HOW TO: Change a brake light bulb
Ahh, the dreaded warning light again, This is quite a common problem for Proton models such as the Preve and Suprima S, due to unstable currents, the bulbs gets blown quite often. In this post I am going to share how to change this car's brake light bulb, its so easy that even a DIY noob like me can fix it in a matter of minutes, luckily this isnt some european car design where they will make a hell-ish experience just to change a lightbulb.
- Check which lightbulb is blown
Obviously you need someone to press the brakes for you so that you are able to see which side of the bulbs are blown, alternatively, park infront of a reflective surface. In this case, it was the driver side brake lights.
2.Check owners manual!
Do have a lookup in your owners manual to see which type of bulb is a suitable replacement, in the case of this Suprima, it uses a single filament P21W bulb for the brake lights as the taillights are using LED's. Just go to the nearest car accessory shop to buy the bulb, costs me only RM5. Its not worth it to buy online due to shipping costs and the waiting period. Once you have obtained the new bulb, read the next step.
4. Disassemble the taillight assembly
This step differs with various models and type of cars, for this Proton Suprima S, its as simple as unscrewing the 2 screws, my other car which is the Ford Fiesta, requires an additional step which is to remove a cover inside the boot area to gain access to an unlocking screw, unneeded hassle if you ask me.
Simply twist the cap counter clockwise to gain access to the bulb
Blown one on the left VS new ones on the right
5. Reassemble taillights and check!
Put the new bulbs in and reverse the order to put back the taillight assembly into its correct place. Then, press the brakes to make sure it lights up
No more errors!
6. You are done!
Well, that all is there to do, simple isnt it? Now you just have to wait for the other side to blow which probably will in a few months time. And to Proton, please make sure your future cars dont come with these kind of issues, its minor but its very annoying to have to keep replacing it. And no, I cant put an LED bulb to make it last longer due to the CANBUS system, it will throw the error message thinking that the bulb has blown due to the low wattage of these LED's.
EXTRA'S
Yup, no one was available at the time to help me to press the brake pedal in order for me to see which side of the bulb has blown, so here's an ingenius method done by yours truly.
Nice tutorial. Blowing the brake light still not as annoying as blowing the headlamp bulb like preve.
Yup, the Suprima headlamp bulb also will blow once every few month, no use buying expensive bulbs.. and its very hard to angle it properly
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