You would agree with me that having a car of your own is precious! Aside from the luxury that comes with owning a car, it is a great convenient means of transportation that gets you everywhere you want to go at any hour of the day and at night. However, what makes a night journey possible are simply your vehicle’s headlights. They illuminate the way ahead, giving you a clear view of the road and obstacles. Yet, headlights are usually not the top priority of many drivers. Most ignore the signs that a headlight is about to go bad until it’s too late and they are stuck on the road. Without car headlights, driving at night is almost impossible. While there are quite a good number of street lights on most major roads, not every route or street has one that’s fully functional. So, in order to keep the roads safe for yourself and others, it’s important to periodically check your headlights and know how and when to replace them. Also, knowing some DIY method to fixing the cause of most headlight issues is vital before attempting to call your rewire.
Why should change the headlights of your car in the following cases
- Dim lights
Just like the bulb in your desk lamp, headlight bulbs are very bright and clear when new, but as time passes and as your car ages, several things can affect the level of light your car is emitting from your headlights. Although regularly cleaning off the lens and washing your car can help prevent build-up that may reduce the level of illumination your headlights give, it is normal for headlights to slowly depreciate. Hence, the need for a replacement.
- Flickering light
If you turn on your car headlights and they suddenly begin to flicker on and off, it’s a sign that they are about to go bad. In such a situation, the first thing to do is to identify the reason for the flickering. Most flickering is as a result of a bad relay. So, checking your relay would be a great way to start before deciding on changing your car headlights completely.
- No light
If you have put off the warning signs to change your headlights, this will be a very hard sign to ignore. When your headlights do not turn on at all, you should replace them immediately to ensure your safety and that of everyone else on the road.
Note that to avoid uneven beams, you should replace the bulbs of your headlights as a pair.
Now that you know the signs to look out for, wouldn’t it be cool to change the headlights of your car by yourself on a day of your choosing? With this article, you can!
Tools you’ll need to change the headlights of your car:
- Replacement H7 headlamp bulbs
- A flat-head screwdriver
Now that you know when to change your SAAB car headlights, do you know the cost of each headlight housing and bulbs? To make it easy for you below is a table of SAAB car headlight replacement by brand.
SAAB car headlights replacement by vehicle’s model.
| Car type | Car Model | Application | Product | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAAB | SAAB 9-5 (2005) | Headlight | K1 LED Headlight Conversion Kit by Lumen® | $130 – $200 |
| SAAB | SAAB 9-3 (2005) | Headlight Replacement | Sedan with Factory Halogen Headlights 2005, Replacement Headlight by Replace® | $159 – $178 |
| SAAB | SAAB 9-2 (2005) | H1 | Universal Apollo 2.0 Full Circle Chrome Retrofit Projector Shrouds by Morimoto® | $39 – $42 |
| SAAB | SAAB 9-7x (2005) | Headlights | Universal CCFL Halo Kit for Headlights by EVO Lighting® | $78 – $85 |
| SAAB | SAAB 9-4x (2011) | High/Low Beam | Universal Mini 2.5″ High/Low Beam Round 8.0 Bi-Xenon Retrofit Projector by Morimoto® | $82 – $100 |
Steps to changing the headlight of Saab car
Turn off your engine and prop open the hood of your car.
From the driver’s side, remove the battery cover by unlocking the battery cover retainers using a flat-head screwdriver. Also, remove the windshield washer fluid reservoir tube; just pull it straight up and it’s out, you might need to wiggle it a bit.
The next step is to reach in and remove the low beam headlamp rear cover. Next, remove the bulb by turning the bulb connector counterclockwise, this should unlock from the lens housing, then turn the bulb connector counter-clockwise and it should unlock from the lens housing.
Using a flat-head screwdriver, carefully pry out the bulb from the connector. Insert the new bulb, but be careful not to use your hand to touch it so the oils from your hand don’t get on the bulb (you can use a napkin)
Once inserted, you should do the reverse of all these steps to replace whatever you have removed. Then you’re done.
That’s all you need to do. You can do this for the other side and then test your headlights to ensure that they’re working properly.
Conclusion
Headlight replacement is a great way of ensuring your car headlights stay bright, clear, and durable. However, a regular headlight replacement can be expensive. So, what’s the alternative? Headlight restoration. Yes, headlight restoration is a great alternative because most of the underlying cause of dim light emission from the headlight lense is oxidation. The best way to get rid of oxidation is to use a headlight restoration wipe which you would get when you buy a headlight restoration kit.
