"JDMatt" (JDMatt)
05/09/2014 at 17:25 • Filed to: millenial
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"JDMatt" (JDMatt)
05/09/2014 at 17:25 • Filed to: millenial | 0
| 18 |
One does not simply own a 14 year old SUV and expect nothing to break on it, even if it's Japanese.
Last night I came home at 10 pm in the fog and rain. I jumped out of my car to check if I had spaced my car perfectly between my neighbor's driveways, and then noticed that that my drivers side headlight had burned out.
After freaking out about how 1) I didn't kill my friends and 2) I didn't get pulled over, I looked at online forums about how to replace the headlight.
When you have limited tools and barely any experience working on cars, a 20 minute job turns into a 2 hour job and some phone calls.
Things that went wrong/excuses:
1) whoever put my battery on hammered the negative terminal onto the battery. couldn't get the terminal off the battery.
2) after deciding i'd rather get electrocuted, I tried to get the yank out the burned out bulb. after moving the airbox out of the way I had more room for my hand, but i didn't have the tools or bravery to completely remove the airbox from my car.
3) after feeling around like a virgin trying to unhook a bra for the first time, I unhooked the wiring harness from the headlight bulb. due to space constraints and a lack of patience, I gave up after trying to remove the bulb from the headlight housing.
4)I made a few phone calls and found a guy that would fix this for me for cheap. I reconnected the wiring harness and put the airbox back in place, and then somehow my headlight worked again... except that it was pointing towards the sky.
final excuse: If it were summer, I would do the job myself. but It's about to be finals week and I just don't have the time for this. Furthermore, I live in San Francisco. I already suck at car maintenance when i'm in my parents driveway in the suburbs. Doing this job while parked on a hill with neighbors watching from their bedrooms made me embarrassed that I couldn't get it done.
crowmolly
> JDMatt
05/09/2014 at 17:27 |
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See if you can find a repair manual. Should be around $20 and covers most basic stuff.
offroadkarter
> JDMatt
05/09/2014 at 17:30 |
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You, sir, need some practice
but we all start somewhere. Online write-up's are the best way to learn how to do something.
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JDMatt
> offroadkarter
05/09/2014 at 17:40 |
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You sir, are correct, And I share your sentiments
I've got all summer to get better. I still can't legally drive my car at night, but least I replaced my air filter while my air box was removed.
Reigntastic
> offroadkarter
05/09/2014 at 17:44 |
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Seriously. Dude, it's a light bulb.
E92M3
> JDMatt
05/09/2014 at 17:49 |
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Oh WoW! I find it funny that you'd be embarrassed to change it in front of your neighbors, but not embarrassed to tell us about it. Also how does one stay active on oppo long enough to get authorship, but not know how to change a bulb? You know... on the very thing we talk about everyday. I guess everyone has to start somewhere, but seriously don't pay someone else to change it. Change it yourself. I don't care if it takes you all day. You'll feel a great sense of accomplishment once it's done. Way more then passing some stupid final.
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offroadkarter
> JDMatt
05/09/2014 at 17:49 |
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Are you on a permit or provisional or something?
Pick up a workshop manual (dealer manuals are the best) for your truck. That will help a ton.
KMarino
> JDMatt
05/09/2014 at 17:51 |
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Don't feel bad that you couldn't change a lightbulb (there's a joke somewhere in there)... Be glad you figured out how to change the air filter. My headlights and turn signals are a PITA to get to. Try again though. Once you figure out that how to fix one thing, move to something else. It is the only way to learn.
Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies
> JDMatt
05/09/2014 at 18:04 |
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As an owner of 19 year old Japanese SUV, I have learned they are no more reliable than their American counterparts. The only difference is the electrical bugs can be fixed with a fist or a hammer in my Toyota. Except the damn VSS.
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JDMatt
> JDMatt
05/09/2014 at 18:29 |
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Update: It was a loose wiring harness, not the bulb. The damn roads around here must shook my car so much that my headlight got disconnected.
P.S. how does oppo feel about H.I.D's?
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JDMatt
> Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies
05/09/2014 at 18:31 |
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Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies
> JDMatt
05/09/2014 at 18:35 |
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I've had multiple lights go out, until I kicked them.
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JDMatt
> E92M3
05/09/2014 at 18:38 |
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maybe paranoid is a better word to describe the feeling of being watched by my neighbors. In the end it was the wiring harness that got knocked loose from my headlight, not the bulb itself.
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E92M3
> JDMatt
05/09/2014 at 18:57 |
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Fair enough. I once had to change the fuel pump in my truck in the street (in the freezing rain). It went out a couple miles from home and I redneck towed it home but couldn't get it up the incline of the driveway. I felt like everyone was watching me from their windows the whole time. Lol
wkiernan
> JDMatt
05/09/2014 at 19:06 |
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I think this is funny because I remember the first time I tried to change the headlight bulb in my '99 Miata. It took me at least two hours of groping and squinting and tugging and fiddling before I figured out how the little wire retaining hook that holds the bulb in worked. O how I cursed! It didn't help that I was trying to do it in a dark parking lot at night. Subsequent headlight bulb changes have taken no more than five minutes.
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JDMatt
> E92M3
05/09/2014 at 19:27 |
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Damn, a fuel pump? that sounds more difficult that a stupid headlight!
twochevrons
> JDMatt
05/09/2014 at 21:58 |
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HIDs? Don't. Factory HID systems have different optics to regular halogen lights that retrofit kits don't take into account – the end result is a beam pattern that can dazzle oncoming traffic even on low beam. The only right way to fit HID headlights is to replace the light unit entirely with a DOT-certified HID one. Any other method is both illegal and unsafe.
Also, because of their illegal and unsafe nature, HID retrofit kits are often made by shady manufacturers, and can be pretty dodgy and poor-quality themselves. Not a great idea when you consider the high voltage involved (up to tens of thousands of volts).
From an expert: http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/Hid… . Watch the video.
I don't mean to be harsh about this, but as somebody who is extremely sensitive to glare, HID retrofits (as well as badly-aimed headlights) are a serious problem for me. For driving lights and the like, I can see the benefit of retrofitting HID bulbs, but low-beam HID retrofits are a terrible idea.
Singhjr96
> JDMatt
05/09/2014 at 22:16 |
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Confession time, I still don't have much experience with cars even though I love the shit out of them. I can change oil, bulbs, filters, basic maintenance stuff. But that's about it. I am going to get a beat up car, and learn all I can on that. Shocks, brakes, driveline, engine works, etc. Basically everything that can be replaced, or worked on, will be. That's the best way to start. I am only a teen so I haven't had much time to learn with school and all, but this summer should be fun.
thebigbossyboss
> JDMatt
05/12/2014 at 12:50 |
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You don;t have to disconnect the battery just to change the bulb. It's okay, it took me two hours to change my spark plugs...I am also slow. lol.