MatraSport Forum

I have a blown left hand side dipped headlamp bulb. (On my car dipped is a H1 type, main is a H7 type). In UK it is on passenger side (Europe drivers side).

I know these are a pain to fit. No access for my great big hands!  Question.  Which is easiest way to access. Remove battery, battery tray and other bits from under bonnet, or remove grille and unbolt headlamp to fit new bulb?

On this car it should not be nessesary to remove anything at all.
If however this is your only option, remove both indicator lamps (loosen locking metal hatch from the engine bay), take off the front grille (a few T25 bolts in front), then loosen the lamp (a couple of 10mm head bolts).
Sounds like a lot, but its done in 7 minutes!

I can only reach the main beam bulb.  There is less than 2 inches between the main bulk of the lamp body and a black metal box fixed to the front side of the battery tray. I cannot even get my fingers to the bulb cover inside the bonnet. Sounds simple enough to remove the indicator light and the grille - I'll try it that way.

Thanks

Hello Colin,

The correct procedure for changing the head lamp bulb on this model, like many other Renault models, is to remove the head lamp.  You cannot change the bulb without as there is insufficient room and a danger of touching the quartz envelope of the bulb, which will lead to premature failure of the new one.

Roy

Thanks guys. I sorted it today. Removed two small panels either side just above the headlamps, then undid the five larger screws holding on the grille. Next loosened the indicatr units (one had the metal spring tie-wrapped as someone before me had broken off the bit on the lamp unit the spring clipped to! - I assume I will need a new haeadlamp unit to properly cure this isse?), then pulled off the grille and undid the bolts securing the lamp. Removed lamp and changed the bulb.  It took me a few minutes to realise the two spring clips at either outer edge of the grille, needed squeezing together to loosen each end and it was not at all obvious at first,  but otherwise easy enough.

Took about 45 mins, but only as this was my first time.  I dropped  a couple of screws down the front, so had to loosene the front lower panel under the intercoller to get them back, but otherwise not too hard a job.  Oh for the days when car makers left you enough room to do this with the lamps in situ!!

in case anyone else is planing to do this soon:

http://www.matrasport.dk/forum/index.php/topic,1999.0.html

by the way the GE xensation bulbs are slightly less blueish than the philips 81522 bulbs.

Thanks for this info. I see your car has Xeon bulbs.  Mine are ordinary H1 and H7 type.  I was a bit over enthusiastic in my last post.  Bulbs workong OK, but I have obviously put it in incorrectly as it is shining down very close to the front of the car!!.  Sooo........ it looks like I get to take it all apart again tomorrow and do the job a second time!!

I am not sure what I have done wrong. There is no obvious way, or slots I could see for the bulb, I just put it back the same way the other one came out - or so I thought.  None of the technical drawings I have show a close up of sufficient detail to see which way up the bulb should go, but I obviously did something wrong!

Yes there is (or should be) a locator to make sure the bulb is fitted correctly so the aim is correct.  Check the old unit carefully.  It may only be a small cut out in the flange.  Alternatively, the bulb is just not seated correctly.  Or the reflector fastening to the height adjuster has come off.

Roy

Yep I found it, bulb was in upside down!!