One more H4 install story

[targa80]

Today I put the right side front fender back on the car and this gave me the opportunity to install the Bosch H4 light assembly with the painted bezel. Well it was very frustrating. I have read all of the posts on other experiences or should I say horror stories.

Based on my reading I tried the following:

1. Threaded the screw into the nut plate and took note of the angle of the screw. ( the screw was sharply angled downwards very lose to where the bumper would be if it was on the car.
2. I fitted the light bezel onto the fender without the seal to get an idea how it clips on and aligns with the screw hole.
2. Placed the seal on correctly with silicone lube. Started at the top and pulled it downwards to stretch the rubber on the top side. (Hopefully, this just made the top side a little skinnier and fit into the grove a little tighter)
3. Made sure that none of the retaining clips were anywhere near the top notch on the fender or the screw on the bottom of the bezel.
4. I inserted the screw through the headlight bezel and made a few turns onto the nut plate. I then aligned the headlamp to the fender and put a strip of thin blue painters tap from the top of the fender to the headlamp bezel. (this gave me a nice clean lineup marker) I carefully used a razor blade knife to slice the tape right at the connection point near the seal and the headlamp bezel.

My first attempt was to start at the top to connect the bezel to the notch on the fender. Naturally this became a one hour effort with no results. Next, I started on the bottom with the screw inserted a few turns into the nut plate and with an upward force tried to get the bezel to slip over the notch on the fender. Again another hour of fighting and I added swearing to make me feel better.

Finally, after a cocktail and several hours rest I took the drastic measure of slightly bending the tab on the fender outwards just by a very slight amount. This time the bezel popped right on with a downward force on the top of the bezel. The screw was aligned up with the nut plate once I pressed slightly on the bottom of the bezel. I put about six turns on the screw and decided to call it a night.

I believe my problem was the same as almost everyone else has had. The new seal is just a little too thick and depending on the position of the fender tab will make the difference between a 10 minute job or a unfinished two hour job with no joy.

I remember one post where someone had one side just snapped right on and the other side would not go on at all. the poster swapped the headlamp assemblies with the same effect. I thought what would be the difference between the two fenders? That lead me to think that the tab is the problem. In my case the tab was to close to the fender seal and left no room for the bezel to snap on. Hopefully this will make it easier for the next person trying to install the Bosch H4 light assembly.

as a side note I installed the relay mod for the higher wattage lamps and I added the day running lights to the parking light circuit. I was to lazy to run a separate ignition switched circuit for the day running lights to come on with the car running, maybe later on I'll add that feature since I have a few open fuse slots.