I'm looking to buy some new lowbeam bulbs for my headlights, but to take out the stock ones do I just reach in behind the headlights and they'll twist out so they can be replaced? Sorry if I sound like a freakin' beginner, because I kinda am. Any help is appreciated, thanks.

EDIT: Also, there are 4 bulbs for low beams, right?

 

Yup you have to twist them to get them out--just read if clockwise/counter clockwise, i dont remember....bulb type is 9006 for the low and 9005 for the high beams...oh, and don't touch the bulb on the new ones (and the old ones when hot)---I would suggest the Silverstar Ultras if you don't want to go HID.

 

Thanks, I thought I would have to move something in order to get to the bulbs. I might get a couple of those Silverstar Ultra twin packs. Is it a smart idea to wear gloves when changing bulbs to avoid skin contact with the bulb?

 

I have Silverstar Ultras in the low beams and high beams. It's 2 bulbs for the low beams and 2 bulbs for the high beams. People say you should not let your skin contact the glass. However, I have been screwing around with my headlights so much that I keep accidentally touching the bulbs when I remove them. Nothing bad has happened as a result. Don't sweat it.

 

better be safe tho...depending on how oily/sweaty your fingers are, those contaminants might cause the bulb to shatter bec. the bulb does heat up to a very high temp..."don't sweat it" literally I guess

 

There is also a pivot type tab on the harness you have to press to get the bulb out.

jjp

 

Please DO NOT touch the bulbs with your bare hands. And if you do, just wipe it off with a micro fiber towel. Some people complain about how their SilverStars/Ultras have not lasted long. That's because they touched the bulb! I'm going on 2+ years trouble-free! Save yourself the trouble and just wipe them off. Also; if you search, there is a way to put the 9005s (without blinding people) in low beams...

 

hmm...now that's interesting...9005 on low eh?

 

Yeah, that was my first mod. I can't be bothered to find the link (someone else will), but you have to take a 9005 bulb and use a dremel to trim down the tabs a little bit, then it will fit in the 9006 housing for the low beams. That way you can run four 9005 bulbs.

 

So to replace the low beam bulbs, there's only 2 that have to be taken out? I see four total in both headlights, but I assume that one of the bulbs in each headlight for low beams just stays in there.

 

Okay, here's the deal. There are 5 bulbs in each headlight housing in total. You have the turn signal bulbs at the inner-corners of the housings. You have the running lights at the back corners of the housings, located behind the orange reflector. You also have a little accent light located at the base of the low-beam housing, which also serves as a running light. Then you have the big bulbs located in the middle of the lamps. The outer pair are the low beams and the inner pair are the high beams.

 

Here, this car has the low-beams turned on, so you can see which bulbs to change (although I wonder why you didn't just turn on your own headlights and stand in front of your car).

 

OK, I get it (I think), the big bulb in the middle is easy to remove, but for the bulb under that it seems like that would be a pain in the butt to take out.

 

The bulb at the bottom (the daytime running light), is not that hard to get out actually. This is not part of the loawbeam system, it just provides some color to the headlight housing. Some people have done red, green, blue, etc. To get it out, if you wish, just twist out the plastic connector and then a straight pull will get the glass bulb out of its housing. You can find replacement bulbs in all kinds of colors. The bulb we are talking about is size 194/168.

 

Does that bottom bulb have to absolutely be replaced when changing the main low beam bulb in the middle? Of course it would look better if both bulbs were of the same color, but if it doesn't have to be replaced I might hold off for now.

 

No, of course not. You actually cannot see the color of the "bottom bulb" when the low beams are turned on. The bottom bulb is just intended to light up the housing with some color in the daytime. The lowbeams are your headlights. When the headlights are turned on, you will see yellow/white light coming out, regardless of whether your bottom bulb is purple, red, green, or anything else.

 

I just installed some bright white bulbs into my 08 tC (H11 bulbs for the lowbeams) and whenever I turn my headlights on, the little yellow parking light under my high beam is on, and it really annoyingly clashes with my white headlights. Does anyone know what size this little yellow parking light is or how to replace it? I was looking under my hood and only saw a plug for the high and low beams.. :?

 

I assume it's the same size as on the previous years. The size 194/168 bulb is pretty much the standard bulb for interior and exterior accent lighting on most cars. Replacement should be pretty easy, as it is on my '07. Just find the wires going to the bulb, and then twist the connector a quarter turn anticlockwise to get it out, then pull the bulb straight out of its connector. You can find replacement 194/168 bulbs on many sites like autolumination.com and all over eBay. You can also get LEDs from superbrightleds.com, but LEDs are not really suitable for this application - go with a regular bulb.

 

Thanks very much, this was really useful information. One last question, any idea/opinion on buying a superwhite 194 bulb versus a blue bulb? I like the idea of my headlights getting that blueish hint but was worried about the legal issue when it comes to driving with just the parking lights on.. thanks again.

 

If you are driving with just the blue parking lights on then you will probably have trouble from the po-po. Blue and red are illegal in all states. However, you could choose blue for the sake of showing off in parking lots and stuff, because the blue will be eliminated by the white light when you are driving with the headlights on. Just don't hit the road with blue only.

Personally, I would go with superwhite. I did have superwhite in mine for a while, but they are invisible during the day, so you can only use them during twilight hours (before it gets dark enough for headlights). If you think that's kind of pointless, you could try something like yellow or orange, which would not be so noticeable to the po-po, but which would also look cool during the day. I currently have PIAA Plasma Ion Yellow, which is like the Lexus yellow foglight color. I can run them during the day and you can see them a little bit, but they look awesome at night.