# How can i change bulb on Altima



## oh-la-la (Apr 1, 2004)

Hi
how can i replace the bulb for head light but do i have to take the whole light off???
thanks


----------



## Coco (Apr 30, 2002)

Passenger Side:

1) Use a 10 mm socket to remove the two bolts on the radiator overflow bottle. Move the bottle and place it in an upright position between the radiator and the dipstick (if the engine is cold) or on top of the grille by the hood release. You will notice that the overflow rubber tube will lift off the windshield-washer bottle cap. Replace the cap so nothing falls in.

2) On the passenger-side fender you will see a bracket that one of the bolts came from. That too is bolted to the fender with a 10 mm head bolt. Remove the bolt and bracket.

3) You will see a large round cover; this is where the low beam bulb is located. Remove the cover by turning it right/clockwise (as viewed from the outside-front of the car) or by turning it left/counterclockwise (as viewed from inside the car). When you can no longer turn the cover, pull it out.

Note: I found it difficult to align the covers behind the lights. You have to figure out which little square goes where on the lamp assembly. I put a mark on the cover before I took it off and then I put another mark on the lamp assembly, aligned with the mark on the cover, after I turned the cover to remove it. Doing this will make it easy to reinstall the cover.

4) The cover has a rubber gasket inside the will prevent you from completely removing the cover. However, you can pull the cover back a few inches and change the bulb. I suggest that you see how the bulb goes in so it aligns correctly. 

5) There is a metal clip that holds in all H1 bulbs. This one is a real pain to get off. On the bottom of the bulb housing you will see a little ring. First push it down (towards the ground), then push it to the left (as viewed from the outside-front of the car). You may want to use a 4" long piece of tape to hold the clip up and out of the way. 

6) Put the bulb in and clip it in place.

7) To install the turn-signal and high-beam lights, simply turn each to the right/clockwise (as viewed from the outside-front of the car) or left/counterclockwise (as viewed from inside the car) and pull the bulb out.

8) Put everything back together.

Driver Side:

1) Remove the 10 mm bolt that holds the air box down (this is on the gold colored bracket on the driver-side fender). 

2) Release the two clips that hold the air-filter box together and remove the filter. You can then lift the top of the air box out of the way. 

3) (see pictures) Pull the plastic tube from the under-hood "ram air" assembly towards the front of the car (it will move about 1/4 inch) and then pull the air box and straight out. It takes a little force because it is held in place by two rubber-male shaped plugs that go into holes. Once you have this out, the bulbs are easy to access.

Replacing the air box:

4) Align the air box’s two pointed rubber connectors with their holes and push down hard. Make sure the front air tube is out of the way. One note: there is another intake path at the bottom of the air box. Make sure that the air box is properly aligned with it and the “ram air” intake.

5) After you get the bottom of the air box in, install the bolt on the fender, replace the air filter, and then finish putting everything on. 

Note: Total time to remove everything, change the bulbs, and re-install was 15 minutes. I do suggest that after you get the bulbs in and are sure that the round covers are in place correctly (as I mentioned, that was the biggest problem I had) to turn the lights on and make sure they work. I say this because, as you will see, putting the covers on sometimes causes the red wire to disengage from the bulb.

Note: Once you get all the junk out of the way (the air box on the driver’s side and the radiator overflow on the passenger side) you will see a 10 mm bolt right in the middle of the headlight assembly. This is for headlight adjustment.

Credit: pcsgrp35se from a.net.


----------



## oh-la-la (Apr 1, 2004)

Coco said:


> Passenger Side:
> 
> 1) Use a 10 mm socket to remove the two bolts on the radiator overflow bottle. Move the bottle and place it in an upright position between the radiator and the dipstick (if the engine is cold) or on top of the grille by the hood release. You will notice that the overflow rubber tube will lift off the windshield-washer bottle cap. Replace the cap so nothing falls in.
> 
> ...


thanks so much, this is very helpful


----------



## RatTerrier (Jan 15, 2005)

This is awesome info! thanks for postin this. I just went through the whole "quickly replace a simple lightbulb ordeal".....now thats its 2 hrs after I started I'm finished! lol It always helps though if the salesman give you the right bulbs to begin with. argh


----------



## AcomaLegend (Sep 26, 2005)

WOW, I wish that I had seen this lastnight, I found out the hard way! LOL... but its always fun finding out how to do it on your own....


