Thanks for the play by play! However, I'm not able to see the pics. :huh:
C5 turn signal bulb replacement w/(PICS) write up...
5
Well for some of you that talked to me about replacing the turn signal bulb in the pass. side of my 2000 hardtop, here is the write up and pics to go with it. It's not much of a write up, but I had no idea how to get to the bulb and a BIG thanks to The Bad and b2gcoder for there imput and how to info. Here is my write up and a few pics to go with it!
The bulb is going to cost you around $4 or $5 depending on where you get it from. I tried Wal-Mart first, but could not find it there, so I had to go to a parts store and they had it for $4.47...which the guy says to me before he tells me the price "Wow, this bulb is expensive!" I'm thinking he's going to tell me it cost $10 or $15! Then he tells me the cost, and then I'm ok again.
You will find that MOST of us can not reach the bulb from the top at all. So here is the best way to get to the bulb.
You will need...a small tool kit for the screws, a floor jack (or two) and maybe a small cloth towel (in case the bulb is hot). AND the bulb too!
First off...find a location where you have the most level surface and some room to lay down...your going to need the most room by the nose of the car. Plus, jacking a car up on an uneven surface is just asking to get something crushed...and that's just not good! :crazy:
Second....Most floor jacks are NOT going to slide under the bottom of a C5...so it helps to grab the one out of your wife, or friend or other car to get it started. Make SURE you are putting the jack in the correct place on the frame of your car...last thing you want to do is start jacking the floor out of the car!
As for me...I used the second jack to get it up in the air, then used a floor jack for the rest of the job, because it's more sturdy and safe.
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Once the nose is in the air far enough to safely side under your going to be looking for the screws that hold the lower brake air intake cover on....there should be 3 or 4 of them...so just take those out!
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Once they are out...it should look like this!
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Now comes the FUN part! You'll need to bend this back toward the tire so that you can reach your arm up into the nose to find the bulb and housing area. Pull it back toward the tire like so...
![]()
For me...I could feel three bulbs...the fog light, and the large housing for the corner light and turn signal bulb. You will be able to tell which one you need as they are in the same housing...you want the one that is closest to the front.
Once you find the closest one to the front, you may need to give it a little twist or two to get it loose again. To get the bulb free twist it counter clockwise, or left towards the front.
Now that you have the bulb out of the housing...it may be hot so be careful. It should cool down fairly quickly but just in case it's smart to have a small cloth rag there to hold it for now. The bulb should pull right out, but it may be a little difficult to get both hands up into the same spot...so it helps to have some one there to help in this situtation. With the hood open, have the other person grab the plastic part of the bulb socket to help pull the bulb out. Then grab the new bulb and put that one in with there help. Again, since you may want to have the headlights up so that the person helping you can better reach that area, the bulb may get hot quickly...so be careful.
Now that the new bulb is in...MAKE SURE IT WORKS before putting everything back together! You can just see the bulb in the picture below and make sure the blinker is working again too!
![]()
Now just put the bulb back in the correct location, make sure to twist back to the right (clock wise) and make sure that it is locked in place. Next put the peices back together and repeat the process in reverse order to put the Vette back down!
The whole process shouldn't take longer than a half hour, tops! I did this over at my in-laws garage since my father in law has a nice big garage and floor jack. My wife says to me on the way home. "You like working on your car and getting your hands dirty, don't you? Even the small stuff like that bulb!" "I can see it in your eyes." :thumbsup:
Hope this helps!
James
1N189
The bulb is going to cost you around $4 or $5 depending on where you get it from. I tried Wal-Mart first, but could not find it there, so I had to go to a parts store and they had it for $4.47...which the guy says to me before he tells me the price "Wow, this bulb is expensive!" I'm thinking he's going to tell me it cost $10 or $15! Then he tells me the cost, and then I'm ok again.
You will find that MOST of us can not reach the bulb from the top at all. So here is the best way to get to the bulb.
You will need...a small tool kit for the screws, a floor jack (or two) and maybe a small cloth towel (in case the bulb is hot). AND the bulb too!
First off...find a location where you have the most level surface and some room to lay down...your going to need the most room by the nose of the car. Plus, jacking a car up on an uneven surface is just asking to get something crushed...and that's just not good! :crazy:
Second....Most floor jacks are NOT going to slide under the bottom of a C5...so it helps to grab the one out of your wife, or friend or other car to get it started. Make SURE you are putting the jack in the correct place on the frame of your car...last thing you want to do is start jacking the floor out of the car!
As for me...I used the second jack to get it up in the air, then used a floor jack for the rest of the job, because it's more sturdy and safe.
Once the nose is in the air far enough to safely side under your going to be looking for the screws that hold the lower brake air intake cover on....there should be 3 or 4 of them...so just take those out!
Once they are out...it should look like this!
Now comes the FUN part! You'll need to bend this back toward the tire so that you can reach your arm up into the nose to find the bulb and housing area. Pull it back toward the tire like so...
