How to fix a tail light

There are days when your repairs go so well you barely need the beer.

Here’s how to replace a burnt out bulb in the tail light of your car  with zero heartbreak. 

And here's the  Monty Python style video that proves just how easy it is!

First, make a trip to an automotive supply store like Canadian Tire.  Go directly to the hallowed Parts Department (or the Service Department if there’s a line-up at Parts – they both have the same computer database).

Give the attendant the year and model of your vehicle and watch with wonder as he or she rockets through successive screens to come up with the EXACT bulb that your ride requires. Smile in wonder as the nice person offers to write down the number for you. Does it get better than this? Hardly ever.

If, by some freak circumstance, there is no attendant present at either the Parts or Service counters, do not be discouraged. This is just getting GOOD.

Walk with confident strides to the bulb aisle (usually across from the Parts counter), which proffers hundreds of bulbs, identical in every respect except for the subtle alpha-numeric code on the upper-right-hand corner of the packaging. Feel your grey matter contract in a spasm of intellectual arousal.

At about this time, you may notice a small book displayed on its own stand partway down the aisle. This tiny tome is the key to your vehicle’s bulbous (let’s call it what it is) needs.

Open the well-thumbed, grease-streaked, tear-stained little book and look up the make, model and year of your conveyance. Then choose the exact bulb specified. TIP: Conveniently, the brake light and the tail light require the same bulb in many vehicles, so don’t resent the 2-pack. Simply store it in your glove box or bra for future use.

After paying for your bulbs, retire to the parking lot and undertake the following therapy on your car, truck or van.

Stuff You’ll Need

A screwdriver

Really, that’s it.

Steps

You’ll be amazed at how fast this repair goes. It’s easier than digesting a tofu hotdog.

First, figure out how to gain access to the bulb chamber. Sometimes a screw is visible in the coloured plastic housing. On other vehicles you have to open the trunk to find the access screws. On pick-up trucks, you may need to remove a couple of hex-head screws to open the tail-light compartment.

After removing the pertinent screws, take out the old bulb. Bulbs are usually spring-loaded, so you have to press down on the bulb first, and then turn it to the left. It’ll pop up in a perky way that suggests it still has a lot more life in it, but don’t be fooled. If it’s black and smoky, it’s a goner.

Put the new bulb in place, lining up the spring-loaded pins (on the neck of the bulb) with the slots in the collar of the socket.

Press the bulb firmly to seat it, and then turn it to the right to lock it in place.

For the next part, you’ll need a helper.  Choose a relative who is loud and sure of himself.

Test your repair by getting into the driver’s seat and pressing on the brakes, turning on the headlights or shifting into reverse (depending on which bulb you replaced and how much you want to scare your relative).

If your relative yells that the new bulb is not as bright as the other side, try removing the bulb and rotating it 180 degrees, so the spring-loaded prongs on the neck of the bulb are inserted into the opposite slots on the flange of the socket. 

Don't forget to screw the plastic housing back in position before you send your relative off to get beer.