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Led Side Light Bulb Replacement Pain


btmaldon
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Well I thought I should change the side light bulbs to LED's whilst I was upgrading the dipped beam bulbs to Osram nightbreaker Plus's. I just cannot get the things out. There is no movement when tugging on the tongue/holder thing. I have tried twisting it as well but not too much as I don't want it to snap off.

These have never been out an I have had this Mk2.5 since new. Any tips on how to remove these bulbs without breaking the tongue?

Cheers guys.

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try to take the whole unit out.

I did take the whole unit out. Its the only way to change the bulbs on a Mk2.5. Tried yanking the side light bulb holders with pliers but they wouldn't budge.

I also changed the number plate bulbs for LED but although the colour was better the light doesn't emit far enough to light up the plates, so I have put the originals back in. Not a good day so far.

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Hmm, did you try to pull it with a small screwdriver? don't break it though

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Not sure how a screw driver would help. Unless you mean to poke around where the far end if the holder pushes through the hole which is deep into the light unit.

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They can be a pain, but they will come out. The plastic "tongues" are quite durable I think. Use long nosed pliers and give it a shake as you turn it out anti-clockwise. Only takes a quarter turn. Hope this helps.

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One of mine was loose, when the bulb went it was the correct side. I managed to remove the bulb from the holder by turning it with my fingers. As to what way, well I cannot remember!

Regarding your LED number plate lights, what ones did you try? As I have 36mm 5050SMD version, 5630SMD is where its at, much brighter. I have a pair to test but not got round to it yet, These get very hot, so hot in the rain you can see patches on the plastic boot lip that are dry. So make sure you buy ones with a heatsink on, I also had to silicone pretty much the whole thing apart from the LEDs as my old sets kept flickering from water ingress.

Edit - Link to mine

http://imageshack.us/a/img14/1701/8vhn.jpg

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I had to use Long nose pliers as well , they were a pain to get out.

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Long nose pliers work I did crack one of the tongues slightly tho so be careful as I dont think they can be bought on theyre own, I lightly greased mine when i put them back in for easier removal next time, As for number plate lights I have 5 smd ones they were for the sidelights but one smd started flickering but they look good in the number plate tbh

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I changed mine recently and one was fine. The other however was a complete pain in the proverbial backside. I ended up twisting it too far and it got jammed I then used a screwdriver down one side where there is a gap on the 'lollypop' and turned it that way. Pretty difficult but persevere and don't turn too far is the tip.

I want to find some bright side lights that don't flicker. Any ideas? Bought some 5led ones and they now flicker constantly are cree ones with a projector type lens any good or do they flicker too anyone Know?

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Ford OC mobile app

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It's definitely a long nose plier job... You need to grab it as close to the bulb as possible then just a quarter turn anticlockwise...

Should come out fine then.

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Thanks guys. I will give it a go on the weekend again. I have bought the can bus ones for the headlights.

Ed: Your number plate lights look great. The Mk2.5 uses the T10 wedge type connection on those where I think the Mk2 uses the festoon type bulb. I have put the LED's back in and they dont look to bad at night, but I would like these to be brighter. They are a 5 LED type.

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I didnt find any issues on replacing mine, I dont think the removal process differs much on the old shape to the new shape (even if it is a CMAX variety).

Have a look at my build thread for the LED's that I bought for the number plate.

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Well I eventually got the side light holders out. In the end they needed to be turned clockwise to release them. One came out fairly easily the other one was slow to release. However, the LED'S look so much better.

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Your osram nightbreakers how are they compared to standard bulbs? I've read that the mk2 are great. But was wondering how much the improvement is?

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The Mk2.5 lights are pretty good anyway but with the Nightbreakers there is still a significant improvement. We are surrounded by countryside where I live. You cant go out of town without driving down unlit country roads where you can really see how much whiter and brighter the lights are.

At £12.74 a pair they are really cheap as well:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Osram-Night-Breaker-64210NBP-Headlight/dp/B0047N0B0U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386453412&sr=8-1&keywords=H7+Osram

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Fully agree, Nightbreaker Plus are brilliant! Much longer beam and a lot brighter. Have had them on 3 cars now and won't buy anything else.

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I've got osram cool blue sides, dipped and full beam in my mk2 - the improvement was brilliant, I love the white light! its not actually blue like you would think

when im in a work van or my mums car with stock bulbs I just think they look so cheap now!!

one of my osram dipped beams blew the other day (after about 14 months). iv bought Philips this time just to compare :)

Ive been thinking about putting HIDs in my full beams when my osrams blow. I hate people with them in dipped that blind you, but since its full beam I think ill give it a go and have a test :)

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  • 1 year later...

Your advice was so good I joined the forum!

Re side light removal Focus 2.5;

Long nosed pliers as close to the base as possible and gently turn clockwise. Why not, its a Ford so it won't be logical.

Keep going with the good advise, its much appreciated by us out in the wilderness.

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  • 2 years later...

Hi, I've just tried to replace the sidelight bulbs on my '09 Focus hatch - I've managed one but the other I over twisted it and snapped the tongue clean off. It's the first time they've been changed in 8 years and I suspect the material has become rather brittle in that time! I think I can repair it with Araldite but does anybody know where I can purchase a new one? I've looked on eBay but no joy so far...

Thanks,

 

Andrew

 

 

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I don't recall ever seeing any for sale and Microcat doesn't list them as a seperate part so they must be classed as an integral part to the light unit only.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

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I am on my third pair of LED's in month whilst I experiment and mine do not seem to twist in either direction,they just push in really tight.:unsure:

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