Headlight bulb

[big_treacle]

Seems my passenger side headlight bulb has gone. Sidelight mode is OK but when I switch to headlights only the driver side one comes on (leaving passenger light as sidelight).
Presumably this is a crazy TVR mission to change the bulb so...
1. What sort of bulb is it when I ask for it in halfrauds?
2. How do you change it?
3. How many hours will it take and how much knuckle skin should I be expecting to lose?
Cheers guys

[Podie]

H4 bulb...

Always change in pairs... get some better ones like Philips Blue Vision.. try www.powerbulbs.com or Leven for upgraded bulbs.

Plenty of scrapes... best to take the wheels off to do it... gives better access.

[shorty123]

done this recently, if you have long arms not a prob to go in from the front.. remove grille and get on yer knees.. (not an offer)

ps i believe there are access holes in the inner wheel arches, but look a bit too much effort to remove on mine.

loss of skin optional

[ATG]

98 car so will have to go through the wheel arch. Time to complete depends largely on how well the panel in the wheel arch has been attached. If it has been glued on with copious amounts of sealant it can be a pain to remove. Each panel also has two self tappers holding it in place.

[Podie]

ATG said:

98 car so will have to go through the wheel arch. Time to complete depends largely on how well the panel in the wheel arch has been attached. If it has been glued on with copious amounts of sealant it can be a pain to remove. Each panel also has two self tappers holding it in place.

Remove panel... change bulb... check it works (!).. clean panel, replace and reseal...

[snorky]

be careful coz mine had 4 self tappers in each panel and I nearly snapped one in half trying to prise it off ( I thought the sealant was strong )apart from that not too hard just bloody ridiculous design....TVRs doncha just love em ???

[big_treacle]

Thanks everyone. Gonna have a go this afternoon.

[jellison]

Put in 100w bulbs - not strictly leagal (I have not done this) - but great vision when done.

[Hut49]

These are good too: www.mod-wise.com/page11.html

Also worth thinking about supplying extra power to the existing lights www.mod-wise.com/page12.html

>> Edited by Hut49 on Wednesday 22 December 15:33

[Voltaire53]

big_treacle said:

1. What sort of bulb is it when I ask for it in halfrauds?

Not the one in the manual - get the 100W+ ones so you can actually see at night.

[quote]2. How do you change it?
3. How many hours will it take and how much knuckle skin should I be expecting to lose?[/quote]

Option 1: Wheel off, undo screws and remove stuck pannel under arch, swap bulbs at awkward angle lying on icy road, screw back pannel, apply waterproof sealant around pannel to make sure headlamp not flooded after next drive, put wheel back on - probably a reasonable amount of missing skin and a real pain for anyone without mechanical sense (like me).

Option 2: Take to friendly TVR engineer, watch him do it in about 5 minutes with car on a jack without taking the wheel off, be pleasantly surprised when he only charges you for the (high power) bulb (which you may have had trouble finding) and not his time, choose whether or not to add a few quid for his generosity, drive home. No missing skin and a nice excuse for a drive there and back.

I am a fan of option 2 and the very nice and skilled Andy McLoughlin at APM in Hampshire.