Rubber Boot Cover for Headlight Prong Cartridge

[ScoobeyDoobey]

Hi Guys,
This is my first post, I am an absolute nubie & love this site by the way. I have a 1993 Legacy Turbo that is still stock with only 100k on it. Trying to decide where to start with the mods but I realize this area isn't for that post.

I just upgraded my headlight bulbs to the Sylvania Whitestars and the technician completely shredded the little rubber boot that covers the cartridge which the bulb plugs into. The garage is trying to find a replacement but it looks difficult as one seems to have to buy the complete assembly whether new or used. How important is that cover? I imagaine that I can prevent short-circuits by just liberally applying duct tape. Any comments?

[vrg3]

Which boot are you referring to? The big rubber one that seals the entire headlight housing, or the small one that fits over the black plastic 3-contact connector?

In either case, it's fairly important to keep the headlight assembly sealed from excessive moisture and dirt. You're right that duct tape could do the job.

To help keep the contacts from corroding you can put some dielectric grease on them before installing the connectors (it's good practice to do that with bulbs in general).

The rubber does tend to get brittle with age, but did the technician know how to operate the connectors? There are little tabs on the sides that you squeeze with your fingers to release the lock on the bulb.

Do you mean Sylvania Silverstars when you say "Whitestars?" To offer some unsolicited advice, Silverstars aren't really good bulbs. Any bulbs with tints on them are bad. The Sylvania Xtravision bulbs cost less than the Silverstars, perform better, and are usually sold next to the Silverstars too.

[ScoobeyDoobey]

Oh, you definitely know to what you refer. Yes, I meant the smaller, interior gasket that covers the connection. Thanks for the reccommendation for using the special jelly. I shall do that. I suppose that I should dab some on all of the exposed connections under the hood.

Yes, I've heard that about the Silverstars too. Unfortunately, don't know if I can return them at this date. No matter, I'll use them until they burn out. I was def. a victim of slick marketing.

As per the techinician, OMG, he had no idea what he was doing. I went to a Canadian Tire store - big chain in Canada - bought the bulbs and asked them to install them for $5.95/piece. Sounded steep but it was raining cats and dogs outside and I had never changed one before on my own - had to get a mechanic to help who did it properly.

Well, the technician installs the bulbs and I go home. Once home, I pop open the hood just to check the work. Yikes!!! I found an orange-handled spike on the ledge below the r/h lamp, then inspected the l/h lamp and found that he had the centre gasket in half. I looked around the compartment a bit more and found a large black screwdriver still resting ontop of my airfilter box! Unbelievable. Shows you not to open your hood to strangers even for a little job like that.

I don't know if they will get me a replacement gasket short of me taking them to small claims court - even though the mechanic admitted he did it and apologized. Not a pleasant interaction at all dealing with Canadian Tire.

However, if they don't supply one then I suppose duct/elecrical tape shall do the trick.

Thank you so much for your reply

Tim

[vrg3]

Wow. I think you should definitely go back to the shop and ask them to pay for a dealer to replace the damaged part of the car. Even if you don't have the time or resources to go to a small claims court you can still make it clear to them that you understand you have the right to. Bring in the tools you found under your hood too.

I don't think you can buy the rubber boot separately... If I were you I'd just see if a junkyard could get you one. It should only be a couple of dollars at the most, I'd think. I believe the boot is the same on all Legacies and Imprezas from 1992 through 1997.

Yes, silicone grease is good stuff to use on almost all underhood connectors. Most of them are already weather-tight though; they have rubber seals in them. The headlight connectors aren't though.

About the bulbs, do you already have a spare set in your glove box? If not, that'd be a good excuse to get good bulbs and keep the Silverstars as spares in case one blows out on the road. You probably already realize this now, but the bulbs are very easy to replace. In any case, Silverstars are relatively short-lived relative to standard 9003/H4 bulbs, so you'll be replacing them sooner than normal bulbs anyway . (To be fair, Xtravisions are also shorter lived than standard bulbs; the difference is Xtravisions use the extra power for good instead of evil.)

[evolutionmovement]

I've replaced a light in the rain and hardly got wet. I've used hot glue to protect around connectors pretty successfully. It does have to be touched up around the edges every couple of years as the elements will pull it off the connector a little. Nicer than duct tape.

Steve

[vrg3]

That's a cool idea, Steve. I'd imagine you'd have to use "high-temp" hot glue, right, since underhood temperatures would probably be able to melt the regular stuff?

Some people also use a thin layer of Automotive Goop.

[mikec]

Hot glue and Automotive Goop... I'm going to have to try one of those. I broke the insulation right by the plug on the ECU side of the knock sensor lead when I changed the sensor today. Right now I've got dielectric grease, electrical tape and a tiewrap holding it all together in an attempt to keep it out of the elements.

[ScoobeyDoobey]

Ha, I made it clear to the garage director yesterday that small claims court is a def. possibility if he doesn't find something within the month - they're just poo-pooing the part, saying its old, delicate, etc. When I did bring in the mechanics tools, they did look a bit sheepish though. Anyways, we'll see what happens. They aren't upstanding, ethical members of the business community. They should have volunteered to refund the 2 bits and change for the installation and apologized for the damage and then said that they would fix the damage. Oh well, live and learn.

I'm a real newbie and am not a mechanical whiz. I'm wondering, there are some electrical connections that involve wires attached to various parts of the chasis or around the engine that are just wires held down by screws. Its factory, nobody has ever touched those. I wonder if I should dab some jelly on those? How about the battery terminal connections?

[evolutionmovement]

vrg3 - I've used goop also and yes, you want the high-temp glue. The goop is more flexible, but the hot glue is thicker and easier to play with. Sealing the edges of the glue glob with goop would probably work best.

scoobey - I usually spray all the bolts and rustable stuff under the hood every month or so with silicon spray or whatever to keep stuff from corroding. I've also put hot glue on top of the chassis contacts for the battery.

Steve