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HOWTO: New Octavia - Headlight Bulb Change


andy2407

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Great write up :thumbup:

The sliding lamp release catch on mine has corroded and was so tight i couldn't move it by hand.

Used the towing eye and tapped hook in toward lampunit - got 3mm movement - away from light 3mm movement, kept this up for a bit then hooked towing eye over the catch hook, pulled out hook toward center of car. removed lamp unit then sprayed the flat plate with WD then worked catch back and forward, until easily moving, flushed out with more WD then sprayed with light grease.

NOW its a great system and takes 5 mins and no real effort to pop light unit out to change bulb.

Check the release now on yours and see if needs grease, it appears to be a real water trap.

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Great write up :thumbup:

The sliding lamp release catch on mine has corroded and was so tight i couldn't move it by hand.

Used the towing eye and tapped hook in toward lampunit - got 3mm movement - away from light 3mm movement, kept this up for a bit then hooked towing eye over the catch hook, pulled out hook toward center of car. removed lamp unit then sprayed the flat plate with WD then worked catch back and forward, until easily moving, flushed out with more WD then sprayed with light grease.

NOW its a great system and takes 5 mins and no real effort to pop light unit out to change bulb.

Check the release now on yours and see if needs grease, it appears to be a real water trap.

Thay may explain why I can't get mine back in properly =)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just bought a Octavia Mk11 to replace a Mk1, how far does this hook have to be pulled out at the bottom of the lamp housing in order to remove the headlamp unit?, I cant budge either of mine even using some force, dont want to break the darned thing if I am doing something wrong, thanks.

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It moves about an inch, the handle drops a plasic plate seen in pic 7 of the 1st post, mine come out really easy as I take them out every week, including fog surrounds and lower grilles to clean properly, but if yours has never been out it will be very stiff. Spray with GT85 or wd 40 and push back and forth

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  • 2 weeks later...

followed the guide today - very helpful. my only issue is the passenger side light unit won't come out far enough to enable me to turn it upsidedown to release the catch. i tried and failed to release the connector so ended up changing the dipped bulb in situ. i'm sure it is just a technique issue but i couldn't get the catch released to unplug it completely

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followed the guide today - very helpful. my only issue is the passenger side light unit won't come out far enough to enable me to turn it upsidedown to release the catch. i tried and failed to release the connector so ended up changing the dipped bulb in situ. i'm sure it is just a technique issue but i couldn't get the catch released to unplug it completely

There is enough space to get to the connector from the inside. I had this problem but it's easy from the inside, you just need something that will reach the clip.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...

I had two H7s fitted today at Halfords, but the offside beam has dropped and is half the brightness of the nearside beam - both are Halfords own extra brilliance. I've tried adjusting the beam up and down with the rotating hex bolt which has had no effect. Is it possible to fit the bulbs so that they are not seated properly and therefore the beam pattern is wrong? Wished I'd not bothered, the lights are simply more white in colour, certainly not noticeably brighter than the OE ones.

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I had two H7s fitted today at Halfords, but the offside beam has dropped and is half the brightness of the nearside beam - both are Halfords own extra brilliance. I've tried adjusting the beam up and down with the rotating hex bolt which has had no effect. Is it possible to fit the bulbs so that they are not seated properly and therefore the beam pattern is wrong? Wished I'd not bothered, the lights are simply more white in colour, certainly not noticeably brighter than the OE ones.

The bulb is probably not in right, I had this problem when I changed bulbs. You need to take the headlamp fitment out completely to get them in properly.

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  • 2 months later...

