Vehicle disabled by a light bulb

On the ride home last night the high beam on the passenger side kept blinking on and off. Loose wire, I thought. How hard can it be? I've been fixing headlights since I was a kid.

Back in the day of sealed beam headlights the whole light would get replaced. Used to take me 10 or 15 minutes as I was in no hurry. I think they used to cost something like 8 bucks.

Then they went to halogen bulbs that would twist into the lens assembly and the socket would easily snap in the back. Most cars I owned, they could be replaced without using tools and took about 5 minutes. There was one car I owned that the battery had to be removed first. That slowed it down a bit.

Once I popped the hood, it was clear that the battery had to come out. It's a little dicey on my van as it's a two battery system and there are more cables and stocky bits. Got the battery removed only to discover that the battery holder would also have to come out. The bolts were rusty, but eventually a lot of elbow grease persuaded them.

Underneath that was another plate in the way. Broke two Phillips bits trying to remove the screws holding it. After some persuasion with a chisel and hammer, one screw got loose enough to turn. With one out it was possible to pry the plate far enough out of the way to access the light socket.

Sure enough, the high beam wire had pulled out of the socket. Of course, there was no way to repair the wire as it broke inside the fixture where it was sealed with resin. No problem, I'd picked up a replacement socket -the wrong one, as it turned out.

Now I have to borrow my wife's car for a trip into town to buy a new socket. Reassembling the van just to drive to the auto parts store is a chore I'll happy do without. Heck, I'd ride my bike into town before messing with that stuff one more time than I absolutely have to.

-Sixbears