has anybody managed to change the rubbish side lights next to xenons on 04 fabia vrs.

been on the search for ages but not got full answer... got the bulbs, but looking at the nearside access im thinking of waiting until it blows.. how big a job is it?

side lights are there to make your car seen, so why would you want them to be xenons?

i got xenons, i just want to change the little side light bulb from the cheap yellow to a white/blue version. as it looks rubbish

They are a bitch to replace but can be done on SOME of the fabia vRS's.

I say some cos it depends what kind of battery surround you have. On pre 06 cars it seems a lot easier to do but you still have to remove the ballast box etc..... on 06 onwards cars it seems that the battery cover design was changed making access to the lights a lot harder.

ChrisRS and myself tried to replace my sidelights at a meet last year without success.

Have a look at THIS post as it explains how to replace the sidelights on earlier vRS's.

Cheers

Dave.

thanks dave...........

thats just the thing i was after.. might give it a go tomorrow..

I done it on my 05 vrs with none of the hassle that is reported on here.

Yes it is tight but I got in both sides without removing anything.

With xenon lights it's gonna be a squeeze (so expect to lose some skin!). On the non-xenon cars the driver's side was doable, but the passenger side required the battery box being disassembled which isn't a big deal and buys you a lot more space to work in

Chris

post #18

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/fabia/newbie-vrs-owner/87549/

It's a bit of a barsteward to do

post #18

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/fabia/newbie-vrs-owner/87549/

It's a bit of a barsteward to do

I see you did it on a 56 plate did you end up removing the battery as when we looked at mine the battery cover doesn't look to be removable as the old one is..... Unless of course it changed again for the 56 plate onwards cars.

Would still like LED sidelights now that they're a little more reliable but just not if i have to faff about removing the battery.

Cheers

Dave.

I see you did it on a 56 plate did you end up removing the battery as when we looked at mine the battery cover doesn't look to be removable as the old one is..... Unless of course it changed again for the 56 plate onwards cars.

Would still like LED sidelights now that they're a little more reliable but just not if i have to faff about removing the battery.

Cheers

Dave.

Mine doesn't have a battery cover, Just a foam insulating blankety thing

Battery stayed insitu just moved ballast out the way, Still damned tight but do-able.

Thats mine been in a year all bar four days and not a hiccup.

Mine doesn't have a battery cover, Just a foam insulating blankety thing

Battery stayed insitu just moved ballast out the way, Still damned tight but do-able.

Thats mine been in a year all bar four days and not a hiccup.

Hmm sounds the same as mine..... Here's a piccy of mine...... is yours the same??? The plasticy bit bottom left of the battery is what stopped us getting at the sidelight bulbs.

I think three of us tried changing the bulbs that day without success though.

You must have a different technique or bloody small hands. ;)

Cheers

Dave.

Exactly the same apart from the Dragon box, PD160 & Strut brace. No I've hands like shovels.

Try disconnecting the ballast. You can then rest it on the battery which should give you just enough room

Exactly the same apart from the Dragon box, PD160 & Strut brace. No I've hands like shovels.

Try disconnecting the ballast. You can then rest it on the battery which should give you just enough room

Yeah we removed the ballast box as per the instructions in the link i posted earlier...... I might have another go at some point.

Cheers for the info Mike........ And apologies to the OP for thread hi-jacking. :thumbup:

Cheers

Dave.

If anyone's passing Manchester and fancies fitting my Bluevision sides, you're more than welcome. Some beer tokens will be made available

I physically can't do it - not without a seemingly stupid amount of hassle that is. So I've been putting with the candlelight output since May

Usually one of my first jobs on cars, uprating lighting (like the day of purchase) but not this time

I swapped the indicator bulbs, thankfully - but still....

So, not much help to the OP that - but I got it off my chest

Steve

If anyone's passing Manchester and fancies fitting my Bluevision sides, you're more than welcome. Some beer tokens will be made available

I physically can't do it - not without a seemingly stupid amount of hassle that is. So I've been putting with the candlelight output since May

Usually one of my first jobs on cars, uprating lighting (like the day of purchase) but not this time

I swapped the indicator bulbs, thankfully - but still....

So, not much help to the OP that - but I got it off my chest

Steve

Hey at least i helped the guy out before i hi-jacked the thread. :D:D:D:D

Cheers

Dave.

It was a free bump to the thread, OK?

And errr, I was at least backing up the opinion that they're just a little bit of a PITA to change

Steve

P.S. I thought I got away with that quite well, what did you think?? :P

It was a free bump to the thread, OK?

And errr, I was at least backing up the opinion that they're just a little bit of a PITA to change

Steve

P.S. I thought I got away with that quite well, what did you think?? :P

I can tell you've done it before yeah..... :D:D

Cheers

Dave.

Total thread hijack (thought I'd join in)... but since it's a legal requirement in some countries and common sense everywhere else that the driver should be able to replace a faulty bulb on the roadside if required, you do have to wonder WTF the car makers are playing at with designs like this.

I mean they seriously should have a "can you change the bulb on the roadside in the dark with only a torch" test as part of the EU NCAP tests.

I mean if you can't see the car it doesn't really matter how well it crashes.

It's a very valid point - designing for ease of change seems to have gone out the window. Very few cars I've owned in the past 5 years have been that easy to change bulbs on, and this includes some fairly mainstream models. So you have to wonder how 'normal' people manage

I must say the Fabia's been the worst for this, although it was just manageable for me with the first non-xenon equipped one!

Steve

Get a Mondeo!

Twist 2 clips, pull 2 pins and the whole headlight comes out!!

I think that's a bit of an extreme reaction to be honest John! :P