I needed Efiwym, my wife, to come to the bank to sign some papers. I was already there so she had to drive over in her car. After we were done at the bank we left together. As she pulled out, she drove into the parking space next to me. She gave me some signal to roll down my passenger side window. I can’t describe the actual signal as if it might have been telepathic. I complied. She told me that my right taillight was out. Apparently, my son-in-law, Kram, mentioned it about two weeks ago. I checked it out and it appeared to me okay. I guess I was wrong. Once I got home from work, I planned to change it out.
I got home and immediately started on this project. As I mentioned in my last blog post, I do not do car repairs anymore. Well, again, I was wrong. Maybe light bulb replacement does not count. I went to YouTube™ to view a video on how to replace a taillight bulb on a 2013 Highlander. It seemed simple.
There was a side panel inside the rear of the car. Just pop it off, reach in and pull out the bulb. The Japanese must believe we all have tiny hands. The opening was about 4 inches by 3 inches wide. The opening at sharp edges that scraped the skin of my hand. Also, the opening was jammed with multiple cables making it difficult to get at the bulb. I was fortunate to get at the bulb and with a twist I removed it.
I went to the Internet to verify the bulb size and which store had one. With the burnt-out bulb I was off to the friendly hardware folks to buy a bulb. When I got there, I walked back to the store where auto parts and supplies were. I found the display of bulbs and looked for bulb number 7443. With the burnt-out bulb in my hand I knew right away I had the wrong number. I needed a mini bulb not a full-size bulb. Bulb number 912 or 921 was the size I needed. I looked online and 921 would work, but so would 912. I bought the 921 and returned home.
Installing the new bulb was not too difficult. However, I needed to test it out. Even though the light worked with the lights on, I needed to check the backup lights. I went into the house and asked Efiwym for help. I asked her to step on the brake. The light did not go on. I asked her to start the car and step on the brake. That did not work either.
Wait a minute! I needed to check the backup light. I asked her to put the car in reverse (with the brake on). The backup light worked but… the red taillight did not work. I got the wrong bulb. I could see the burnt-out bulb through the red lens.
I reached in to try and remove the other bulb. In the process I knocked out the mini bulb, and it dropped into the abyss of the back quarter panel. That was okay, I had two other ones that worked.
I really struggled to get at the bulb. Finally, I was able to reach it but could not twist it to remove it. Eventually I got it out. This was the 7443 bulb.
Another trip to the friendly hardware folks. They only had one pack of 2 left. That is all I needed. I headed back home. Getting the bulb back in was not difficult. I called for Efiwym again. She put the car in reverse and…the red tail light did not work.
I looked into the red lens and there was the burnt-out bulb. I could see it. That was the bulb I needed. The bulb I pulled out was still good. I was hoping the 7443 bulb would work for that bulb.
My hand was already raw from the prior removal efforts. Now I need to reach in even further to get at that bulb. The video recommends using a glove. But a glove would make it even more difficult to get my hand inside and I would not be able to “feel” where the bulb was located. I made multiple efforts to reach the bulb and twist it off. My hand was throbbing and I was getting really frustrated. I started looking for other ways to get at the bulb, but there were not any.
Finally, I got it out. That was half the battle. I needed to get it back in. Before I put it back in, I asked Efiwym to put the car in reverse. This time the bulb lit up. I had a hard time lining up the bulb to the hole, but I got it in. I put the plastic panel back on. I put the good bulbs into the glove department hoping I did not need them ever again. The skin around my thumb was pinkish and sore to the touch, but this cart repair project was done. Ouch!
