Do I need to remove the fenders or can I just pop the hood and pop the back headlight housing and pop it in?

 

No fender removal needed. Works best if you have a good strong light source so you can see what you're doing...

1. open the hood.
2. on the back of the headlight housing, gently pull off the socket/wiring harness on the back of the headlight bulb.
3. pull off the squishy rubber water seal.
4. This is a bit tricky: there's a wire clip that holds the bulb in the back of the housing. Squeeze the ends of the clip together at the top and let it fall back & down away from the housing. It pivots at the bottom, so it won't fall off.
5. Remove the bulb, paying attention to the orientation of the tabs on the bulb that's coming out. The new bulb needs to go in with the tabs in the same position.

The Fit uses HB2 (aka H4) headlight bulbs. Be sure to hold the new bulb by the metal parts only - these bulbs burn hot enough that fingerprints on the glass will cause the glass to crack.

6. Insert the new bulb. It's properly in place if you can't rotate the bulb.
7. Squeeze that wire clip (from Step 4) together again, and put the wires back in the slots above the bulb socket. It can be a bit fiddly to do, this is when good light shining into the engine compartment is really helpful.
8. Replace the water seal.
9. Plug the wiring harness into the back of the bulb.

 

Not hard at all, but do use gloves as the other poster recommended. Don't pay for somebody to do this for you. You'll lose money and, more importantly, man points.

 

Thanks for this description. Need to do this for my 2009 Fit. I need to get a bulb first. Had a bulb around the house...it's 9007. Not the same thing, right?

Joe in Billburg with a winking Fit.

 

Use a camera (like, on your phone) to snap a pic, w/flash if its dark, so that you can get an idea of what you're messing with under that rubber cap. It especially helps show you the wire clip.

The part number that 4thCornerFit forgot that relates to 9007 that you have... is 9003. The bulb is ID'd as HB4/H2/9003 depending on the region. And technically, those three specs are all slightly different in terms of tolerances. But for all practical purposes, they're the same.

 

Very good. Thanks. I'll pick up a 9003 today and one of those headlight de-haze kits while I'm at it.

 

are you converting it into LED?

 

No LED. Just the regular AutoZone replacement. Just finished the job. Pretty easy, even though I couldn't see what I was working on that well. (It was the driver's side and I think there was a little less room to get at it than the passenger side.) I appreciate all the help, advice and encouragement.

Joe