How to change sidelights - Fabia II & Roomster

[irfant]

First, take the rubber cap...

Insert your long and thin fingers :P and feel the bulb holder...

Try to twist bulb holder loose...

At the very firts time it is little hard to unplug the bulb holder, you can also use a thin plyers...

Don't pull the wiring....:eek:

[pinkpanther]

I've tried this approach and totally failed. My mate who has the smallest hands in the world has also tried and failed:) Anyway I gave in to the inevitable last week and asked my local main dealer how they change the sidelight bulbs. After a brief conference between the mechanics and service manager it seems the bumper has to come off and the headlights have to come out :eek: Needless to say my Osram nightbreaker dipped beams will just have to put up with living next door to OEM sidelights.

[Jonny5ive]

So you're F*cked if you have fat fingers then

[jeff2003]

I will try tomorrow... and let you know. I will post pictures of my hands before and after!

Jeff

[jeff2003]

I finally did it, must admit it was painful.

I tried the first time using my fingers as Irfant suggested but besides thin fingers you also need very strong fingerpads. I actually reached the bulb holder but failed at pulling it.

Second time I used pliers. What worked for me was holding the pliers with one hand while directing its arms with one finger (from the other hand) through the bulb holder, once in position open the pliers arms, grip the bulb holder and pulling out. It took me near 90 minutes to change both sidelights.

What to consider:

1. Do not use very long pliers (See the pic) medium size is ok, even small ones could help.

2. It was easier at the driver's side (L/H), but on the passenger's side its a different story because you have very limited space to work, because of the charcoal filter. So I had to remove the filter and also the parking light because of wiring (you are doing it blind and you have many wires that can be damaged). Small pliers are useful particularly on this side.

Good luck!

Jeff

Edited 14 August, 2008 by jeff2003

[Little Jo]

A very useful thread indeed. I just hope I don't have to change my sidelights too often! I do wish bulbs had to changable at the roadside with minimum tools. No wonder we see so many cars with defective lights!

I have small hands and skinny fingers, but not particularly stong fingers, so I suspect I might have problems. :(

Still, at least we know where to come for the know-how.

Thanks guys!

[irfant]

I have small hands and skinny fingers, but not particularly stong fingers, so I suspect I might have problems. :(

:thumbup:

[bahnstormer vrs]

I think I'll just settle for changing Headlights and Indicators.

[pinkpanther]

congratulations Jeff2003, you have inspired me to try again!!

After several unsuccessfull attempts at changing the Roomster sidelights I thought I'd have a go at our other car - a Nissan Qashqai. Needless to say I managed to change both the dipped beam and sidelights in around 10 minutes flat, incurring only minimal damage to my knuckles in the process

I'm not sure how much relative input Renault and Nissan had in the development of the Qashqai, but it seems to have resulted in a decent product which gives at least some concession to owner maintenance. You only have to look at the difficulty involved in say changing a cambelt on a mark 1 petrol Octavia to see that ease of maintenance was pretty low down on the designers priorities (I speak as someone who has owned 2 Mk1 Octy vRS's and has had to stump up for 2 cambelt changes )

That said I have enjoyed owning my last 3 Skoda's and will probably look at another one when time comes:D

[Guest parsko]

Just an Idea, would a piece of 1/2" or 3/4" heater hose with a slot cut in the end engage in the bulb holder and allow you to twist and pull it out?

[bahnstormer vrs]

You thought changing bulbs in a Fabia/Roomster was difficult; try doing the headlight bulbs on a current Renault Megane; you have to get at them via the underside of the wheelarch liner (removing the wheel first); as shown on Fifth Gear on Monday this week!:eek:

[mise]

Been lurking for a while, thought it was about time I posted

Thanks for the info and advice about the sidelights, although I gave up this afternoon after 2 attempts (with needle nose pliers on the 2nd attempt) and took the car to a garage to change them. The mechanic got it done in a few minutes, but he didn't find it easy either! Didn't get charged much thankfully, me and my family have been using them for years.

[bahnstormer vrs]

Changed the headlamp and indicator bulbs today; as easy as any car I've had.

Then tried the sidelights; had fingers, long nosed pliers, torch and mirror available but all to no avail. I gave up after about 20 mins.

