how to attack headlamp light bulb?

[Leo Leentvaar]

Hi all,

Bit of a daft, noobish, question here.
I need to change the bulb on the RH side of the head lamps on my S4 Sprint. I had a look at the expanded drawing in the workshop manual and Gordon Lund's book. Am I correct in assuming that in order to exchange the bulb I need to remove the (MGB) bezel, unscrew the sealed beam unit
(Cibie) and then I finally land at the backside of the unit to exchange the bulb?
The implication of this way is that I need to re-align the beam again as per instructions in a.m. manual.
For this reason I felt better ask if there's an other way.

Thanks in advance for the help

[peterako]

Hi Leo,

Not a daft question.

Yes to all the above (procedure) EXCEPT, at least on my +2, no need for re-alignment as the Cibie (I have the same units) units sit on the adjuster platform.

To try and be clearer....

The lights are adjusted by two screws which move the Light Unit mountings left/right/up/down.

The Light unit itself (be it sealed beam or like teh Cibie H4) are seated on and screwed to this platform.

Changing the bulb requires unscrewing the Cibie unit from the platform and changing the bulb.

In theory this means that the platform adjustment is unchanged when you screw the light back....

That's it on the +2 anyway. I'd be surprised if the baby was not the same.

Best of luck,
Peter

[Frank Howard]

Leo,

The most difficult part is removing that bezel without damaging it. There is a tool available for this procedure but I use a small very thin pry bar. Good luck.

[Robbie693]

You can make a removal tool using a butter knife(!) dimensions are in the workshop manual.

[curly type 26]

You have butter!

[Leo Leentvaar]

Thanks guys, I am gonna fix it first thing tomorrow morning and let you know how it went.
I know the bezels as I owned an MGB for about 20 years

[SADLOTUS]

Hi Leo,

When you tug off the rims be careful not to scratch the paintwork coz they're a tight fit and the tool is a tight fit too... on mine anyway.

Good luck

Paul

[Leo Leentvaar]

Hi guys, thanks for the tips and tricks.
I attacked the headlamp yesterday after bending a knife in the vice first
(don't tell the missus that a piece of cutlery has gone missing )

I was surprised to find an H4 light bulb in there, was kinda' expecting to find a good old round bulb. Also found the innards liberaly coated in Waxoyl. Upon checking the bulb, I couldn't not find any fault and put it on 12V to find both terminals did light up the bulb.
Reconnected everything and checked the dip switch and rocker. All well!!
Must have been the terminal not seated right or something.
I was surprised how fiddly this job is, Lotus mechanics were probably selected having small hands and good dexterity .

Again thanks for the tips, next job would be more comprehensive as 2 cylinders yield about 75 psi(5 bar). Coolant is clear and oil too so let's see
what's the matter. I am going to sub this out and use the opportunity
to replace clutch and timing chain (God knows when that happened the last time, better safe than sorry is my approach here)