In the end I got brave and took the bumper off!

[sgould]

Once it got cooler this evening I thought I would make a start on changing the dodgy Xenon bulb in the headlamp.  It really needed the bumper off and headlight units off to do it properly.  In the end it was straightforward.  Only six fastenings to get the bumper off, plus some blind faith in brute force.  Six years of mud have stuck some bits together!!

In the end I did both sides.  I changed the Xenons. The sidelights for LEDs and the indicators for silvered.

I did it in well under three hours and that included some stops for cold drinks. and other stops to re-read the workshop manual.  I didn't think it would be done and back togetjer in one evening.  Quite pleased!!   I'll be even more pleased if the bumper stays on during the driving about tomorrow!!


Sidelights comparison after changing driver's side.





And the dipped beam Xenons, also compared.  The photo doesn't really show how much the passenger side had dimmed.




Sidelight on a stick




Lots of electrics




You only need to release the top of the bumper and the two screws in each wheel arch.

[Geoff1951]

Job well done, Will. Excellent results by the look of the photos.

I remember when I changed the bulbs on my old mini, all it took was a single screw to remove the chrome ring holding the Lucas headlamp on, and a small flat blade to get the indicator rubbers freed. That also took well under three hours...

[stevetreacy]

Hi,

A good job well done and needed. Pics really do show how much bulbs had faded. You will get rewarded in the winter nights to come.

steve

[sgould]

Well, a bit of a setback. 

I went to the Ace Cafe last night.  When I came home in the dark I realised that the offside Xenon was not focusing properly.  Must have been wrongly seated....

So today, I whipped off the bumper again.  Only took 5 minutes!!  Took out the headlight and did the bulb again.  Checked it as best I could in broad daylight.  Then as it got dark.  I tried again and found all was OK.... on the headlight.   But the nearside sidelight, which I had swapped for and LED was not lit.  When I looked closely the bulb had fallen out of the holder and was sat sideways behind the lens...   

After taking that headlamp out in the dark, I finally managed to get the bulb out and swap it.  It still wouldn't light.  I thought I might have damaged the contacts at the front of the sidelight socket.  Then as I packed up my tools, I noticed the rear light was out too.  After messing about checking WIS and fuses, I realised that the WIS fusebox diagram defaults to LHD.   The RHD fusebox is "mirror image".  Re-checked and found the fuse has blown.  Can't think how.   Nothing was live while I did things.

Another job for the morning. 

[sgould]

It's all fixed!

That'll teach me to take short cuts.    Apparently things were live when I did things....

The sidelight bulb sits in a holder that is pushed down a long tube.  The holder has electrical contacts on each side, which match up with a pair of contacts on the outside of the long tube. No problem with the original glass bulb, but the LEDs are cased in metal which shorts out the contacts in the tube, if you push the bulb in and out which the light is turned on.....

[sgould]

And a small addition on the way...

[sgould]

And the sidelights working this evening....

[Mr Linear]

Can I ask what bulbs you bought?

[Petemate]

And a small addition on the way...

What is the small addition Will?

[Audax]

Not sure what the addition is but the numberplate is missing a cap and it changes sides! 

[sgould]

No one seems to notice!! It's a bit esoteric!!

I fitted the "SAAB" logo to the centre of the grille.  The "Dame Ednas" didn't have the Saab name on the front like all other Saabs.

I now know how to remove the bumper, grille and chrome trim!! 


I'm putting new screws in tomorrow - as soon as I can find the spare ones I have!!  The cap fell off when the bumper dropped and the screw is so rusty it wouldn't go back on the one it fell out of.....

[nine-fiver]

Looking at your cam-cover, it needs a bit of TLC to freshen things up. Interesting how my late 01 still looks like new and the later 04+ corrode. Not sure what that is all about. GM penny pinching on primer? Probably.

[Audax]

The later cam covers are unpainted which is why they corrode. I wouldn't bother cleaning them up, it's not like they do anything better when shiny!

[sgould]

Underbonnet is now as good as it's going to get.  All the black flat surfaces that were easily accessible have been wiped with an oily rag. 

[collywobble]

Will,

What type of LED sidelight bulb did you use?  Having only spent 5 minutes 'Googling' I'm confused by the variety available. I assume I must use ones that will work with the canbus. The long life promised appeals to me too.

Any recommendations for a decent make or supplier?