I had to replace my passenger side last week, thanks to this thread, my fears were put to rest, just as with oil changing and other assorted issues that pop up.

I will have to agree, with doing the retaining spring by feel. I was contemplating removing the radiator reservoir, then decided against dismantling the car. I did remove the engine cover and remove the duct on the passenger side and moved the hose to the side. After that it was pretty much a breeze, from the pictures offered up I was able to understand how the spring was latched and how to move it up and out of the way. The bulb came out and the new one was in moments later.

What a great site for the DIY’er. It’s only difficult until you understand it.

 

Removal of the spring is only required and then not absolutely, when fitting HID's. It is much easier to thread the wires through with the spring off rather than on.
Threading the wires is not required during regular bulb replacement.

 

Not a problem, don't tell anyone else local, but I keep an extra complete kit at the house in case something happens to mine, so whenever you want to do it, let me know. We will have OleDoc stop by and drink beer while we work

I have done somewhere around a half dozen and never removed the spring.

 

[quote=BoilerUpXFire]Not a problem, don't tell anyone else local, but I keep an extra complete kit at the house in case something happens to mine, so whenever you want to do it, let me know. We will have OleDoc stop by and drink beer while we work





Sounds good, Thanks, Larry

 

I did say 'not absolutely', rather than thread the grommet, plugs and wires through, I did a dry run using touch to put the clip back in place and as it went smoothly and was done in 10 to 15 seconds I took the spring of again and put the wire into the clip and assembled it. It must take less time than threading the grommet, wires and plugs through the clip.
Try it some time, you're young and it should be that much easier.

 

I may be young, but I prefer the tried and true methods. If you remove the spring, you have that much greater of a chance it is going to end up in your headlight housing. After having these things out of the car and experimenting with different ways to do this, I will stick to my method for now, but thanks for the advice

 

This thread reminded me that I had still to add the HID setup to the passenger side. I found that it was harder to fit the spring back on that side, I do not know why really as the tank was out and the hose was tied back. It took me a couple of minutes this time, somehow I fumbled around more. The bulb aligned correctly though first try, like the other side did.
I'm going to try the Ultras on the high beams, I'll see if they are a bit whiter, the highs now look like yellow fog lamps compared to the HID's.

 

I agree, and with everything in my car being LED or HID (even the fogs) they look even more out of place. I do not mind though, because I rarely have to use them with the increased light output from the HIDs and when someone who would not normally notice HIDs is looking at the car, I can flip on the old highs and WOW then they can see the upgrade

 

I took a photo of the HID low 4300K and the Ultra high beams on a gypsum board two feet in front of the headlight. The high beam looks like an omelet on snow.
The second picture is the standard bulb and HID. Frankly I cannot see much difference with this setup. I'll take the car out sometime and shine them on the garage door.
Changing the bulbs in the high lamps is a real pain, I would not take the springs out to do these highs unless the unit was on the bench. The lamp unit is not in line with the access hole and the spring comes only half down and hits the opening. As a result the bulb insertion is inhibited by the spring which is in the way. Who ever designed these units needs a lesson or two in design.
I wonder if a dual HID setup is feasible?

 

If you are referring to having HID lows and highs, you can certainly do it, although I would recommend against it. Since highs are generally used for short periods of time, more like a flash or a few second interval and HIDs need more time than that to achieve 100% light output, they are less than optimal for highs, unless you have a place where you drive with highs on for an extended period of time....

 

Question:

Say someone lost the metal clasp on the back that holds the bulb in place.

Where would a person that dumb get another metal clasp to fit? Do I need to go to a dealer and pay probably 50 bucks or something for a little piece of metal?

Because I can't see where the hell it went. I set it aside and it vanished.

 

Usually, you would be completely screwed, but thanks to the forum (and some kind individuals) Max started making these 'speed clip' replacements about a month ago. PM user Maxcichon and ask for help, if he does not have any made, PM me and I can send you an extra.

If you have a friend at a body shop, they probably have one as well, as the clip is not specifically for our cars, but specifically for the type of bulb, so any other car with the same bulbs (H7 I believe) will fit your XF as well.

