Properly working car lights are a legal requirement, crucial to keeping you safe at night and during poor weather. Below, you’ll find some helpful advice on how to check your bulbs, as well as how to replace them yourself and what bulbs for your car are correct.
You can find a wide range of car bulbs at Euro Car Parts, made easy by our part finder and your vehicle registration to quickly see which bulbs you need for your car.
Check Your Car Bulbs
As part of your car maintenance, you should always first check your car bulbs. Here’s a few simple ways to check if your bulbs need replacing.
Clean Headlamps
To ensure your headlamps are performing at an optimum level, use a cloth to remove any dirt or debris trapped around their exterior. The build-up of snow during winter can also reduce light omission from your headlamps, so double check there is no snow blocking the bulb aperture.
Test Brake Lights And Indicators
While a friend is stood at the rear side of your vehicle, apply the brake pedal, and use both indicators. Your assistant should observe the brake lights and indicators to check they’re operating correctly. If no lights switch on, they may need replacing.
Replace Both Bulbs
You should always replace your bulbs in pairs. Even if you notice only one of your headlamp bulbs isn’t functioning properly, you should still replace both, that way you’ll have a balanced output of light.
What’s The Difference Between Halogen and LED Bulbs?
You may come across two types of bulbs: Halogen and LED. Simply put, Halogen bulbs use a filament to generate light and is the most common car bulb on the market. LED bulbs generate light via diodes and are increasingly popular in modern cars.
In comparison to Halogen bulbs, LEDs are energy efficient, last longer, and offer a stronger beam of light.
What Bulbs Does My Car Need?
There’s a variety of different bulb fittings that depend on the make and model of your car. Most commonly, it’s the full beam, high beam, dipped beam, and low beam bulbs that are replaced. Here are a few ways you can find out the correct fitting for your car:
Check Your Manufacturer’s Handbook
You’ll find all of the relevant bulb fitting information inside your vehicle handbook, which can usually be found in your glove compartment. You’ll find the exact fittings for each type of light in your vehicle; alternatively, if you can’t find your handbook, simply contact your vehicle manufacturer.
Examine The Bulb
If you’re feeling confident, then you can examine the bulbs yourself. To do this, you must carefully remove the headlight and inspect the bulb and its condition. What’s more, the fitting information, such as the bulb type and voltage, can be found on the exterior of its casing. Once you’ve done this, it’ll make it easier to find a like-for-like bulb.
Replacing The Bulb
If you don’t want to replace a car bulb, workshops and garages will install a new bulb for you.
When choosing to change one yourself, this can be done in a few simple steps:
- Lift the bonnet of your car and locate the headlight
- Remove the light’s cover
- Detach the wires connected to the bulb
- Release the locking mechanism holding the bulb in place
- Install your new bulb by reversing the above steps
Test the bulb before driving to ensure the steps have worked. If it comes on, you are good to go.
As weather conditions become colder and icier, handling when driving can be severely affected. Check out our guide on what you need to know when driving during the winter months.
