Can these bulb fragments be removed?

[jime]

I recently noticed that there were two light bulb fragments in the right headlight of my 2015 Ultimate. They must have been broken when the dealer replaced the burned out turn signal bulbs prior to July of 2019 as I have been replacing the bulbs since. I don't want to start taking the car apart if I am not going to be able to get the fragments out. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[arcman]

Remove the existing bulb and socket. Take a piece of welding rod or coat hanger, wrap a small/tight loop at the end with needle nose pliers (1/4" diameter). Attach some double sided sticky back foam tape over the loop. No wider. Make this small enough to fit inside the broken bulb. Carefully insert the whole thing down through the socket and bend it so you can insert the foam inside the bulb, then push lightly to get it to stick. Pull it back out. If you break it, just remove the pieces with the tape. You should be able to get this out in five minutes or so.

 

[jime]

Remove the existing bulb and socket. Take a piece of welding rod or coat hanger, wrap a small/tight loop at the end with needle nose pliers (1/4" diameter). Attach some double sided sticky back foam tape over the loop. No wider. Make this small enough to fit inside the broken bulb. Carefully insert the whole thing down through the socket and bend it so you can insert the foam inside the bulb, then push lightly to get it to stick. Pull it back out. If you break it, just remove the pieces with the tape. You should be able to get this out in five minutes or so.

What a super creative suggestion. Since it is the right turn signal I will need to remove the engine compartment front moulding but I have already made the tool and will give it a shot tomorrow when I have time. Thanks!!

 

[arcman]

Glad that I could help. Here's another option...

Find a street like this (This one's in Laguna Beach). Floor it while whipping the steering wheel from right to left and back. Eventually the pieces will find their way out.

I remember in high school, we would let our car roll backwards down this hill a bit and then drop the clutch. About the only time a VW could get 'Scratch'.

 

[carguy75]

The best way would be to remove the headlight and shake the broken bulbs pieces out the hole.

 

[carguy75]

I recently noticed that there were two light bulb fragments in the right headlight of my 2015 Ultimate. They must have been broken when the dealer replaced the burned out turn signal bulbs prior to July of 2019 as I have been replacing the bulbs since. I don't want to start taking the car apart if I am not going to be able to get the fragments out. Thanks in advance for any help.View attachment 31154View attachment 31155

Or I would just a small extractor tool that fits in the bulb opening.

Similar to this.
WORKPRO 4-Claws Pick Up Tool, Steel Construction, 18-Inch Length, (1-Pack) - - Amazon.com

 

[joegr]

Or I would just a small extractor tool that fits in the bulb opening.

Similar to this.
WORKPRO 4-Claws Pick Up Tool, Steel Construction, 18-Inch Length, (1-Pack) - - Amazon.com

Wouldn't there be good odds of scratching the inside of the headlight lens that way?

 

[jime]

I was able to remove the larger fragments using a wire with double sided tape attached to the tip. It was much more difficult than I expected taking about an hour of teasing to get each piece out. The challenge was to work the wire around the turn-signal lens supports and get the pieces across the indentations in the bottom of the headlight. I was necessary to keep putting new tape on the probe to keep it fresh. There are still some tiny pieces lodged it the 1/2 inch deep grove in the bottom front of the headlight. And the pieces would never have fallen out as there is no gaps in the bottom of the headlight assembly. Thanks again to arcman for the help.

 

[pulsar]

Wet-dry vac, 3ft piece of 1/2 inch fuel line or similar, insert fuel line into vac hose and tape it off so all suction is forced thru fuel line, snake fuel line into open light socket and see if you can suck up fragments. I use this method to vacuum lent from my refrigerator coil which is tightly spaced and the fuel line hose gets between coils to remove lent nicely with no damage to the coil. Could work in the headlight too.

 

[arcman]

Carguy may have had the best suggestion, removing the assembly, as long as it didn't require the hassle of removing the bumper cover.

If you have compressed air and a gun with a narrow wand, I'd use that to blow the pieces loose along with a vac at the exit hole. If you can get the pieces loose, they will eventually get sucked out.

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[carguy75]

Wouldn't there be good odds of scratching the inside of the headlight lens that way?

Yes, lens scratches are possible if the person do not wrap the exposed metal ends of the tool in electrical tape or some other buffer. However, still not a perfect solution to a very unique problem.

Personally, I would just remove the headlight assembly even if the bumper has to come off to do it right. However, the extractor method could work if I did not really want to go to the extra trouble; yet even removing the headlights has the risk of damage due to dropping it or some other error during the removal/installation process.

 

[skipgen]

What a super creative suggestion. Since it is the right turn signal I will need to remove the engine compartment front moulding but I have already made the tool and will give it a shot tomorrow when I have time. Thanks!!

I think I'd go that route too... get a "spotter" to help guide you when fishing out the pieces.