Headlight Assembly Replacement

Mobile Headlight Assembly Replacement at Home or Office

If you've got modern plastic headlights on your vehicle, you may be in luck and on the road to a super fast light replacement. To see if you have this type of headlight, open the hood and examine the area just above the headlight. You should see a long pin at the top. Is it there? Great! You're on easy street. If it's not there, your headlights will need to be removed using a series of screws that attach the headlight assembly to the radiator core support. A non-functional car headlight assembly is a serious liability for yourself and other drivers. This isn't the kind of repair you can wait around to fix. The best way to guide yourself through this process is to use your repair manual and consult with Wrench mobile mechanic.

What is Headlight Assembly Replacement?

The plastic used in typical headlight assemblies is formulated for clarity, durability, and impact resistance. However, the clear plastic is sensitive to UV exposure and heat degradation. Over time, clear plastic headlight lenses begin to oxidize, becoming foggy and yellow in color. This oxidation can reduce the effectiveness of headlights and turn signal lights by clouding the beams and altering the spread of light shining through the oxidized lenses. This condition worsens over time if left untreated. There are various headlight restoration products available. While some of these products are very effective at clearing fogged headlight lenses, most of these products are temporary at best. Oxidation in plastic of this type is a degradation of chemicals which cannot be reversed. Therefore, oxidation may be removed, but unless treated with a sealant of some type, will always return. Often, when oxidation is exhibited, the best option for correction is to simply replace the car standard headlamps.

How is Headlight Assembly Replacement Done?

1. Remove the front grille. Depending upon the year and model of your car, you may need to remove your vehicle's front grille.
2. Remove the screws that secure the headlight assembly to the vehicle.
3. Unplug the wiring from the back of the headlight assembly. Then, gently pull the old headlight assembly from the vehicle and set it aside.
4. Replace the headlight assembly by inserting the new assembly into place and replacing the screws. Plug the wiring into the back of the headlight assembly and screw the assembly back into the vehicle.
5. Insert the grille back into place and replace the screws to hold it in place.

Recommendations

Most drivers wait for a headlight capsule to burn out before replacing it, but this is one case where being proactive has a number of benefits. Replacing your headlight capsules early, before they burn out, ensures that you won't ever have your headlights cut when you're driving at night, but it can also act as a stealth upgrade. When you replace old headlight capsules with new ones, it's important to do them in pairs. If you replace one capsule, and not the other, you can end up with a distracting, uneven beam pattern that both looks bad and makes it more difficult to drive at night.

Symptoms That Indicate You Need A Headlight Assembly Replacement

While it's easy to think of a headlight capsule as something that simply works until it burns out, the reality is far from that kind of binary absolute. Headlights actually grow dimmer and dimmer as they age, but the process is so slow that it usually goes unnoticed. The easiest way to upgrade or improve your headlights only works if your headlight lenses look foggy. This foggy appearance is usually built-up oxidation that can affect both the brightness and beam pattern of your headlights, but you can remove it with a headlight reconditioning kit or a handful of items from the local hardware store.

Call us today to schedule headlight assembly replacement service for your car or truck, or request an appointment online.