When a headlight burns out in your Dodge Caliber and you refer to the owner's manual, it's going to tell you to visit the dealer. This is not necessary for the do-it-yourself enthusiast who wants to save money. You can purchase the bulb for as little as £9 and install it yourself with the proper equipment. The Dodge Caliber headlight is a dual high-beam/low-beam halogen capsule.
- When a headlight burns out in your Dodge Caliber and you refer to the owner's manual, it's going to tell you to visit the dealer.
Apply the emergency brake on the Dodge Caliber on a flat, paved surface. Ensure that the headlight switch is off and remains so throughout the replacement procedure.
Lift the front side of the Caliber on the side of the faulty headlight, with the jack, and support the Caliber on a jack stand under the front frame rail.
Don your safety glasses and crawl under the front bumper with your tools.
Loosen the front of the wheel well splash guard, by removing the plastic push pins with an interior trim pry tool. You don't have to fully remove the splash guard. Just loosen it enough to gain access to the headlight through the splash guard.
Use a shop light or flashlight to look up inside the splash guard and access the headlight. The headlight is toward the engine, while the corner marker/directional signal is closer to the bumper.
- Don your safety glasses and crawl under the front bumper with your tools.
- Use a shop light or flashlight to look up inside the splash guard and access the headlight.
Turn the headlight retaining ring counterclockwise 1/4 turn to remove it from the back of the headlight assembly.
Disconnect the wire plug attached to the headlight bulb socket. Remove the old headlight and discard.
Put on the latex gloves before opening the package of the replacement H13 headlight capsule. Halogen bulbs use internal gas to heat the filaments and create extreme heat. Oils in human skin will create a hot spot on the glass bulb and compromise the longevity of the bulb or damage it altogether.
Insert the replacement bulb in the retaining ring and align the notches on the ring to the grooves to the headlight assembly. It will only fit in one way.
- Disconnect the wire plug attached to the headlight bulb socket.
- Insert the replacement bulb in the retaining ring and align the notches on the ring to the grooves to the headlight assembly.
Reconnect the wire plug to the headlight socket. Crawl out from under the Caliber and test the headlight (carefully, since the car is still elevated) by turning the headlights on, before replacing the splash guard and wheel well assembly. Turn the headlight off after testing.
Replace the retaining pushpins, remove the equipment under the Caliber and lower the vehicle back to the ground.