Probably - my guess is that the white nut that retains the headlight was never tightened properly on the o/side at the factory so, having now done that when you changed the bulb the o/side alignment is slightly too high. I had exactly the same on mine when I changed to HID's and found the o/side light too high (fortunately I'd taped up the alignment on the garage door with the car parked 20 yards away before I started so it was eeasy to adjust (adjusters are on the inside corner of the the light unit)

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Probably - my guess is that the white nut that retains the headlight was never tightened properly on the o/side at the factory so, having now done that when you changed the bulb the o/side alignment is slightly too high. I had exactly the same on mine when I changed to HID's and found the o/side light too high (fortunately I'd taped up the alignment on the garage door with the car parked 20 yards away before I started so it was eeasy to adjust (adjusters are on the inside corner of the the light unit)

Wish I'd done that when I changed to HIDs! Luckily just had my winter service done by Skoda and they've aligned them for me =)

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  • 3 weeks later...

Great guide, used it today, and replaced the duff bulb. I will now change the lot over to Halfords brilliance range (not sure which).

It is guides like this which make forums such a joy, and make me hope that I can help others in the future.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I have produced this guide to show how I changed the headlight bulbs on my Octavia MkII Elegance (not Xenon).

I am not sure whether it will also apply to other non-Xenon Octavia MkII models, or the Octavia MkII vRS.

There is already a very useful guide to changing the lamps on an Octavia MkII with Xenons on VRStu's website at Octavia-vRS.com - Changing Front Lamps - Octavia II

Tools Required: None

You undertake this modification at your own risk. Neither I nor Briskoda can be held responsible for any loss, damage injury or malfunction arising from this modification howsoever caused.

Note: The Skoda Owners Manual that came with my car states "Changing certain bulbs is not something which you can do yourself, but requires to be done by a specialist. Other parts of the vehicle must be removed in order to change the light bulbs. This applies, in particular, to bulbs which can only be reached from the engine compartment.

...

Edit: October 2009 - Its coming up to 3 years since I wrote this guide but I'm glad people are still finding it useful. I would also recommend having a read of FriendlyFire's Top Tips in http://briskoda.net/...avia-ii/158978/

Hi,

Thank you very much.

I am from India and I have the facelifted Octavia 2 (Feb 2010 make). My left low-beam light stopped working today and I will try the procedure as you have described.

BTW, do you know if it's easy to check if it's the fuse that is blown or the bulb? Is there a separate fuse for each lamp?

Thanks again,

Anand

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  • 4 weeks later...

Can I also say thanks for posting your 'how to' guide. I tried to get the headlamps out to change the bulbs last night - and failed! Then I tried again today after reading your guide, and hey presto, job done in half an hour :thumbup:

The only other tip I can think of adding is that, if you have a late model Octavia II (with the 'wrap around' type headlights) - I found that to release the headlamp unit, it really helped to squeeze my hand in to where the wiring connector is plugged in, then push the unit forward from there - the units seem to pop out far easier this way than trying to wiggle them free from the front (even with loads of effing and blindin', my headlamp units wouldn't budge without this push from the back).

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  • 2 months later...

Just failed trying to doing this, my stupid fingers snapped the plastic bit you're meant to press down with your fingernail on the wiring connector. Any way I can easily get it off now? Tried pushing a screwdriver in various bits but I'm generally useless at this kinda thing :think:

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  • 1 month later...

Thanks for the "how to" pics.Much appreciated.Job done.:)

Just failed trying to doing this, my stupid fingers snapped the plastic bit you're meant to press down with your fingernail on the wiring connector. Any way I can easily get it off now? Tried pushing a screwdriver in various bits but I'm generally useless at this kinda thing :think:

Yeah that happened mine as well just now but you will be able to open it with a bit of careful manouvering with a small screwdriver.

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I am probably the most non mechanichally minded person you'll ever meet, and also one of the most tight fisted people you'll meet. After driving about for the last 3 months with a blown n/s dipped headlight i came across this post. When i first had a look in the manual and then under the bonnet i began to feel squeamish (Scottish) about paying Halfords £6.99 to change the bulb. I am proud to say, today i did it and in about 20 minutes. I didn't disconnect the the wiring plug, just put a rag between the light and bodywork. Thanks very much for this, it made it so easy to follow.

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