Headlight bowl removal

[iandromiskin]

Hi. I'm just in the process of removing a wing, but how on earth do I remove the headlight bowl ? I have all the chrome, rubbers, bowl etc unscrewed etc, but its hanging from the loom wiring. What I need to know is how do I remove the wiring from the bowl (it appears to be held in a rubber grommit) in order to remove and replace the bowl and wing ???

[mike.perry]

If you follow the wiring back to the engine compartment you should find some bullet connectors, undo them and feed the wires through the grommets one at a time. You can get plastic headlight bowls which don't rust or seize the screws up.

[bmcecosse]

Yes - keep the wires with the bowl!

[Fingolfin]

Heh, when we replaced my left-front wing, my dad said to just snip the headlight wires under the wing, and we'd reconnect them later on. I did so and haven't had problems -- but watch out if you take this route -- my wires were blackened from age, and I had to mark them with colored masking tape; when I went to reattach, the masking tape had faded and I couldn't tell one from the other! If this happens, experiment with a circuit tester on the main wires and (with the headlight out so you don't burn it up!) on the reconnected plug inside the bowl.
Easy, but had I known about the snap connectors further up, I would've done that instead. Just a friendly warning from your friend Fin!

[iandromiskin]

my dad said to just snip the headlight wires under the wing, and we'd reconnect them later on

I was thinking about doing that too, but I was afraid that the wiring reconnectors might short circuit with damp etc when reconnected. I'll try and follow the wiring and see how that works.

[RogerRust]

Make sure you trace the cables back and disconnect them. Then when you put it back together clean the bullets, make sure they are secure and replace the black connectors with nice clean new ones.

You will be glad you did, you only need to look at the number of headlight problems folk have reported this winter.

It's difficult to describe but I cut a little slot in an old pair of pliers so that the wire slips into it but not the bullet. Then with one squeeze the bullets are rammed in place. I used to use a little screwdriver to push them in until one day I stabbed my other hand really hard!