Dumb question: How do I pull the headlight plug?

[buliwyf]

I owned several cars before (mostly with H4 bulbs) and I can pull out the plugs from the headlights with ease.

On my P5, it seems impossible? I tried pulling hard but it won't unplug from the headlight! Not to mention the wiper washer reservoir is blocking the way.

Is there any special method to pull this out?

 

[Hank3]

Wiggle whilst pulling. It can be stubborn, but it'll detach.

 

[pasadena_commut]

I tried pulling hard but it won't unplug from the headlight! Not to mention the wiper washer reservoir is blocking the way.

Is there any special method to pull this out?

When you are yanking on the plug the force is going through the bulb and being applied to the wire clip that holds the bulb in place. It is possible to bend that clip, or break the little slots that hold its ends. So be careful. See if you can get a finger down on each side of the socket, to take some of the strain off of that clip, while you pull with the other hand. Yes, not easy, since the reservoir is very much in the way.

 

[kms1990]

wiggle but do not yank hard as stated above you can bend the clip that holds the bulb.

 

[P-Funk!]

I would separate the black adapter from the bulb by inserting a small tip screwdriver to pry it off. Then you can pull the wire assy to easily access the connector to remove the adapter.

Then remove clip/bulb. Use some dielectric grease on the connectors and bulb, eh?

IIRC that reservoir is easily removed by just pulling up on it or it just had one bolt - it wasn't hard...

 

[katapaltes]

Then remove clip/bulb. Use some dielectric grease on the connectors and bulb, eh?

^ Always do this. The white part of the wiring harness was a bit blackened and melted to the bulb adapter one time on mine. I had a terrible time separating the two. (Those seem to be the same two parts sticking on your car. I had to slide the donut-shaped gasket off as far as I could first, then unclip the bulb/harness, then take the bulb out of the adapter and rip the adapter from the end of the wiring harness.) Haven't had that problem since I started using the grease, and the bulbs last longer now too.



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[Inside]

The back of the headlight looks like this. Don't pull too hard on the clip or you'll bend/break the paperclip looking thing. if you break it, you can't buy a replacement and will need to buy an entire new headlight assembly (only $150/ea) or scavenge at the junk yard like I did. Also, if you pull too hard you will break off the plastic tabs in the back of the headlight and will need to create little metal tabs out of scrap pieces of metal to hold the paperclip piece of s*** in.

Anyway, to get it off - squeeze the little lever then push down and then swing the clip out of the way. Once you figure out the motion, it takes a moment to do it.

It will take you a while to figure out the motion. Get an inspection mirror and a pair of bent nose needle pliers.

 

[kms1990]

h7 bulbs suck, mazda and kia use them so do some other manufacturers, they all use these clips. you push in and swing it out once you get it do it a few times and you will have it down. doing headlights a ton at my job at autozone helps with knowing how much of a pain they can be