May try another day.

[Decron]

I have just tried changing the sidelights today on my Scout and it's just not possible.

Passanger side - yes. It's fiddly and a pain but you can just get in there to access the bulb and twist it out. I can see how this would be easier on the petrol as the battery is smaller.

Drivers side- no chance. On the 1.9tdi the fuel filter is in the way. I thought I could remove it and it's housing like in the Mk1 Fabia but Two of the mounting bolts are inaccesable (One is even buried underneath an A/C pipe )

It does say in the manual that some of the bulbs WILL require your dealer to fit. I had no idea it would be these....:(

In all honesty it looks like a headlamp out job.

[mise]

In all honesty it looks like a headlamp out job.

I'm not sure how the 1.9 compares to the 1.4 80 brake TDI but the mechanic managed to change mine without removing the headlights although he found the drivers side really awkward.

Worth the hassle though, the Philips blue vision sides match the X-Treme Power mains (which I fitted myself) perfectly, before I the got the new sides fitted you could really see the difference in colour from the OEM ones.

[Dougal]

Looking at the access to the sidelight bulbs on our TDI Roomster, it looks like they may be accessible by removing the plasic liner from under the wing.

The torx tool to remove the liner is included with the tool kit(same tool to remove the rear lights).

Not tried to change the bulbs on ours but it does look easier than trying to get access past the fuel filter.

Hope this helps

Dougal

[Decron]

Looking at the access to the sidelight bulbs on our TDI Roomster, it looks like they may be accessible by removing the plasic liner from under the wing.

The torx tool to remove the liner is included with the tool kit(same tool to remove the rear lights).

Not tried to change the bulbs on ours but it does look easier than trying to get access past the fuel filter.

Hope this helps

Dougal

I saw the route through to that from the other end although the gap looks a bit small :( Ill take another look this weekend.

[Organist]

I still find it absolutely beyond stupid that you can't change a simple bulb on some cars these days without dismantling half of the front of it first.

[vincentvdl]

Hi all,

After trying many things described here for hours without succes, I had an idea.

Even if I had never seen this connector, I knew exactly how it looked like.

The solution I propose you here if fantastic! You will be able to replace both lights in less than 10 minutes! Note, this explanation is for the bi-halogen version but will also apply for the reflector model.

All you need is 1 testclip (see picture, price is 1,20€ for 2, length is about 8 cm) and 1 dishwasching glove (so you have more grip when you pull the testclip.)

First remove the indicator lights for more space & the rubbers from the sidelights.

Then feel how the connector is placed so you know where the "mini handles" are located.

Then open the testclip completely after removing one of the handles (the one you will pull, otherwise, it will just slip off the testclip) (see picture) and grasp the connector. Check with one finger that you have fixed it well.With your rubber glove it's now easy to remove the connector!

The Blue Vision sidelights look great!

Just let me know if you have questions!

Edited 16 June, 2009 by vincentvdl

[lemonvrs]

Thanks for that very useful post, I tried the testclip method and it works perfectly. Took less than 5 minutes to do both bulbs and the Philips Blue Visions match the headlamps perfect

[mygokhan]

Bende bu elleri nerden tanıyorum diyordum :)

[bahnstormer vrs]

Changed the headlamp and indicator bulbs today; as easy as any car I've had.

Then tried the sidelights; had fingers, long nosed pliers, torch and mirror available but all to no avail. I gave up after about 20 mins.

May try another day.

Well; it's another day, just about two years on!

I'd bought some of these;- http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/200605297949?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649 and fitted them as sidelights in my Yeti (a really simple job) so thought I'd have another go at changing those on my wife's Roomster.

I found this thread again and discovered the 'test clip' or 'crocodile clip' suggestion and thought ah ha, I have those on my battery charger.

Taking note of the above instructions, with a bit of dexterity and moving the indicator bulb fittings out of the way, about 15 mins later sidelight bulbs changed!

Here's the result, daytime with lights on and later at dusk;-

A huge difference and they can almost be used as DRLs.

[loadswine]

Very effective.

[heineoen]

Thank you for photos bahnstormer vrs! Nice job

[Calomax]

and they can almost be used as DRLs.

Should you really want to