Hey, thanks a lot for posting this video and explaining how to replace the headlight. I have a 2003 arc Saab. The part cost me around $100 at NAPA. I cannot afford to pay someone to replace the blub. So at 8pm this evening started to take the light blub out and the air filter parts. Boy! What a job but you explained it well. Im proud of myself, a 50 yr lady, took 1 hour to take apart and put back together. For sure you should take the air filter out, so you have space to replace the blub, because Im a woman with smaller hands, the job wasn't so hard.. Not only did I get the light working, but now I know how to replace the air filter. Talk about saving money!!! Thanks again! fr CA
This video showed me exactly what to do. Thanks! Here's one extra piece of advice for anyone replacing the left side bulb: when removing the old bulb, note its exact orientation as it comes out. When inserting the new bulb, you have to rotate the bulb so that projections on the base of the bulb align exactly with slots in the bulb holder. The very small working space on that side makes it *very* hard to see what you are doing and it took me several tries before I got the orientation right.
Thanks, this saved me a lot of anguish and needless to say hundreds of dollars. My dealer wanted $475 to replace both headlamps; parts were $350 and $125 labor. I bought two Philips D2S on Amazon for $78 (genuine with CoA verified) and spent about an hour on a Saturday afternoon in my driveway "shade tree garage". One thing different on my '06 Aero SportCombi was another air intake to pop off on the left side and I had to remove the fuse box in front of the battery tray to have enough access for my big hands. Its easy, just push the tab from inside the battery tray and use a screwdriver to keep it depressed, then rock the fuse box side to side until it loosens up and slides upward and off. In terms of the headlight boots, just work from the bottom up. I used a pair of needle nose pliers at the end to gently grab the seam and pull it up and over the ridge on top. Then I went around the seam several times pushing it to make sure it was properly seated. Worked like a charm.
Thanks so much for posting this! I watched the video several times, headed to the local parts shop and bought the bulb ($104 just the for bulb) and decided to try and do it myself to avoid the usual additional $100-$150 for installation. I was replacing the right low beam bulb. Parked the car in the drive and popped the hood. About 15 minutes later, I was feeling very proud of myself (mid 40's woman) as I cranked up the car and the light was working fine! Your video was great and gave me the confidence to give it a try.
I have a SAAB 97-X. It's very different and I can't find a DIY video so I may have to make my own. Thanks Sam for the your video, you have given my a better idea of what I'm dealing with.
Thank you so much for taking time to post this video! Several men passed and asked if I needed any help. Kindly smiled and replied, "No, thank you...I got this." :-)
Thanks so much for posting! You saved me a ton. I didn't want to go to a dealer to get my headlights changed. I tried to change it before without taking out the air box, and it was so difficult. I definitely recommend taking out the air box first if you're going to do this.
Thanks for posting this! It was super helpful for my HID bulb replacement this afternoon. The only thing I did differently was move the fuse box (that narrow black box you can see just forward of the battery at 6:24) to give myself a little more room to maneuver. I didn't end up having to remove the airbox for the passenger side.
Fantastic video! My 07 Aero passenger side HID couldn't have been changed without your help. No room on passenger side unless you remove the air box... But the most important thing to note is as the video says... There is a safety on the igniter and power wire. Once you unplug the power and remove the igniter... Do not plug it in until it's installed or you won't be able to install the igniter. The tab prevents it from turning and will require manually resetting the safety tab. Watch this video twice!
Thanks for the video :) ...and to think...some other instructional videos would have you remove the entire front bumper and inner wheel wells. Thanks for saving me several hours on a Sunday!
Of note: this is the V6 2.8T correct?...no need to remove bumper, but loosening headlight upper mounting screws helped me replace my turn signal bulb too.👍
My left high beam is working fine, all easily removal components work fine. Just the Right low beam and Right High beam don't work. The right turn signal works fine, hazards, fog lights also work. I was thinking the addition ballast below the headlights might be the problem. Thin rectangle box not the one attached to the bulb.
Is your left high beam also not working? The left high beam and right low beam share a fuse, and the right high beam and left low beam share another fuse. Fuse 26 in the engine fuse box might be your problem.
If I were to install aftermarket HIDs would I have to chance the ballasts? I will be switching to MAXLUX HID Xenon Bulbs D2C (D2S/D2R) 5000K. I'm pretty sure those are 35W, also I want a brighter type of white which is why I am getting the 5000k. Is it fine to upgrade? Or should I stay at 4300k. Thank you and good video.
hello Sam, i have a 2003 saab 9-3 i have a Right low beam failure !! ..when i start my car they work fine but after like 20-30 seconds it goes bad..just the right side ..do u think this is just a HID bulb issue or a ballast issue ? Thanks again for the video..
