aftermarket headlamp issue, 12 Focus

[CincyDavid]

My daughter's BF has a 2012 Ford Focus that sustained a front end hit prior to him owning the car...it was POORLY repaired, panel gaps are all over the place, paint isn't very good, the right front rail is crumpled and rusty. The list goes on and on (he's not a car guy, just liked the bright blue Focus). The weird thing is that he has a burned out low beam. Sounds simple, get an H11 bulb and replace it. Only problem is, the aftermarket lamp assembly uses an H7 for some reason.

Is this a common thing for an aftermarket part to specify a different bulb?!?

 

[Gimpy1]

If the replacement part is CAPA certified, it should be exactly the same. What you are describing sounds like a rebuilt salvage vehicle, if that is the case, then the headlamp is probably the cheapest one that fit and not certified. I would run a VIN check on the vehicle, I'd be willing to bet its a rebuilt total loss.

 

[Jimzz]

Look and see what year they changed the bulb. Could be the headlight bulb changed one year and the headlight was acquired to get it "fixed" to sell.

 

[SirTanon]

Originally Posted by CincyDavid
My daughter's BF has a 2012 Ford Focus that sustained a front end hit prior to him owning the car...it was POORLY repaired, panel gaps are all over the place, paint isn't very good, the right front rail is crumpled and rusty. The list goes on and on (he's not a car guy, just liked the bright blue Focus). The weird thing is that he has a burned out low beam. Sounds simple, get an H11 bulb and replace it. Only problem is, the aftermarket lamp assembly uses an H7 for some reason.

Is this a common thing for an aftermarket part to specify a different bulb?!?


Wouldn't be surprised if they used a non-standard, aftermarket headlamp assembly.

Why? My Fusion's stock headlamps are H11 for low beam, but the high beam is an H7. (The Focus you reference uses H11 for low and H1 for high). HOWEVER, I've been looking at an aftermarket assembly set to replace mine, and one set - These Spec-D headlamps - which use H1 bulbs for both low AND high beam.

Any chance you can post a pic of what the headlamp assemblies on this car look like?

 

[CincyDavid]

I was snooping around on ebay motors today and it looks like the ones that fit that year use a different bulb than the factory lamp uses. I didn't ask about the title, but the structural gremlins are VERY obvious. Just seems weird.

I'm no fan of aftermarket parts...I'd much rather get salvage OEM parts as long as they're in decent shape, but front end sheetmetal and lamps can be tough to locate given that a big percentage of wrecked cars have the front end knocked off.

 

[CincyDavid]

Any chance you can post a pic of what the headlamp assemblies on this car look like?[/quote]

Next time I see the car in daylight will probably be Sunday but I'll ask the guy to take a pic or two. He's a nice kid, but just like my son, thinks of cars as appliances and has NO interest in how it works or how to fix it; as long as it runs he's good-to-go.

 

[bdcardinal]

Just checked the catalog on my end. Looks like it uses H11 for low beam and H1 for high beam on halogen setups. For the HID option it uses H7 for high beam.

 

[CincyDavid]

That's what the "book" said too...H11 is what he bought but there's an H7 bulb in the aftermarket lamp.

 

[CincyDavid]

I was able to successfully change the bulb...H7 in the low beam, H1 in the high beam. At this point I'm just glad he has 2 working headlamps. Now if I can get him to put gas in it when it gets down to 1/4 tank we'll be all set. He ran out the other night, and had to coast/be pushed into a Kroger gas station parking lot.