If you need to replace or upgrade your car light bulbs, whether it is headlight bulbs, sidelight bulbs, indicator bulbs or even brake light bulbs, finding out exactly which type of bulbs you need and how to fit them correctly can sometimes prove quite a challenge. The easy option is to take you car down to the local main dealer and ask them to replace your car bulbs for you, although you will certainly have to pay a hefty premium for the parts and labour.

However with the right knowledge and a few simple tools you can quite easily do the job yourself, and make considerable financial savings in the process. In order to help you understand what is required when buying and changing car bulbs this guide has been designed to answer the most commonly asked questions.

How can I find out which car bulbs are fitted to my vehicle?
Initially you should consult the car owners manual, normally all of the bulbs fitted and their locations will be listed within it. Alternatively there are now some very good car bulb finder search tools on the internet, whereby you enter your vehicle’s, make, model and year and it will show you which bulbs you require. One point to note is that whilst he owners manual or online search tools are very accurate, occasionally the vehicle manufacturer will change the design, specification or parts supplier during a production run so inaccuracies can occasionally occur.

Should I replace my car bulbs in pairs?
If you are changing your headlight bulbs or sidelight bulbs then the answer is yes, and this makes good sense for two reasons. Firstly if one headlight bulb has blown the other one will follow quite shortly so if you change them both together you wont need to worry about repeating the job for a while. The second reason is that as headlight bulbs get towards the end of their service life their performance starts to reduce, and so if you only changed one headlight bulb you would be left with a light imbalance that reduces the performance of your headlights and can prove distracting. When it comes to changing other car bulbs like indicator bulbs or brake light bulbs it is normal practice just to replace the failed bulb.

>>> Read Part 2 of Replacing or Changing Car Light Bulbs >>>