John

 

Ah the forum saves again!

Thanks!

 

Hey guys, I am new to the forum. I burned a headlight out about 2 weeks ago. I went to the store and bought a new bulb, but didnt realize that I needed to disconnect the wires BEFORE trying to disconnect the retainer clip. So, I pulled on the retainer clip, and you guessed it, it came off of it's posts. Of course, in the process of trying to put it back in place, it fell down inside the headlight assembly.

The worst part of my story - this bulb wasn't even burned out. The only reason I was replacing it was because I wanted them both to be new and bright.

So anyway, back to my story. So, I drove the car around for about a week. Last Thursday, I get pulled over, and was given 10 days to get the light fixed. I tried and tried over the weekend to get the headlight assembly out of the car, but couldn't get the bottom screw(s) to come loose. I went to a garage yesterday, and he said it would take some time, but he would try to get the headlight assembly out so that he shake it till the metal clip fell out. I figured that would cost me some money... This morning, as I go to work on a military base, the MPs at the guard shack reminded me that my headlight was burned out, threatening a citation.

After work today, I looked at it, tried to get the assembly out, and of course had no luck. Then I thought, "why not use a paper clip and build a new clip?". So, with a paper clip, a pair of needle nose pliers, and a few minutes, my paper clip/retaining clip was created. It is not perfect, but will keep me from getting a citation.

Most of all, thank you to the forum for the very detailed pictures and instructions. I don't think I will touch my car again without first consulting the forum! You guys rock!!!!

Please note - the clip in the picture is too big. I got it in place, then had to pull it out and cut about a half inch or so off of the total length. It is holding well, for now. Thanks to whomever suggesting tying a string to the clip before re-installing. That bit of advice saved me from a 2nd clip inside the headlight assembly.

 

Wow!

Okay I did the same thing but if you're getting crapped on by cops etc you can just take the speed clasp (another member here told me that's what its called I didn't know) from your high beams until you find a replacement. There's no harm in driving around with only one high beam for a bit and its the same little piece of metal and fits perfect. That's what I did.

 

Wow!

This was pretty helpful, until the clip came off... lol

Okay, so my driver's side bulb is out. I finally decided to tinker with the bulb and quickly came to the conclusion that Chyrlser should have taken a note from Honda. hhahaha

So I cannot get the clip back on, I did not lose it or anything, and when I hooked up the bulb and turned it on, to see if it would work, it did not.

So I took the bulb and clip out and put everything back together.

Still do not have a functional driver's side headlight! AHHHHHHHH!!!!

 

So, yeah, I went to change my light bulbs and the clips are missing and the bulbs are just kinda sitting in there unsecured. I am not buying new headlights for this stupid retainer clip. Has anyone ever had any luck finding them solo? If you have any my email is loganmiller22@gmail.com and would be willing to buy them!! Thank you!

 

Damn It! You were the One! I read Your post and did not flinch or even think about You saying Gypsum Board. I am Officially Old now. Thanks!

I do Understand Loseing the clip into the Headlight assembly. But if it just falls off You just need to think about Fishing Whilst using 2 pairs of Needle nose pliers to reattach It. It took Me about 5 Minutes the first time.

 

send a PM to maxchicon - he makes those headlight clips

 

If you are indeed have problems with the bottom screw/bolts in the headlight(s), then my recommendation is to simply remove the complete nose piece. Not as hard as it might sound.
1. place front of car on jack stands and remove both front wheels.
2. remove the plastic pan under the engine ( 4 bolts and a plastic thingey )
3. remove the plastic filler panels in the front of both wheel wells ( several T20 screws and those 10mm plastic bolts.
4. unplug both fog lights and the temperature probe.
5. remove the front piece to fender bolts inside the wheel wells.
6. remove the grille ( 4 8mm bolts )
7. remove the T30 screws by the headlights and the whole assembly will come off.

You can now easily access both headlights ( and clean up all that crap no one was able to get to over the years.