hiptech

I've been in LA for over 3 weeks now helping take care of my dad who's suffering way too many issues to list here.

One night at the hospital I left my '04 TSX headlights on (they turned off automatically) and noticed the right front side marker lamp was very dim. Since I switched to LEDs some time ago I assumed the bulb popped out of the socket.

The next day I pulled the inner fender liner to access the bulb. Turned out to be in all the way so I tried to pull it out and see what was wrong. Well, I tried for a long time to pull the socket out but had a tough time of it.

Eventually, I got it out but not before the bulb popped out and you guessed it... dropped into the housing.

Question: I removed the front bumper cover many times - how difficult is it to remove the headlight assembly (so I can get the bulb out) and will I need to realign it after reinstalling it?

Thanks

xenonhid

I had this happen for my tail lights, when I was switching out the OEM bulbs to LEDS.

Luckily, there's alot of space to work with in the tail lights enough for me to fish out the Bulb that fell in by using some scrunched up tape on a end of a screw driver.
I'm not sure if there is a lot of room for the corners in the headlights to work with but you could try to fish it out with something sticky.

If not, then I say get comfortable on a weekend, remove the bumper and headlights.

Here are the headlight removal instructions.

On Page 3
http://www.cyforce.org/tsx/tsx-headlight.pdf

hiptech

Thanks xenonhid - this is exactly what I need. I've got the Helm manual back home in Phoenix... this definitely helps.

Any idea if the lamp will need realignment?

Audioserf

No realignment needed for putting in a new sidemarker. Unless you change the projectors, or mess with the alignment screws, I think you can take off/put on the headlights without needing to re-align.

Good luck.

s001y

U could try to use a extender with a strong magnet at the tip and put it through either the main bulb housing and magnetise the bulb out slowly. Worth an effort instead of fiddling the bumper etc...

hiptech

Thanks everyone... I think I will pursue the magnet idea if I can find one on the end of a flexible shaft, maybe Harbor Freight or someplace has one. Opening is at an awkward angle so it may not work through the fender well.

If not, will tear it all apart when I get back to Phoenix, not enough time or space here to do the job here.

But I do appreciate all the help and advice.

curls

Just a word of caution / prevention: If you are going to stick anything in the headlight assembly, cover it with one or two wraps of masking tape to help prevent possible scratching of the lens or the black inside the housing. The magnet will still work but at least no sharp metal or magnetite(?) pieces will be able to scratch something.

hiptech

Well, decided to tackle this right away after all. Turned out to be a good news/bad news scenario.

The good news:
After removing the bumper cover and the headlamp (BTW, not difficult at all - thanks guys), found my LED bulb. But not where I expected it, instead it was lying on top of the windshield washer container hiding under the headlamp assembly - LOL

The bad news:
The 11 LED SMT bulb is defective - only 2 LEDs work. Ultimately, even this is turning into good news as Jake over at Velocity LEDs is sending out a free replacement.

Just surprising considering how reliable LEDs are and having one go bad like this. Curious if anyone else has experienced a defective LED bulb too?

aaronng

I have gone through about 5 pairs of LEDs for the parkers and none of them are a viable long term solution because of the voltage fluctuations from the A/C compressor kicking in which kill the LED. I have swapped back to the white parker bulbs that come with Phillips Crystalvision H1 bulbs.

s001y

Problems with LEDs is the voltage and current fluctuations. The manufacturers have tried numerous ideas from capacitors to stabilise this issue. Actually, at times, some LEDS may not light up and then suddenly, it comes on. Thus, not really suitable for front lights. just my take and glad to hear u got the faulty light bulb out...