The clip is the BLACK (darker black then the rest in the diagram) and you have to push it in and then twist it slightly while pushed in and it'll come out. You have to release the clip first (it's a pressure clip that holds the bulb in place).

 

ok that sheds some light....i see the black clip in the diagram, which looks to be at the bottom (is it underneat the bulb connector/holder?)....the directions say swivel it.....you say push it in...i'll try that now....

edit: this is ridiculous. bloody knuckles from changing a light bulb? from what i can tell there is absolutely nothing in there that remotely resembles the black clip in that picture, nor can i find anything that swivels or even pushes in. there is some sort of a silver clip that goes along the right side of the back of the bulb there, but i can only get it to move a bit, it won't swivel or open up like a hinge....


edit2: that was one of the most painful experiences of my life. there is a thumb piece of the clip near the top left of each bulb backing that needs to be "unlatched"...too bad they never tell you this. i unlatched it and the hinge comes downward releasing the bulb....what a nightmare.....the worst part is i let some moisture into my driver's headlight....who knows if it will dissipate now.

 

Yeah, I changed my bulbs about a month ago. By far the most difficult thing I have done so far!(see my mods)
Ford deserve a good slap for that one![]

 

I'm an expert now.

I put in silverstars..they look great. the fog removal process was what I expected of the headlights: the simple unplug and twist routine of most auto light bulbs.

 

As my daughter would say "Holy Moly!!!!!!" It's a b_tch to do this!!! I can't see any clips if my life depended on it. I've felt around and can't see or feel cr_p! Does anyone know if the dealer will install them for you? I'm dropping off my car to do an oil change and alignment tonight.

 

Dumbest method to retain headlight bulbs I have ever seen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This was total BS. Took me like 2 hours.[?|] [?|] [?|]

 

Well, Someone told me not to mention to the dealer since it may void the warranty and I don't want to do that. I guess I'll try again in a few days when I get time. I thought that as long as you got a replacement that was spec'd in the ford replacement guide(manual) that it should be a non issue? I would assume that Sylvania Silverstars are direct replacement bulbs for the factory types, right? Even if they are brighter or don't last as long they should have the same spec or equiv type as specified! Any suggestions?

 

As my daughter would say "Holy Moly!!!!!!" It's a b_tch to do this!!! I can't see any clips if my life depended on it. I've felt around and can't see or feel cr_p! Does anyone know if the dealer will install them for you? I'm dropping off my car to do an oil change and alignment tonight.

you won't see the clips until you actually release it, if that makes any sense. the easiest way to describe this method is:

1)remove rubber bulb cover from back of headlight assembly unit under the hood

2)with *small hands* reach into the assembly and feel for the clip release. ***it is located just to the top left of square wiring clip that is plugged into the back of the bulb. (NEAR the red circle in my diagram below) once you feel the clip push it with your thumb to the right and down a bit to "unlatch" it. as soon as it unlatches, you will feel the pressure of it release and it will hinge towards you. at this point the bulb is loose and will come out with some careful fenagling. try not to get the wires from the wiring clip caught in the latch clip.

I revised the Ford Diagram to be a bit more explanatory:

the good news is putting the new ones in is much easier:

1)make sure clip is unlatched and hinged towards you.

2)insert new bulb carefully (single center tab of bulb back is on top), guide into place (look into headlight from front to make sure its in)

3)reposition clip and latch it with thumb to lock bulb in place


4)push wiring clip onto bulb.

 

When you say Top left, is that while your looking at the headlight or as your facing the street as if you were the headlight pointing out? Thanks

 

looking at the diagram its in the general area that i circled red. so top left as you are facing the street out in front of the car.

 

Got It! Thanks for your help. I'll try it again on Sat. and post when I get it completed, hopefully!?!?

 

dont give up....i cut every knuckle on my right hand and dropped the f bomb at least a dozen times and then once i got it once, it became much easier. careful turning on your stock bulbs again if you've accidentally touched the glass on them with your fingers like i did....if you turn it on it might burst inside the housing.

good luck!

 

I bought a pair of Sylvania XtraVision, took out the manual and I did it in the dusk in the parking lot of the store. Took me less than ten minutes for both, but not without a small cut on my right hand

1. You'll take off the rubber lid, that looks like a 4" tupperware lid.

What the manual doesn't tell you is that you'll work on the whole installation/removal process inside a 4" tailpipe like pipe all by feel.

I pulled the lamp out before removing the connector, because when I pulled on the connector, the whole reflector assembly moved and I didn't want to break it. The wiring and connector for headlight was made of marginal material. Talk about cheap construction.

When you insert the bulb, make sure the flattened part of the circular base is faced down.

 

Oh.My.Gosh.
Thanks SO much for all the helpful info! Saved me some cut up knuckles! Got the old bulb out and the new one in, in pretty good time! [driving] I wanted to do it quickly since it is about zero degrees tonight.

Cheers,

 

this is a euro designed way of retaining bulbs... all bmws with halogens and i believe benz's and vw's do this as well. its a bitch i do them everyday at work and i still bust up my knuckles and get frustrated.... HID bulbs are SOOO much easier to change

 

first bulb is the hardest after that easy street

 

It took me about half an hour to get the bulb out. It was about 10 degrees out, and I couldn't unlatch the metal clip. I used a screwdriver and pried the clip out manually. If I had any bigger hands it would of been impossible to change it. Im fearing the time I have to change the passenger.[rofl]

 

Thanks guys, this little write up helped me a lot. Yeah the foglights were a lot easier to do. I had a headlight go out so I bought Silverstars to replace it but I think the problem was with the harness. One of the conductors pulled out of it when I removed it from the bulb. I put it back in but had to wiggle it on good to make the light come on. I'm thinking if I hit a good bump the light may go out again. Is the headlight harness easy enough to replace? Anyone on here done it?

 

low beam headlights

My low beams went out the other day.I bought new bulbs and replaced them. I went to to turn on the headlights and they didn't light up.I bought another set of bulbs and the same thing happened again.I checked the harness on both bulbs and they were secure on the bulbs.When I put the highbeams on ,they work.Am I missing a step here or could it be something else that's wrong?[rant]