GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Hello and hope all are well?!

Before I get started and make my famous mistakes-of diving in head first…… will actually ask!

Do you have to remove the battery to get the drivers side bulb replaced? Any risks of disconnecting the battery or pcm / onboard computer issues associated with taint off the battery?

Ask as I’m SURE there are people who have replaced every part of this car by now!

Thanks in advance <<

It is possible for some people to change the drivers side headlight bulb without removing the battery. I am not one of them, hands too big

No risk to pull the battery. Disconnect the negative terminal first, that way if your tool hits the chassis you won't throw sparks.

Also, when you have the battery out, fix in your mind the location of the hole that the battery hold down rod hooks into. It can be hard to find again once the battery is in place

And people say to avoid touching the bulb glass with your fingers, something about oil on the glass shortening bulb life.

Hello mate!! I remember you from a post waaaay back!

Thanks for the advice! I just looked (before it started hammering down with rain in NY) as it doesn’t seem to hard. I remember doing the AC blend / door actuator blast year and that was a B!Tch. The top bolt had me screaming last time.

I’m fairly confident after reading and having a look at this one.

Stay safe <

I can get it without disconnecting or removing the battery, but I have to remove the hold-down and move the battery as far back as it will go. Then I can get the bulb out and new one in.

Yeah it seems right but not like the AC actuator space. I managed that without bending the bar. I’m hoping (hoping…..) I can replace the bulbs without moving or removing the headlight assembly or even the battery tbh.

When the bulbs arrive in a few days I will know either way.

I usually managed to get by with the battery in place but it's so much easier when it is removed.

When disconnecting the battery on these dinosaurs, worst case is the engine will idle like crap for a while until the various parameters are relearned. And if you have an aftermarket stereo, your mileage may vary as to what needs to be reset.

It's nothing like modern cars where you have to drag out the owner's manual and sit through 20 minutes of relearn processes for power windows, sunroof, etc etc.

ColonelPanic wrote: ↑Sat May 07, 2022 10:58 am I usually managed to get by with the battery in place but it's so much easier when it is removed.

When disconnecting the battery on these dinosaurs, worst case is the engine will idle like crap for a while until the various parameters are relearned. And if you have an aftermarket stereo, your mileage may vary as to what needs to be reset.

It's nothing like modern cars where you have to drag out the owner's manual and sit through 20 minutes of relearn processes for power windows, sunroof, etc etc.

If you're reasonably electrically inclined, make a pair of fused jumper wires, and connect a small 12 volt battery to the leads. If you do it in parallel, you can remove the main battery without incident, and nothing has to be relearned. It only takes a tiny amount of power to keep the ECU (and radio) memory powered. Two 18 gauge wires with alligator leads will do it. You can use larger, and a battery float charger, if you wanted to.

I haven't bothered to _do_ it lately, but I've done the same technique in the past with various bits of equipment.