So, setting off for work this afternoon it was a bit dull and rainy here so I put the headlights on and was rather peeved to see the warning light on the dash come on for a blown bulb... pulled over to check it and the O/S headlight was gone. Dammit I thought, I'll have to drive home tonight with one headlight out, which ain't exactly ideal. When I started the car to drive home at about midnight after work the warning light came on again as expected... drove along a fairly well lit street and it looked OK but then I turned off onto a dark country road and was thinking... it's pretty damn dark down here, even with one headlight! Turns out the other one had blown too (was definitely working this afternoon when I checked it, so it must have blown also when I switched the lights on at the start of my journey home). Had to complete the drive with sidelights and fogs on and hope the po po didn't pull me (I had my warrant card at the ready, haha!). So now I have to get two new bulbs tomorrow and by all accounts changing the bulbs is a right pain in the derriere, correct? Anyone advise on what bulbs are decent for the vRS? I don't want anything that's gonna melt the reflector but something nice and bright and reliable would be good.

Edited 19 February, 201016 yr by Big Mikey

http://www.leadinglamps.co.uk/philips-m-1.html?gclid=CND6j8-j_Z8CFQ1f4wod-Ui_kw try this websight i have replaced mine with phillips 2 years ago and much brighter

Ahh, always the way eh? Carry some spare bulbs

I go for Philips X-Tremes these days - decent longevity and great light output (well for my mains anyway, as I have factory xenons... )

Fitment isn't too bad, the nearside being the worst but you can create a bit more room by taking the battery cover/box off - you shouldn't need to move the battery itself.

Steve

Always carry spare bulbs, means you will have a brighter future Also plod cannot book you if you have spare bulbs.

I'm more surprised that this doesn't happen regularly; after all you never use 1 dipped beam bulb and not the other!

Thanks for the tips guys, off to Halfrauds to pick some up.

My nearside headlamp bulb failed today and I expected it to be 'pig' to change. Not much room between the back of the headlamp and the battery. Well it was easy, took me almost as long to get the new bulb out of the bubble pack than to fit it! I suspect if you have hands like a shovel it might not be so easy. I 'steer clear' of Halfords bulbs, at least their branded ones they just don't seem to last long. The Osram ones seen to last longer, at least that was the case on my last car. The Osram ones are £8.

It's been a bit of a 'tail of woe. this week. New battery and engine management light on, apparently due to glow plug failure. The dealer managed to get the light out but it was back on the following day. So it's back in next week for new glow plugs. I've had no problem starting, it's always started first turn of the key but maybe they are just not working quite as well as they should.

Halfords didn't have any Osram or Philips ones and apart from their own brand they only had cheaper Bosch ones which didn't look too clever and it was too late to go anywhere else so I got some extreme brilliance ones - a bit dear at £24.99 for two, but Which magazine seem to like them. I didn't go for any of the chavvy ultra laser blue ones or rally ones with the higher wattage as they looked like they'd melt the reflectors in no time at all. Fitting wasn't too bad, less hassle than I thought it would be, though there ain't much room to move between the battery and the light fitting and my fingers ain't huge either! One small problem was I bought the wrong size originally and had to take them back - the book in Halfords stated it was product 472 but when I got outside and compared, 472 was far too big, it was 477 that I needed. Tested em out last night and they are very nice indeed - the light is bright white which illuminates the road ahead very well, they are a lot brighter than the old ones (which looked like the original factory fit ones). Now we'll see how long they last, haha!

Edited 23 February, 201016 yr by Big Mikey