[Ray_S]

This is just me venting so don't mind me.

Decided to change out OE Philips H7 LL bulbs on my brother 9G facelift SR because they are pants compared to the OE HIDs on his old 8G Sport with some Osram Night Breaker 200 H7.

No interest in aftermarket HIDs/LEDs as have been blinded enough by them.

So what I thought would be a 10 minute job turned into half a day all because of the access to the offside dipped beam bulb or rather lack off.

Now I managed to change the nearside dipped bulb pretty easy once I worked that the airbox snorkel was 2 piece. The nearside high beam I didn't even have to move the battery just unclip the cables. Offside highbeam took less than 30 seconds.

Now lets get back back to the offside dipped beam. Ok drained the washer fluid and removed the washer bottle filler neck, now do you think I could get enough leverage to remove the power connector? Nope would not budge, had to use a screw driver wrapped in tape to pry it off against the housing, next the spring again no leverage and I am doing all sorts of contortion in order get the spring off, now I am sure several hours have gone by and it is getting dark and still no further getting than damn spring off, am I going the right way yes I am, tried with and without gloves, my fingers are getting numb. Now I have been trying head on, switched to the side and wouldn't you know it the spring popped right off.

I think I would like to have words with whomever designed this setup, replacing a dipped beam bulb should not require any disassembly nor tools to remove push clips. I can't imagine doing this job at night miles from home.

 

[Ben1974]

Take the bumper off - much easier (not quicker).

Ludicrous the way Honda have made access to these lights so difficult

 

[poor1]

Interesting. The standard headlights on the MK 9 are very poor but this is masked by mainly driving in urban areas with street lights.

I take you have changed the standard bulbs to something else but I am not clear to me as to what have replaced them with. And are they significantly better?

This is just me venting so don't mind me.

Decided to change out OE Philips H7 LL bulbs on my brother 9G facelift SR because they are pants compared to the OE HIDs on his old 8G Sport with some Osram Night Breaker 200 H7.

No interest in aftermarket HIDs/LEDs as have been blinded enough by them.

So what I thought would be a 10 minute job turned into half a day all because of the access to the offside dipped beam bulb or rather lack off.

Now I managed to change the nearside dipped bulb pretty easy once I worked that the airbox snorkel was 2 piece. The nearside high beam I didn't even have to move the battery just unclip the cables. Offside highbeam took less than 30 seconds.

Now lets get back back to the offside dipped beam. Ok drained the washer fluid and removed the washer bottle filler neck, now do you think I could get enough leverage to remove the power connector? Nope would not budge, had to use a screw driver wrapped in tape to pry it off against the housing, next the spring again no leverage and I am doing all sorts of contortion in order get the spring off, now I am sure several hours have gone by and it is getting dark and still no further getting than damn spring off, am I going the right way yes I am, tried with and without gloves, my fingers are getting numb. Now I have been trying head on, switched to the side and wouldn't you know it the spring popped right off.

I think I would like to have words with whomever designed this setup, replacing a dipped beam bulb should not require any disassembly nor tools to remove push clips. I can't imagine doing this job at night miles from home.

View attachment 327638

 

[Das]

Take the bumper off - much easier (not quicker).

Ludicrous the way Honda have made access to these lights so difficult

Yea, should have been an EU regulation that you don't need to be a Master Tech to change a bulb on a car.

 

[Kremmen]

Especially as some countries insist you carry spare bulbs and maybe want you to self repair at the roadside.

 

[Ben1974]

This was my thinking too

 

[GrantCivic]

As others have said, taking the bumper off and removing the light assembly is the easiest way. First time I did this, I found another H7 bulb rolling around inside the light.
The spring clips are unnecessarily tight and finger unfriendly IMO.

 

[NitrousX]

This is just me venting so don't mind me.

Decided to change out OE Philips H7 LL bulbs on my brother 9G facelift SR because they are pants compared to the OE HIDs on his old 8G Sport with some Osram Night Breaker 200 H7.

No interest in aftermarket HIDs/LEDs as have been blinded enough by them.

So what I thought would be a 10 minute job turned into half a day all because of the access to the offside dipped beam bulb or rather lack off.

Now I managed to change the nearside dipped bulb pretty easy once I worked that the airbox snorkel was 2 piece. The nearside high beam I didn't even have to move the battery just unclip the cables. Offside highbeam took less than 30 seconds.

Now lets get back back to the offside dipped beam. Ok drained the washer fluid and removed the washer bottle filler neck, now do you think I could get enough leverage to remove the power connector? Nope would not budge, had to use a screw driver wrapped in tape to pry it off against the housing, next the spring again no leverage and I am doing all sorts of contortion in order get the spring off, now I am sure several hours have gone by and it is getting dark and still no further getting than damn spring off, am I going the right way yes I am, tried with and without gloves, my fingers are getting numb. Now I have been trying head on, switched to the side and wouldn't you know it the spring popped right off.

I think I would like to have words with whomever designed this setup, replacing a dipped beam bulb should not require any disassembly nor tools to remove push clips. I can't imagine doing this job at night miles from home.

View attachment 327638

I am in the process of changing the bulbs on mine, would you be able to share some pictures of what would need to be removed please. Especially on the near side as i know from reading posts it can be a pain in the backside.

 

[GrantCivic]

I am in the process of changing the bulbs on mine, would you be able to share some pictures of what would need to be removed please. Especially on the near side as i know from reading posts it can be a pain in the backside.

Guide for removing the bumper can be readHERE Then Here
if you’re not taking it off, you just need to follow the manual, but you need very small, strong flexible hands.

 

[Ray_S]

Take the bumper off - much easier (not quicker).

Ludicrous the way Honda have made access to these lights so difficult

I'd be worried about the alignment if I did that, though I think it is only 3 connectors, front fog lights and front parking sensors to disconnect when removing the bumper cover.

Interesting. The standard headlights on the MK 9 are very poor but this is masked by mainly driving in urban areas with street lights.

I take you have changed the standard bulbs to something else but I am not clear to me as to what have replaced them with. And are they significantly better?

Well high output halogen bulbs are subjective and it can depend on the headlight unit as well, they will never match HIDs or LEDs but are less likely to upset other road users and are road legal in the UK. From the feedback I've gotten they are better than the OE Philips LL bulbs that came with the car but not as good as the OE 8G HIDs obviously.

As others have said, taking the bumper off and removing the light assembly is the easiest way. First time I did this, I found another H7 bulb rolling around inside the light.
The spring clips are unnecessarily tight and finger unfriendly IMO.

As said I wouldn't want to upset the alignment but it is good that the option is there if needed but still believe it shouldn't be necessary. I do think now that I have done it once I could do it again faster when required.

I am in the process of changing the bulbs on mine, would you be able to share some pictures of what would need to be removed please. Especially on the near side as i know from reading posts it can be a pain in the backside.

I didn't really take many photos as I was too busy just trying to get it done. However there is a video of a Polish bloke changing the dipped beams on a 9G pre-facelift which I found after I finished which may help. The procedure is the same as the facelift however the way the bulbs and springs are orientated are different and the facelift uses the DRLs dimmed as the side/parking lights over a separate W5W per headlight.