For me...I could feel three bulbs...the fog light, and the large housing for the corner light and turn signal bulb. You will be able to tell which one you need as they are in the same housing...you want the one that is closest to the front.
Once you find the closest one to the front, you may need to give it a little twist or two to get it loose again. To get the bulb free twist it counter clockwise, or left towards the front.
Now that you have the bulb out of the housing...it may be hot so be careful. It should cool down fairly quickly but just in case it's smart to have a small cloth rag there to hold it for now. The bulb should pull right out, but it may be a little difficult to get both hands up into the same spot...so it helps to have some one there to help in this situtation. With the hood open, have the other person grab the plastic part of the bulb socket to help pull the bulb out. Then grab the new bulb and put that one in with there help. Again, since you may want to have the headlights up so that the person helping you can better reach that area, the bulb may get hot quickly...so be careful.
Now that the new bulb is in...MAKE SURE IT WORKS before putting everything back together! You can just see the bulb in the picture below and make sure the blinker is working again too!
Now just put the bulb back in the correct location, make sure to twist back to the right (clock wise) and make sure that it is locked in place. Next put the peices back together and repeat the process in reverse order to put the Vette back down!
The whole process shouldn't take longer than a half hour, tops! I did this over at my in-laws garage since my father in law has a nice big garage and floor jack. My wife says to me on the way home. "You like working on your car and getting your hands dirty, don't you? Even the small stuff like that bulb!" "I can see it in your eyes." :thumbsup:
Hope this helps!
James
1N189
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Yep, yahoo wants me to sign in. Just upload the pics to our gallery and edit your post to re-link the pics.
Thank you for putting this writeup together.:thumbsup:
Thank you for putting this writeup together.:thumbsup:
My wife says to me on the way home. "You like working on your car and getting your hands dirty, don't you? Even the small stuff like that bulb!" "I can see it in your eyes." :thumbsup:
Thanks for the info....My wife Says I break thing just so I'll have some thing to fix...
You don't need anything. You just need to tug and gently wiggle the bulb until it comes out. WARNING: Obviously, your bulb has rusted into the socket. Thus, WEAR SOME THICK GLOVES when tugging on it as it can shatter in your hand. That would be a nasty cut.
I also suggest that you replace your DRL housing. The bulb has obviously burned a hole in the lens and that is how water is entering the housing and blowing the bulb. Common problem. See picture below:
![]()
By the way, there's a quicker way to change those bulbs. This is quite an old thread so I guess it wasn't figured out by then, Here you go.
I also suggest that you replace your DRL housing. The bulb has obviously burned a hole in the lens and that is how water is entering the housing and blowing the bulb. Common problem. See picture below:
By the way, there's a quicker way to change those bulbs. This is quite an old thread so I guess it wasn't figured out by then, Here you go.
Replace bulb
Yo Junk, I knew you would be all over this one. I used your method to replace both of mine in like 5 minutes. Easy...You don't need anything. You just need to tug and gently wiggle the bulb until it comes out. WARNING: Obviously, your bulb has rusted into the socket. Thus, WEAR SOME THICK GLOVES when tugging on it as it can shatter in your hand. That would be a nasty cut.
I also suggest that you replace your DRL housing. The bulb has obviously burned a hole in the lens and that is how water is entering the housing and blowing the bulb. Common problem. See picture below:
![]()
By the way, there's a quicker way to change those bulbs. This is quite an old thread so I guess it wasn't figured out by then, Here you go.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaUEoD2CH4k&feature=channel_video_title
Junkman... You da man!
artyon:I was trying to go through the open headlight after I removed its bezel. Going through the brake duct was MUCH easier.
Concerning the bulb, I don't think there was corrosion. I think the base of the bulb heated up and expanded, hence wedging itself in the socket. I eventually got it out, but in pieces:
Thanks again Junkman
2
Well, it was my turn to perform this operation. I have girl-hands so I figured this would be a piece of cake through the brake ducts as you show in the video, but of course, nothing can be that easy for me.
First of all forcing my hand in that opening felt like I was trying extract a baby from a virgin (a miracle in and of itself). I could not believe how hard that was even with my small hands! A little pleasure-lube applied to the wrist; however, and I was in.
I could grab the socket but needed a 6th finger on the back of my hand to depress the locking tab while trying to turn the socket at the same time... something like this...
This shows the damn locking tab on my socket...
Without the locking tab, this would have been easy through the brake duct. In my case I finally got to mine from behind the headlight by removing the bezel then pushed the harness out through the brake duct. I should be able to reinstall through the brake duct, but I don't see how you can depress that locking tab AND turn the socket with only 5 fingers on one hand through that opening???
To make things worse, the locking tab is positioned to where the lamp housing is in the way as well - just to make it hard I guess?
The reason you had a time at it was because you used the wrong hand. Notice which hand I say to use in the video.
1 - 20 of 67 Posts
