Car bulb checks and other light service

It is very important to keep an eye out for problems with your car lights and deal with any issues promptly. Failing to spot a broken light or deciding to leave it a few days before getting the problem fixed could easily result in an accident or attention from the police.

Think of the lights on your vehicle as a safety system. If you maintain them in a careless way, you are potentially exposing yourself to danger. For example, consider the consequences of driving at night with just one headlight. An oncoming driver could very well hit the unlit side of your car. Even an accident that is not your fault could leave you in a difficult position with your insurance company if it emerges that one of your lights wasn’t working. It is also worth bearing in mind that light checks are part of the MOT, and something as small as a broken rear licence plate bulb can lead to a test failure.

Given the importance of light service jobs, you naturally want a responsible partner to take care of them – just like any other safety-critical maintenance task. That’s why you should always contact Bosch Car Service, not just for larger headlight repair or headlight replacement jobs, but also for car bulb checks and replacements.

We tend to take the light and signal system on our vehicles for granted. But it incorporates quite a lot of different items, and every car has a slightly different arrangement. Here is a check list.

• Headlights and side lights
• Fog lights front and back
• Brake lights
• Indicators / hazard lights front and back
• Reversing lights
• Light for the license plates

Making sure the bulbs that serve these functions are working is the most obvious task. But in addition to a thorough car bulb check, the lenses in each location need to be regularly checked for cracks, chips or anything else impeding the light. The reflectors should also be checked for stains, which can develop if water penetrates the light fitting.

Remember also that the MOT test includes items such as the rate at which the indicators flash and the alignment of the headlights. Your lights can be a cause of danger if they are set too high or if they aren’t illuminating the whole road, so it’s important to assess their alignment periodically.

We are very happy to carry out a thorough assessment of your vehicle’s light and signal system, whether or not you have noticed a specific issue in your own checks. Some straightforward problems such as headlight adjustment and bulb replacement can be resolved immediately. More important issues will be documented, and we will ask your permission to go ahead with a fix.

If you have ever tried to change a car light bulb yourself, you will know just how frustrating it can be. For one thing, it is rather difficult to work out exactly what type of bulb you need. It means trawling through documentation and dealing with confusing component lists. And when you have the right bulb, you can easily end up damaging it before you even get it into the mounting – just touching a halogen bulb is enough to break it completely. Even getting into the light assembly in order to replace a bulb is a tricky process requiring tools, time and patience. Who needs all that bother when you can quite simply ask Bosch Car Service to do the replacement for you?

And there’s another reason to let us carry out car bulb replacements. Sometimes, what seemed like a broken bulb can turn out to be a little more complicated. For example, problems with electrical connections are often mistaken for simple bulb failures. In such situations, Bosch Car Service is well qualified to brief you on the likely causes and propose a solution.