kinakoes2

Just swapped out my existing bulbs for Sylvania Silverstar Ultras, and would like to share the little things that make this job a bit easier...

First... I chose the Silverstars for a reason. All six years I'd lived in Seattle, with its supremely soggy, salty marine port weather, and everything buried in hundreds of thousands of acres of old-growth evergreen forest... these particular bulbs have saved me more times than I can count from animals, deadheads (big branches or complete trees that fall across the road during Seattle Halloween - Xmas windstorm season). Their light seems less gross brightness, than stronger in a particular frequency, so things on the road stand out more. I've driven and ridden against many oncoming vehicle that have this swap bulb, and they're slightly purplish-blue and don't dazzle me near as much as other bulbs (PIAAs in particular)...

So, on to the actual swap. Very easy one, but also quite easy to make it double your cost if you're not careful...

Prep: Just have ready your new bulbs, and some paper towels. Get yourself some nitrile or other gloves, you're going to handle a battery -- acid can burn, even in powder form on sweaty skin.

We're going to start on the battery (passenger) side, then go to the driver's side.

1. 3/8" or 1/4" ratchet, short and long extensions, and deep 10mm socket. Remove the fancy plastic loom clip 'nut' from the threaded part on top of the holddown hook on the inner side of the battery clamp.

2. Remove the short 10mm bolt atop the rad holder bulkhead behind the passenger headlight. Now you can remove the holddown clamp and hook (and reinstall it without messing with any adjustment). Also remove the snorkel from the induction resonator by pulling the clip free that holds the wiring loom to it, and one 10mm bolt. You may need a longer extension to get to it.

3. Snug down your battery terminals (10mm) -- you're going to move the battery a smidge backwards.

4. If stock, there's a shroud that fits over the battery. This is to protect the battery from absorbing heat from air coming through the rad. Tilt the battery slightly and move it away from the back of the headlights -- you want some room for your hands to swap the bulbs properly.

5. Be sure you're replacing the correct bulbs in the correct holders if you're swapping both sets as I did -- the 9005 are the HI beam, 9006 is the LO beam. They won't fit in each other's holders, but it helps with time and effort as you'll see in a second.

6. For the high beam... press the little plastic barb release on the connector, and slide it off the bulb. If you're car is like mine this will take some working to get off; don't force it, you may break the headlight housing. Use a blade screwdriver and press down on the shell of the connector, one side at a time, walking it off. It may take a few presses to free it.

7. Rotate the bulb CCW in the housing to release it. On my car it was so set in there with grit that I had to use an adjustable wrench on the flat sides of the 90-degree bulb connector stub, to rotate it. Just be gentle... and when it comes free...

8. ... don't touch the bulb to the sides of the housing. The cleaner the bulb is, the longer its life will be. If you're planning to sh*tcan the bulbs anyway, no need for this. If you are, take your paper towels and wrap the bulbs, set them aside.

9. Get your new HI bulb, and be careful, like the game 'Operation' (do kids nowadays even know what that is anymore? ) to not touch the bulb to the housing putting it in. This is so no oils from the plastic offgassing, will get on the glass of the bulb. This is also why you want as much room as you can to get this done.

10. Rotate CW ~45 degrees while seated in there, and the bulb should lock in. My Silverstars were a great fit, no problems. Reinstall connector and push until it clicks.

11. Repeat steps 6 - 10 for the way-easier LO beam headlight.

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Driver's headlight -- both a little easier and a little harder than the passenger side...

12. Pull up on the power steering reservoir -- it's designed to be removed easily, no fasteners. If it fights you, just wiggle it around a bit and it'll pop out of that C-shaped metal clip bracket.

13. Now you can see why this isn't as straightforward as the passenger bulbs. Try using one hand or the other (if your hands are as big as mine) to both wiggle off the connectors, and turn them to release. I didn't need my wrench again to rotate the bulbs but just have it handy.

14. Same as steps 6 - 10, swap those bulbs and reconnect them.

15. Replace the reservoir on the driver's side, and you're done there.

16. On the passenger side... move the battery back onto its tray, and make sure everything lines up. Rehook the battery clamp's hook part into it hole in the tray behind the battery, and try to match up the holes for the front clamp bolt above the headlight. If it doesn't line up, wiggle the battery and reposition it slightly until it does.

17. When the front bolt is snug, try to wiggle the battery. It should be solid. Any play, take your 10mm socket and snug down the holddown hook nut until it is (now you see why you need a deep-well socket). Reinstall the little fancy plastic nut for the loom clip back on the hook threads.

18. If you want to, reinstall your snorkel. However I've found nice gains removing it, with very little drawbacks. Install the rubber boot on the resonator box, then bolt it down, finally press in the little barb for the loom in its hole (a bit of lube helps with that, she said ).

19. Profit... from being able to see road signs easily another 1/8 mile down the road earlier than your stock bulbs, as well as much better to the sides. Apparently the ones in my EX were also Sylvania bulbs, just normal halogens, which don't hold a candle(power) to these Silverstar Ultras.

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Separate review of the 9006/9005 Ultras in another thread.

kinakoes2

EDIT: between step 2 and 3, there is another clip on the wiring loom that I forgot to mention, which attaches to the battery tray. Use a blade screwdriver to pry the locking tab and release it from its metal stub. It'll make moving the battery out of the way a lot easier.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

wish i had taken pics from mine to complement this one... good job!

rockyrock

I did this Saturday and was a cinch! One small snafu: the passenger side is now seems to be aimed a little higher...any ideas?

Colin42

pretty sure the adjustment procedure is in your owners manual,
there is this thread but the pictures are gone:
https://www.civicforums.com/forums/1...-easy-way.html

EDIT: Found another:
https://www.civicforums.com/forums/1...k-warning.html