip to the auto parts store with the vehicle’s year, make, and model or the burned out bulb in hand. Most bulbs have a number on the bulb itself. 1157, 1816, 63, 1156 and so on. Match up the burned out bulb with the same number replacement FTW! The more obscure location of the bulb, lamp, light, or beam – the greater a head or backache it will be to replace. Headlamps and brake bulbs usually take just a few minutes. That dash light buried deep behind the dash may peg the swear-o-meter and require subsequent ice pack and ibuprofren.

Step-by-Step Gallery with E-Z Captions!

Electrical Gremlins

Automotive bulbs and lamps should last a good while before requiring replacement. If a replacement bulb or lamp burns out immediately or produces no light, suspect a problem with a switch, relay, or a short circuit. A quickly blown fuse is also a sign of a short. While a dead dome light can be a lead to dark fumbling for cell phones, malfunctioning brake light bulbs or one-eyed automobiles are dangerous! Do not drive a vehicle with malfunctioning headlamp, turn signal, or brake lamps. Keeping a few extra bulbs in the glovebox can save trouble.