----------



## poz09 (Mar 17, 2006)

thanks for the notes, helped out alot


----------



## cdmorenot (Dec 22, 2005)

uh oh.. make sure that rubber seal is put back on there correctly seen many many fogged up altima headlights lately


----------



## eyesack (Feb 22, 2006)

soooo, could i use this procedure to install an HID kit so i don't have to drop my bumper? for some reason i was under the impression i had to drop that fker to change a light bulb... dur


----------



## cdmorenot (Dec 22, 2005)

oh no believe me for your HID's you need to drop that sucker.. you need to get that bulb in there and make sure its good.. and seal up the headlight with silicone to prevent moisture to get in there... and you need to hide the ballasts..  do it right.. drop it


----------



## eyesack (Feb 22, 2006)

maybe ill take you up on that installation offer... just gotta figure out when i/you can do it


----------



## headlight_clip (Nov 9, 2006)

Hi,
I am having a hell of a time trying to replace the passenger side bulb. I replaced the driver's side bulb about a year ago with some trouble, but this side seems a lot harder for some reason.

The problem for me is the clip - When I removed the clip, it fell down inside the fender (after 20 minutes of work I recovered it), but I was not able to note exactly how the clip held the bulb in place. I don't remember this part being that difficlt on the driver's side.

I also suspect that I may have bent the clip slightly.

Regarding this :


> 5) There is a metal clip that holds in all H1 bulbs. This one is a real pain to get off. On the bottom of the bulb housing you will see a little ring. First push it down (towards the ground), then push it to the left (as viewed from the outside-front of the car). You may want to use a 4" long piece of tape to hold the clip up and out of the way.


I am not sure I have seen this. The clip was held in with a screw above the bulb opening. I am not sure how the bottom of the clip was held in, or which end of the clip is top or bottom. The clip has a small loop of metal at end, however, this loop is too small for the screw, and I did not remove the screw completely anyway, only loosened it.

If anyone has any advice, or better yet, a photo showing how the clip is supposed to look installed, that would be great. Also, if I need a replacement clip, where might I get one? It seems like I should be able to fashion something out of a paperclip!

Many thanks in advance


----------



## syrius (Sep 6, 2008)

*Nissan Altima Head Light Bulb Replacement*

This info was really helpful -thanks so much.

I also found a great page showing step-by-step pictures. 
<http://www.paulstravelpictures.com/Nissan-Altima-Headlight-Bulb/index.html>
The pictures there and the steps in this thread made it almost too easy. Thanks, again.


----------



## quickser4u619 (Jul 14, 2010)

I might need help on how to adjust my low beams, cause one is pointing a little bit lower... I know about that little silver 10mm bolt in the center of the light assembly, but i adjusted to the left and right and i didnt see a difference...am i doing something wrong? I'm also having difficulty taking my passenger side headlight unit out.. I unscrewed 1 side screw by the fender, 1 bottom screw which is uner the lgiht, the 2 top screws....and still cant take it out....I did the same on the drivers side, it it was able to pop out and i was holding it in my hand...I mean all the harnesses were attached, but i could've worked on it that way. The passenger side only is able to come out a little bit, just enough for me to unscrew the dust cap from the low beam...Any suggestions.. I mean i had the bumper removed and everything, so i dont think it even had anything to do with it. I didnt wanna unplug any other cords from the low beam and the orange light. Plz let me know. Thank you


----------



## BobbiDollPDX (Apr 24, 2011)

Coco, awesome, thanks so much for the post. My Hayes manual told me to take off the effing bumper! This was much easier. Took my bf like 20 minutes. Really appreciate the info.


----------



## Paul79UF (Jan 23, 2003)

cdmorenot said:


> uh oh.. make sure that rubber seal is put back on there correctly seen many many fogged up altima headlights lately


 Yep, I've dealt with that problem on several cars in the past including the Altima.

Wrapping some teflon (plumber's) tape around the area where the bulb housing goes back into the headlight can help.


----------



## szilagyi12 (Jan 29, 2012)

Changing the passenger side head light bulb should be straightforward, provided that the coolant reservoir can be removed easily.
On my Nissan Altima 96, after removing the fixing screw, the coolant reservoir seems stuck. No there is no second screw fixing it, as suggested by some people. For removing the coolant reservoir easily, push it slightly towards the center line of the car, which will disengage a “click” mechanism between the black plastic holder underneath and the coolant reservoir. Then lift it up, using some extra force if necessary.


----------



## 1eyealtima (Feb 2, 2013)

*Replaced headlight bulb on 2004 Altima, no light*

I replaced the passenger side headlight bulb on 2004 Nissan Altima, but the light won't come on. I reviewed the pic guide at Nissan-Altima-Headlight-Bulb-35, but my groundwire has a plate attached to it that fits over the hotwire connected to the bulb. I replaced the assembly with the clip to hold bulb in place, checked fuse box under hood, and tried 2 different bulbs. 

Still no light and looking like a pirate. Any thoughts on what the problem could be?


----------

