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HOWTO: New Octavia - Headlight Bulb Change


andy2407

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I didn't realise it was that difficult I was at a dealers at the weekend, and asked how hard it was to change a bulb as it's literally a pain to do it on our focus

he popped the bonnnet, pulled off a cover and said "yes, it should be easy, you just stick your hand in there, pull out the old one and put a new one in" :o

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  • 1 month later...

Taking the headlamps out is a doddle, Iv just changed my side light or some call it parking light, its a lot fiddlier than the bigger bulbs and getting hold of the bulb holder is just about impossible as you cant get your fingers in there to do it, I have some foreceps and these proved a life saver and the bulb holder was soon out and bulb replaced.

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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.

Step 1 - Open the bonnet to give access to the rear of the headlamp unit

OctyIIHeadlightChange-01.jpg

Step 2 - Undo the white plastic retaining nut at the rear of the headlight unit

OctyIIHeadlightChange-08.jpg

Step 3 - Pull the hook horizontally towards the centre of the bumper. Mine required a reasonable amount of force to do this

OctyIIHeadlightChange-10.jpg

Step 4 - Slide / wiggle the lamp unit directly forward. Reach behind to give it a push if your hands are small enough.

OctyIIHeadlightChange-11.jpg

Step 5 - The electrical connector is at the bottom rear corner

OctyIIHeadlightChange-14.jpg

Step 6 - Once the headlamp unit is clear, turn it upside down to get best access to the connector (making sure not to damage the paint work).

OctyIIHeadlightChange-16.jpg

Step 7 - Pull the tab / spring clip on the connector to help it clear the mating connector.

OctyIIHeadlightChange-17.jpg

Step 8 - View showing connector almost off

OctyIIHeadlightChange-40.jpg

Step 9 - I used Halfords Super Brilliance +50% bulbs. Type H1 for main beam and H7 for dipped (low) beam.

OctyIIHeadlightChange-18.jpg

Step 10 - View of backside of headlamp unit once removed

OctyIIHeadlightChange-22.jpg

Step 11 - Twist and remove for indicator replacement (not done here)

OctyIIHeadlightChange-25.jpg

Step 12 - Slide off metal clips and then remove rectangular shaped black plastic cover for access to low beam bulb (H7). It looks like there may have been screws in the top left and bottom right hand corners of this cover at some point, although there were none in mine.

OctyIIHeadlightChange-27.jpg

Step 13 - Undo the metal spring clip to access the bulb.

Note: A word of caution - You should never touch the glass part of the bulbs with your fingers - the chemicals in your skin may cause damage to them, or lead to premature failure.

OctyIIHeadlightChange-29.jpg

I think the bulb connection that can be seen in the top left of the compartment shown above is the sidelight, but I didn't attempt to change it on this occasion.

Step 14 - Pull off the round black rubber cover to access the main beam bulb (H1). Again, the metal spring clips need to be removed to access the bulb, and care needs to be taken not to touch the glass of the bulb.

OctyIIHeadlightChange-37.jpg

Step 15 - Replacement of the headlamp units is simply a reversal of Steps 1 to 8

OctyIIHeadlightChange-47.jpg

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/octavia-ii/few-tips-planting-bulbs-octavia-ii/158978/

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  • 4 weeks later...

Thanks again to Andy.

Having changed the n/s dipped bulb in April (see post #56 above!) and this evening had the o/s one go I have just swapped both dipped bulbs for Halfords Super Brilliance bulbs - not on buy one get one free at the moment unfortunately :( - and using Andy's guide has made it under a half hour job to do both, in the dark and sub-zero temperatures!

I agree with some of the other posts on here about the hooked lever you pull towards the centre of the car being very stiff, I wrapped an old rag around it to give me some padding.

Just a note to folks out there that if you can get hold of a Halfords Trade Card the bulbs reduce from £19.99 each to £12.60 each, which ain't a bad saving at all, the two pack of bog standard bulbs went from £16.99 to £7.50! It's also useful, for buying tools, wiper blades and engine oil in particular. All of these you get a fair chunk off, unless they're already on offer.

Cheers folks emoticon-0100-smile.gif

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  • 1 month later...

I really hate doing stuff like this - I always worry that I'm going to kill the car as I have the mechanical skills of a hamster :(

I have a new vRS with Halogen and I now have some new bulbs - Philips Extreme Power H7's - I might have a go at doing this tomorrow, but then again, I might chicken out :giggle:

Rich

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couldn't figure out how in the hell I was going to get my hand in behind the lamp to change the dip headlamp , so a quick google brought up this excellent post .

Thanks a milllion , saved me a hell of a lot of time .... I'll defo be having a better look around the site now ... never knew it existed.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Thanks Andy2407 your guide saved me a lot of grief and made changing the dipped headlight bulb on my Scout a doddle, can now attack future bulb changes with renewed confidence.

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I've just replaced my bulbs and started with the intention of following this guide but then I thought I'd see how far I could get without removing the headlamp units themselves and I managed to do both sides. The drivers side is a bit more trickey as there is an obstruction making access difficult.

hi i have changed mine without taking out the headlight and by positioning my missus' make-up mirror in various locations! it's tricky but can be done.....

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Thanks very much for the guide. Had to change my headlights over at the weekend, as I live in Germany as a member of the Armed Forces, to european headlights, and could not have done it without this guide, so thanks again.

I could not believe how easy it was.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Cheers for this post. I followed the owner manual to change some of the bulbs on my car. This guide helped no end, a picture paints a thousand words as they say. Great job and im sure people will be using this guide for a long time.

Regards,

Greg.

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  • 1 month later...

Thanks for the guide, did a good job.

Unforunately my headlams were not aligned when I put them back, my local Skoda garage says the adjuster motor has gone, got no teeth on it so it won't adjust.

They say I need to replace both headlamps @ £150 each. I think they may be having me on, unless I've done anything drastic to break them or they were like that before.

Anyway I need to replace the adjusting motor, anyone have any tips on how to change it?

THanks

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The manual for my Octy II mentions disconnecting a fuse as well - I can't see any reference to it here - anybody know anything about it ?

Ta

'chapeau' to Andy for the OP, managed to change a bulb in about 15 minutes last night. The reference in my handbook to the fuse appears spurious and misleading, and the most difficult bit was putting the unit back - you always worry about how much force to use, and it took more attempts and effort to put it back that it did to get it out.

The arrangement for the dipped beam bulb is slightly different from both examples here, its just the same as the main beam - circular rubber cover pulls off, then press on the two lugs and turn anti-clockwise to release the bulb.

Nice to get it sorted last night given the crap weather on the M62 this morning !

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  • 5 weeks later...

Another big thanks to Andy for his guide. The only bit I got caught out with was putting unit back in. It doesn't fit all the way back in until catch thing is pushed back to its original position. Scratchy head time for a while. :wonder:

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