Hi Sam, I have a 2004 9-3 aero with the Xenon lights, I also am getting a Right low beam failure, I purchased new OEM bulbs D2S Philips lights and I still get the Right low beam failure. I switched the ballasts and still have the problem. I will switch the bulbs to make sure but if this also is unsuccessful what course of action do you recommend.
Nice Video!....My friend has a '03 9-3 and both headlights eventually went out, some mechanics told her it was the ballasts (how often do they go out?) they told her the bulb and the ballast are together, but from your video it seems they are not. So you can just replace just the bulb?!?! Do you know how to test a ballast? any help will be appreciated I just don't want her to get ripped off!! Please help
Thanks for posting this, Sam. I'm trying this now on my 2007 9-3 and when you remove the wire harness from the ballast, which way do you pull it? I can't tell from the video and I'm afraid of yanking it too hard in the wrong direction and wrenching something (tried lightly pulling in all directions but it's pretty firmly on there)
Was wondering if you can help me with my 2003 95 aero, when i start my xenon, the left one starts to flicker, then after a say 20secs is fine, then if i take a HARD left it goes out, then it flickers for 2 secs, goes out and repeats, then if i switch them off and back on they are fine until the next hard left! it´s only the left xenon. Otherwise i can drive on the motorway for 20mins without any problems.
Also... I had 6000K bulbs in another car and I didn't like them. They were too blue. I think 5000K is a good color temperature, but that's just my opinion. Higher numbers don't give you more light, it's actually the opposite.
I had someone try to replace my right low beam bulb for my 2006 saab he removed my airbox for work room he could not get my bulb in so he put back my airbox now my engine is running funny & it makes a funny noise like my car is not getting enough power almost feeling like the car is going to shut off what do you think it might be the problem?
You won't need to change the ballasts as long as you buy "real" D2S bulbs. The D2S bulbs which come with the retrofit kits aren't real D2S bulbs. Just make sure you are buying real D2S bulbs, not retrofit bulbs.
Hey, thanks a lot for posting this video and explaining how to replace the headlight. I have a 2003 arc Saab. The part cost me around $100 at NAPA. I cannot afford to pay someone to replace the blub. So at 8pm this evening started to take the light blub out and the air filter parts. Boy! What a job but you explained it well. Im proud of myself, a 50 yr lady, took 1 hour to take apart and put back together. For sure you should take the air filter out, so you have space to replace the blub, because Im a woman with smaller hands, the job wasn't so hard.. Not only did I get the light working, but now I know how to replace the air filter. Talk about saving money!!! Thanks again! fr CA
Sylvia Raslan That's awesome, Sylvia! I don't read the comments very often, so I just saw yours. I'm glad the video helped you out.
This video showed me exactly what to do. Thanks!
Here's one extra piece of advice for anyone replacing the left side bulb: when removing the old bulb, note its exact orientation as it comes out. When inserting the new bulb, you have to rotate the bulb so that projections on the base of the bulb align exactly with slots in the bulb holder. The very small working space on that side makes it *very* hard to see what you are doing and it took me several tries before I got the orientation right.
Thanks, this saved me a lot of anguish and needless to say hundreds of dollars. My dealer wanted $475 to replace both headlamps; parts were $350 and $125 labor. I bought two Philips D2S on Amazon for $78 (genuine with CoA verified) and spent about an hour on a Saturday afternoon in my driveway "shade tree garage".
One thing different on my '06 Aero SportCombi was another air intake to pop off on the left side and I had to remove the fuse box in front of the battery tray to have enough access for my big hands. Its easy, just push the tab from inside the battery tray and use a screwdriver to keep it depressed, then rock the fuse box side to side until it loosens up and slides upward and off.
In terms of the headlight boots, just work from the bottom up. I used a pair of needle nose pliers at the end to gently grab the seam and pull it up and over the ridge on top. Then I went around the seam several times pushing it to make sure it was properly seated. Worked like a charm.
Thanks so much for posting this! I watched the video several times, headed to the local parts shop and bought the bulb ($104 just the for bulb) and decided to try and do it myself to avoid the usual additional $100-$150 for installation. I was replacing the right low beam bulb. Parked the car in the drive and popped the hood. About 15 minutes later, I was feeling very proud of myself (mid 40's woman) as I cranked up the car and the light was working fine! Your video was great and gave me the confidence to give it a try.
I have a SAAB 97-X. It's very different and I can't find a DIY video so I may have to make my own. Thanks Sam for the your video, you have given my a better idea of what I'm dealing with.
Thank you so much for taking time to post this video! Several men passed and asked if I needed any help. Kindly smiled and replied, "No, thank you...I got this." :-)
Thanks so much for posting! You saved me a ton. I didn't want to go to a dealer to get my headlights changed. I tried to change it before without taking out the air box, and it was so difficult. I definitely recommend taking out the air box first if you're going to do this.
