Let There Be Light!

Well despite what you reckoned, changing the dip lightbulb on the passenger side of my car was not so simple Shiny French YouTube Dude (not that I'd selected him for his alluring accent, and dulcet tones...he seemed very adept at all things mechanical).

You didn't tell me that there were extra components in the form of large plastic and metal boxes with wires and brackets on that side of the motor that meant, unless you had the hands of a six-year old, it was pretty near impossible to squeeze your mitts in behind the headlight covers.

But I'm kind of stubborn, and a tad impatient, and wanted the job done now at 4.30pm on a Sunday afternoon, not having to take it in somewhere tomorrow and smile politely at someone who would speak at me like I'm a silly woman, and then charge me $150 for the privilege.  I'd already had to make small talk with the Supercheap Auto Checkout Chap, who'd thrown around frequent rounds of 'Darl's' when ringing up my purchase like he'd got a seven- for-the-price-of-one-deal on them at Aldi.

Nope, I'd previously repaired a dryer, replaced showerheads and taps, and changed a brake light - this was not going to discredit my good name (nor dent my budget).

I turned to Google, only to read through forums and forums of useless exchanges with more people complaining about the same thing rather than providing any real solutions.  Many of them had given up and taken it to a professional.  Bah!  How many professionals does it to take to change a lightbulb? 😉

I dusted off the car manual, which was not so helpful as it just referred to a couple random diagrams and 3 steps which referred to B and A, but nothing about needing a set of super-extender,  and somewhat dexterous digits.

My face now looking like one of those Tik Tok 'Watch Me Apply Make-Up with a Trowel' videos smudged with whatever it is that coats every surface of a 12 year old motor (which looks deceptively very clean) I reassessed my options.

Perhaps I could remove the enitre metal frame that ran  halfway along the top front of the motor, above the headlight casings.  I'd only have to remove 4 bolts, and I was pretty confident I could then flex it enough to squeeze my hand under it and access the rear of the headlamp.

But...what the heck were those weird notches on the top of the bolts, that looked like the mutant love-child of an Allen key, a Phillips head, and a paticularly introverted star-picket?

Surely I'd have a bit in my drill kit that would fit, and if not, I'd been known to get all MacGuyver and improvise with a butter knife and a few choice words to get the job done.

Well, that 593 piece drill bit kit that had been gathering dust in my garage finally stepped up to the plate.  A few short 'bzzzzzzzts' and the frame was free!  (Well flexible enough that I could get my meat hook under it.

I donned my rubber gloves (don't get too excited, apparently you need to wear gloves to handle halogen bulbs).

Now, remove the cover, grasp the bulb holder, and twist - anti-clockwise, ANTI-CLOCKWISE silly!

And suddenly, voila!  It was free!!!

I removed the old bulb and replaced it with the shiny new one, following the instructions 'Replace with new bulb, insert in car, twist clockwise'

Yeah, your instructions are rubblish VW, obviously translated from German to English and missing a few essential dot points.

Ich verstehe nicht!

It's a wee bit tricky to insert something in a hole when you can't see it...apparently...😳

After a few attenpts, including one where the bulb decided of its own accord to abandon the bulb-holder and pursue freedom,  I had the bright idea to look through the front of the headlight as a guide (see what I did there 🤣).  It was like the Boeing Starliner docking successfully with the International Space Station, only I didn't leave any astronauts behind with ONLY EACH OTHER for company for a year <<shudder>>.

Mission accomplished, I replaced the cover, re-attached the frame, and switched on the ignition to give her a test run.

Let there be light! 💡

Ok, so I may have let out a couple of a excited exclamations of  'Yes!' (but I currently have no neighbours) so it was just between me, the friendly magpie family, and Bessie who just looked at me down her long nose with disdain now that this activiry had eaten into her precious afternoon walkies slot.

That was the second lightbulb I had changed today, the first one was over the dining table and the only challenge I'd had was avoiding the insect confetti encased in the lightcover as I'd removed it.

My Uncle believes that when your things break, or stop working they reflect some part of your life that needs attention.

So cheers to some brighter days ahead!