new girlfriend=new beetle

[madduck]

g'friend has an '06 beetle. i replaced the headlamp bulb last week, did a search and found a great write-up on how to achieve this task, thanks. only prob now is i'm not getting a good connection now that i've replaced the assembly.

sometimes all the bulbs work, sometimes they don't. i spoke with an aftermarket supplier locally that said the retention screw also functions to pull the assembly back into the car and that should give me a good connection of all the pins, but it ain't. i've tried pressing on the lamps lens cover very firmly when tightening the screw but still no luck. any suggestions?!?!

i'm more akin to woking on old jeeps so i'm pretty mechanically inclined, but wow things are packed tight in your bugs. someone with fat hands like mine don't work to well in the room VW give ya' to work.

i thank you and my g'friend thanks you for any help we might be able to get.

cheers, jason

[dnyed]

Welcome to the Org. Nice of you to look after her New Beetle.



Search for one of the many threads on headlight replacement. What you may be experiencing with the fit, is the locking clip not catching. Be careful, they are tricky!


Good luck!

[madduck]

thx dnyed.

a good friend has an old bug, and he like i also has a jeep, so i'm more than familiar with the cult mentality and obsession that goes with certain vehicle ownership. and an opportunity to help her save money, bonus points for me.

i've searched for write ups re:lamp replacement but haven't seen anything that addresses this specifically. it is prob there somewhere but that's a ton of post to go through. i live in a different city so i have a limited of time i can research, get parts, work on it, research the obstacles i run into, and try to do it with a REALLY limited amount of tools. in the future i may have her, the beetle and my tools all in the same place but don't have that luxury right now.

and is it ok or bad karma to call new beetles 'bugs'? or is that reserved for older beetles??? just trying to figure out y'all's language.

thx again, cheers, j-

[MichelleRoze]

welcome to the org! Nothing like a good boyfriend to look after your beetle!

It's ok to call them bugs too. Though we usually call them NB (new beetle) lol

I have an older car, so I don't think I have that retention clip issue or whatever. But I'll look through the write up and see if I find something. I'll let you know.

Did you read the How-To to remove the headlight? '06+ headlight removal

I'll see what else I can find.

[madduck]

thx michelle. that is the write-up that i used for guidance.

i found another thread that mentioned to make sure a fair amount of pressure was applied when putting the assembly back in but that's about it. i did that twice already but the lights are still intermittent. i think tonight i'll try to rotate the assy just a bit. i know it slide into the grooves so there is going to be a limited amount of rotation avail, but i'll give it a shot.

she was pretty shocked when i said i'd fix her car for her, us jeep guys have a few redeeming qualities.

thx much, cheers, j-

[Judee]

If it's anything like my 08, the whole "shell" that the headlight housing sits in is very flimsy and seems to flex a lot.

I had the same intermitten lights until I stuck a socket extension BEHIND the headlight, pushed the headlight back towards the plug, and at the same time, used the socket extension to keep the plug from flexing.

Now the lights turn on every time.

[salsa-man]

I had this exact problem when I swapped out my bulbs. Turned out that I had not turned the hex screw far enough to lock it back into place. I think I pointed this out in some of my comments to the DIY thread.

[madduck]

ah-HA!

looked at it again last night, was very careful on how i slid the whole contraption in, was applying slight pressure to the lens when i started to turn the hex screw, only this time something was different. the click! i hadn't turned it far enough before to get a click...i don't think. if it did click before i missed it. i was pretty paranoid about breaking anything with my limited tools, time and knowledge, but this time i heard a click. i had to leave early this morning to drive back to dallas so i don't know if 'the click' has solved the issue, but my little inside voice(like the one magnum had) tells me the bug is doing good. haven't heard from the owner yet to confirm or deny if my voice was right, but i'm cautiously optimistic.

salsa you prob have it in there and i just missed it. like i said i was so dumbfounded with what i had gotten myself into there was strong sense of urgency to resolve this prob, compounded with the limited time, tools and smarts, i was speed-scanning a whole lot of stuff. thank for taking the time to document the project.

i'll let ya' know how the bug is doing when i get some news.

cheers all, j-

[madduck]

word from the owner/g'friend is that all is well with her beloved beetle.

thanks for the help folks. i don't surf much with my limited down time but i'm sure i'll be back to peruse how to fix other things from time to time. thank you for you time and help all who replied. if your response was directed to help or simply make us laugh, thanks!

keep the flat side down and bubble side up!

cheers y'all, jason (aimee's boyfriend and pseud-mechanic)

[salsa-man]

Originally Posted by madduck

word from the owner/g'friend is that all is well with her beloved beetle.

thanks for the help folks. i don't surf much with my limited down time but i'm sure i'll be back to peruse how to fix other things from time to time. thank you for you time and help all who replied. if your response was directed to help or simply make us laugh, thanks!

keep the flat side down and bubble side up!

cheers y'all, jason (aimee's boyfriend and pseud-mechanic)

Glad it worked for you!