Thanks for posting this! It was super helpful for my HID bulb replacement this afternoon. The only thing I did differently was move the fuse box (that narrow black box you can see just forward of the battery at 6:24) to give myself a little more room to maneuver. I didn't end up having to remove the airbox for the passenger side.
Fantastic video! My 07 Aero passenger side HID couldn't have been changed without your help. No room on passenger side unless you remove the air box... But the most important thing to note is as the video says... There is a safety on the igniter and power wire. Once you unplug the power and remove the igniter... Do not plug it in until it's installed or you won't be able to install the igniter. The tab prevents it from turning and will require manually resetting the safety tab. Watch this video twice!
Thanks for posting this! Bulbs are available on Amazon for $15 - much cheaper than taking it to the shop.
Thanks for the video :)
...and to think...some other instructional videos would have you remove the entire front bumper and inner wheel wells. Thanks for saving me several hours on a Sunday!
Thanks for taking time to post this and other Saab videos. I have an '04 9-3 vert
Mate you are an absolute legend thanks. Edd
Of note: this is the V6 2.8T correct?...no need to remove bumper, but loosening headlight upper mounting screws helped me replace my turn signal bulb too.👍
Wow... it has been a long time. I think my car had the 2.5 turbo? Did they make a 2.4? Four cylinder?
My left high beam is working fine, all easily removal components work fine. Just the Right low beam and Right High beam don't work. The right turn signal works fine, hazards, fog lights also work. I was thinking the addition ballast below the headlights might be the problem. Thin rectangle box not the one attached to the bulb.
Is your left high beam also not working? The left high beam and right low beam share a fuse, and the right high beam and left low beam share another fuse. Fuse 26 in the engine fuse box might be your problem.
If I were to install aftermarket HIDs would I have to chance the ballasts? I will be switching to MAXLUX HID Xenon Bulbs D2C (D2S/D2R) 5000K. I'm pretty sure those are 35W, also I want a brighter type of white which is why I am getting the 5000k. Is it fine to upgrade? Or should I stay at 4300k. Thank you and good video.
Nice video! What manufacturer has those balasts? That is slick!
hello Sam,
i have a 2003 saab 9-3 i have a Right low beam failure !! ..when i start my car they work fine but after like 20-30 seconds it goes bad..just the right side ..do u think this is just a HID bulb issue or a ballast issue ?
Thanks again for the video..
Hi Sam,
I have a 2004 9-3 aero with the Xenon lights, I also am getting a Right low beam failure, I purchased new OEM bulbs D2S Philips lights and I still get the Right low beam failure. I switched the ballasts and still have the problem. I will switch the bulbs to make sure but if this also is unsuccessful what course of action do you recommend.
Nice Video!....My friend has a '03 9-3 and both headlights eventually went out, some mechanics told her it was the ballasts (how often do they go out?) they told her the bulb and the ballast are together, but from your video it seems they are not. So you can just replace just the bulb?!?! Do you know how to test a ballast? any help will be appreciated I just don't want her to get ripped off!! Please help
Swap the ballasts from one side to the other. If the problem switches sides, then you know it's the ballast. If not, it's the bulb.
Thanks for posting this, Sam. I'm trying this now on my 2007 9-3 and when you remove the wire harness from the ballast, which way do you pull it? I can't tell from the video and I'm afraid of yanking it too hard in the wrong direction and wrenching something (tried lightly pulling in all directions but it's pretty firmly on there)
Jason Hough Nevermind, Sam! Figured it out, and the new bulb is in and working. Cheers!
Jason Hough Good! I'm glad the video was helpful for you.
did you install those aftermarket or are the HID's stock?
I love you sam
Love you too Jon. :-)
Was wondering if you can help me with my 2003 95 aero, when i start my xenon, the left one starts to flicker, then after a say 20secs is fine, then if i take a HARD left it goes out, then it flickers for 2 secs, goes out and repeats, then if i switch them off and back on they are fine until the next hard left! it´s only the left xenon. Otherwise i can drive on the motorway for 20mins without any problems.
Make sure the wire that plugs into the ballast is fully inserted.
Also... I had 6000K bulbs in another car and I didn't like them. They were too blue. I think 5000K is a good color temperature, but that's just my opinion. Higher numbers don't give you more light, it's actually the opposite.
I had someone try to replace my right low beam bulb for my 2006 saab he removed my airbox for work room he could not get my bulb in so he put back my airbox now my engine is running funny & it makes a funny noise like my car is not getting enough power almost feeling like the car is going to shut off what do you think it might be the problem?
There is a wire connection he most likely left loose. I he or she had no idea it was there i may have been damaged.
Also, the fuses appear to be fine.
My HIDs were stock.
You won't need to change the ballasts as long as you buy "real" D2S bulbs. The D2S bulbs which come with the retrofit kits aren't real D2S bulbs. Just make sure you are buying real D2S bulbs, not retrofit bulbs.