HeadlightCatch_HowTo.pdf

HEADLIGHT “CATCH” REPLACEMENT

by Eric Price (EricsVW)

03-25-07

I made the mistake of attempting to replace the headlight bulb on my wife’s Beetle when it was a chilly 20ºF

outside. The lever that releases the headlight assembly (called the “catch” by the VW parts dealer) snapped off

in my hand under very slight pressure. I searched the normal VW forums for a visual how-to guide for getting

the broken one out and getting this ixed but was unable to ind one. So here is my contribution to the VW com-

munity. I hope this helps!

In this picture you can see where the lock tab is that you need to depress to allow the catch lever to move (A)

and the hole where the lever should be (B)

HEADLIGHT “CATCH” REPLACEMENT CON’T.

Here is a picture of the new part and the broken part from the original.

Here are the tools I used to replace this part. I was very lucky in that my efforts were successful on the irst try.

Total time spent on this project including installing the new bulb: 55 minutes.

HEADLIGHT “CATCH” REPLACEMENT CON’T.

My irst step was to drill a single hole at the base of the locking tab (C) and to drill several holes around the

fracture where the catch collar engaged with the gray pins on the headlight assembly(D).

When the lever broke the ring itself moved in toward the headlight assembly. This caused the gray pin to block

the rotation of the catch collar. I took a junk tool that came with some unassembled lawn furniture and ground

the side to make a hook.

HEADLIGHT “CATCH” REPLACEMENT CON’T.

The homemade hook allowed me to pull out some debris and get the gray pin back in the groove.

I then placed the tip of a 3/8 spade bit in the irst hole I drill (C) and gently pulled up on the collar as I depressed

the locking tab. It rotated about 1/4” on my irst tug. I then drilled a fresh hole (E) to get another 1/4” move-

ment. I worked this technique drilling new holes as needed until the headlight assembly was free.

HEADLIGHT “CATCH” REPLACEMENT CON’T.

Here is a visual on the old vs. new part to hel see where I drilled.

Hope this helps!