1 Headlight down, looking to replace both.(info appreciated)[new news]

[Siggy]

seems that my passenger side headlight died. looking to replace them and do it myself. I found plenty of posts with replacing the foglight/foglight bulbs but none of the headlight bulbs. so i have a couple of questionsdo i have to remove the entire lamp out or can i jsut pop out the bulb and replace and put it back in...if that makes any sense.and how hard would it be to place the bulb?also i saw oem bulbs were like 150 a piece or a pair??..if thats the case i rather spend the money on some HIDs (gotta love the white light)wondering what would be required to run them on the car, or a nice reliable kit to buy (if anyone has a preference)ive looked up on hids and would like some more info before i start to put money into them.thank you very mucho

[zionzr2]

the bulbs are fairly simple to replace.It will be easier if you remove the battery to get the one on the drivers side but if you have skinny hands its not required. No tools are need to remove the bulbs themselves disconnect the wire, then there is a rubber ring that you wiggle off then a retaining clipand the bulb will come out easly

[Raven]

Don't buy SilverStar bulbs. Sylvania XtraVision are excellent and put out more light. They're about $22.00 a pair.

[bull77]

Quote, originally posted by Raven »Sylvania XtraVision are excellent and put out more light. They're about $22.00 a pair.+1 I replaced the stocks with these

[Siggy]

is there a ballast or something required for them? or its just pop em' in and go?

[keithvibe]

just pop them in and go

[ramenboy...]

i agree with these guys, the headlights are easy to change out. the driver's side is a little more difficult unless you've got smaller hands because the battery is right there.•disconnect the socket first, •remove the rubber ring,•flip the retaining tab,•swap out the bulb,then do everything in reverse order.just make sure you don't get a bulb that runs too hot. mine ran so hot one of tabs soldered itself to the the socket. ended up replacing both sides with h4 socket with higher heat rating. its all good nowfogs are a bit harder to access...have fun with it

[Siggy]

thank you all very muchi just learned something yesterday that when the day running is on both my lights work....when i flah my highs the passenger side is out, its also out during the nightfuse, wiring??either way i need to replace a foglamp and a foglgith bulb, where can i get an actual lamp, dealer?

[zionzr2]

Quote, originally posted by Siggy »thank you all very muchi just learned something yesterday that when the day running is on both my lights work....when i flah my highs the passenger side is out, its also out during the nightfuse, wiring??either way i need to replace a foglamp and a foglgith bulb, where can i get an actual lamp, dealer?At the Dealer the FogLamps are very expexnsive!!! this site: http://logical-source.com/2003-PONTIAC-VIBE.html lists the lamps at under $60/eaThe bulbs themselves are 9006 and are available at any autoparts for under $20/ea.

[Sublimewind]

Quote, originally posted by Siggy »thank you all very muchi just learned something yesterday that when the day running is on both my lights work....when i flah my highs the passenger side is out, its also out during the nightfuse, wiring??either way i need to replace a foglamp and a foglgith bulb, where can i get an actual lamp, dealer?Yeah, you got a high beam out... it's a single bulb, with both high/low beams in it... 9006 as Zion mentioned... Simple replacement... just MAKE SURE you don't touch the bulb during install.. the oils on your fingers will kill the bulb quickly.. other than that, it's all covered here.. and easy... Something else to consider is some Dielectric grease.. this is used on electrical connections to seal them and keep them in tip top shape... you can buy small packets of this right at the counter of most parts stores.. Personally I fill my headlight connectors with it and it keeps things nice and clean..

[ramenboy...]

headlight bulb is 9003, fog is 9006....but yeah what sublime said, don;t put your paws on the bulb.

[Siggy]

alright heres an update, sorry it took so long, school+work own me a tad.my passenger side foglamp is cracked, got a replacement from the site mentioned above, comes with a bulb, sweet.How the hell do oyu change this lamp, i can only manage to pop one tab out, the tab closest to the bumper, oppistie center of the car is impossible to see.and how the hell does the bottom one work?also as i mentioned my passenger headlights downwhen i went to check my oil after i replaced the drivers side foglamp bulb (and attempt to replace the passenger foglamp) i shut the hood and the light came onturned the car on, parked it, shut it off, turn the lights on when i had the car on ON/ACC and it went down again....and also, both highbeams work, but DTR my passenger is out.im going to do some searches on the foglamp removal since thats bugging me, but any help here is very very appriciated and needed.and (removed) is going on with my headlight...p.s- soonest chance ill have to get at this again is the weekend so please bring on teh info

[ramenboy...]

Quote, originally posted by Siggy »...and also, both highbeams work, but DTR my passenger is out... (removed) is going on with my headlight...HEY SIGGYhaven't heard an update on this, so i'm assuming just changing out the headlamp bulb fixed your prob. if you haven't changed it out yet, here's the deal. the 9003 bulb, like everyone said earlier is both high and lo beam. in the bulb, once a filament breaks, there's no light. there's 2 filaments in the bulb. one for hi, one for lo. so that's probably why your high works, but lo doesn't. you might be able to tap on the headlamp, and sometimes that jiggles the fil enough to make a connection, and you probably have your lobeams on until you cut the engine and the connection breaks again. anyways, like i said, hopefully y ou got the new bulb in and don't have to worry about it any more

[hckeynut15]

You can keep the light mounted and just replace bulbs. The main (low beam) is held in with a spring and hook feature with a compression rubber boot. Remove the coupler, boot, unhook the spring, and remove the bulb. Replace the bulb (careful not to touch the bulb), push the spring back and hook, replace the boot and attach the coupler. Done.HIDs are nice but your lamp is not set up for this. Needs a special bulb, ballast and coupler. Vibe doesn't have a stock HID. You could use different bulbs but could void any warranties with the lamp itself.- Jim

[hckeynut15]

Certain bulbs will cause too much heat inside the lamp and the backside of the lamp lens. This may cause spider cracking on the outer lens and / or melt some detail (reflector) on the inside of the lens cause more problems than it's worth. Would also void any warranty.- Jim

[jake75]

I thought headlights that burned out during the warranty period were covered.

[Siggy]

Wow long delay, started school again and my schedule is ***, anyway im retarded, the fixture was loose. Before i went to get a new bulb i opened the hood just to see how to get it out and when i let it shut, light popped on....you dont even know how much of an idiot i felt like...anyway my fog lamp is cracked (passenger side) and i got a replacement fixture but still dont know how to get it in, its such a pain to get to. Ive heard of having to take off the bumper but im nto exactly sure. I rather do this then pay someone to, havent seen a good write up on how to also.Thanks all for replying with help, soon i should be getting some silverstars so it did come in handy any help on that damned foglmap would be great

[Sublimewind]

Dude,Put the car up on some ramps or jack/jackstands... Remove the under trays (plastic clips) and then it's right there.... IIRC there are 2 tabs that you have to move and the fixture drops right out... IIRC you may need to swap the adjuster screw though, I know I did on the one set I replaced for a member here (who is no longer on GenVibe)... Just make sure you look at everything and it matches exactly..