How to Replace Daytime Running Light bulbs | Citroen C5 X7

I've seen a lot of content describing how to replace the DRLs on a C5 X7, but few are that informative. Some tell you to go in via the bumper, but that's not necessary.
Here I show you how I did it, even though it was a lot more troublesome than I anticipated.
This is only for C5 X7s prior to 2011/12, after which all came with LED strips as standard.

[@danl6539]

Just got mine out after an hour of faffing about. Mine it tT45. I don't doubt yours is different but mine is definitely T45 and undo is anticlockwise as you would anticipate. You are right that its not an easy job. Battery out helps a lot. Good luck folks

[@comcarclub]

Thanks for that info!

[@baddriving3966]

It's actually T45 - did mine today - don't tighten them too much or they crack - thank goodness it's now LED so should never need changing :) oops Just to let people know - these are inserted VERTICALLY not horizontally - I was scratching around quite a bit trying to find it LOL

[@jjbrown396]

This job on the 3.0hdi is a real pig! No access from the top, none whatsoever. If you have flexible enough arms all you have to do is take the front portion of the belly pan off which allows you to reach it from the bottom without removing the front bumper.

[@comcarclub]

Access is a pig... BUT YOU HAVE A 3.0HDI. I know what I'd rather have... 😁

[@yuragimla8258]

So did you succeed or went for professional help? I have the same car and same problem:) Now I am wondering how I have to replace drl.

[@davidhalvorsen4878]

Whatever I search for about my car and you pop up to greet me. Perfect. Should just watch all your videoes when I'm at it. So much valuable information to eliminate the guess work on my part. Thank you!

[@enjash326]

I really would like to get myself C5, but bulb changing is the biggest NO for me

[@micks7655]

I tried to change on my c5 the drl bulbs I just lost my patience after 5 minutes and I scratched my arm and I dropped the key, it's somewhere in the bumper hidden inside it's like a labyrinth in there .

[@comcarclub]

Oh dear. Magnet time, perhaps. Best of luck!

[@legendarysins]

Took me all day to get those butches out. I really understand why you called them that. How does the bulb come out of its socket though 😭😭

[@johncoady9237]

Hi thanks for your help great job can I ask you ,,what is the outside h7 bulb for,,I can't get it to turn on both sides,,,I have side lights,,, headlights,full beams,,,and drl,,,but don't understand the h7 on the outside,,I thought maybe spots or fogs but how to turn them on,, cheers john

[@comcarclub]

@@johncoady9237 hi mate, thanks for the kind words. Those lights on either side are the directional headlamps. Press the left swivel wheel on the steering hub (an unlabelled button, how very Citroën), go to Vehicle Parameters > Lighting and check the box that says directional headlamps. I'm not sure if they turn on immediately or after you restart the car

[@johncoady9237]

Fair play that makes perfect sense now,I saw that in the menu,,,,can I ask you,,,,my service light won't stay off after resetting I assumed because of the bulbs but maybe not,,,any ideas much appreciated,,

[@comcarclub]

@@johncoady9237 get it hooked up to a lexia, the car's trying to tell you something!

[@johncoady9237]

Will do and thanks very much for replying to me much appreciated 👍👍👍

[@nigelnightmare4160]

I removed the headlights on mine when I upgraded to LED's. Then again I had to replace the ballasts for the HID Xenon headlights as one had failed.

[@dufonrafal]

Thx. A lot of things are so cheap and easy to do it yourself ! Next tutorial : headlight restoration ! A little bit of polish and a new UV protection coat won’t hurt them :)

[@comcarclub]

Yes, that is on my to-do list!

[@GdaySport]

Just done this on my 2009 C5 last month , and I found the easiest way to pull the plastic bulb holder out is to screw a bolt into the hex fitting (it must have been an M4 or M5 bolt I had in my box if spare bolts). I managed to undo the bulb holder by hand and then you have the bolt to grab hold of and pull downwards to remove the bulb holder. It is a PITA though for sure. You need a double jointed Philipino friend with small hands lol

[@mr_nice.]

No I dissagree: that cool white light looks way better than the original warm white. And from my experience, it's more visible to others than the warm bulbs. I preffer the cool white, even in this small shape. Trust me, you're better off. I have the LED strips, and even though they haven't had any problems whatsoever (so far...), IF something happens....I don't know how hard they'll be to replace or fix. One more tip to save you a lot of trouble: Wrap the intake hoses with zip ties, not necessarily metal clamps like I did (kzbin.info/www/bejne/f5zVqKJrlqeWlZo), 10:55, both the upper and the lower one. They keep the hose from bulging out when a lot of air is pumped from the turbo, and the pressure rises, and in the longrun, they don't blow. We had a case in our work van, where the intake hose cracked due to pressure, (after quite a few years though...) and we were stranded, couldn't move properly. A crack in the intake hose brings the engine to limp mode and you can't realy travel properly. So I saw this trick and I find it useful, to keep you from getting stranded when you least expect it. The 1cm wide zip ties are quite adequate. And a small note: That small plastic box, to the "fender side" of the battery, (with the red cover), holds 5 or 6 fuses, including the fuse for the fog lights, the electric handbrake and the rear power socket, the one located in the boot. It is mentioned in the user manual, but it's actual location is not mentioned anywhere, and I found it just by looking around. The more we know ! ! !

[@comcarclub]

Ah, no. Cold white light is LESS visible in bad weather. It's no problem, if we all liked the same things, the world would be boring. Because I grew up in the 80s, I always associate cold white with cheap fluorescent bulbs in public toilets dingy petrol stations. Warm light for me, yummy

[@mr_nice.]

@@comcarclub ...wait....I thought the light in the end was cool white. I did hear you say "warm white" in the begining, and at the end I saw cold white, and I thought "oh, ok, he put cold white eventualy"...lol To be honest, warm white DOES have better penetration in darkness. But some cold white bulbs have also good penetration. Key word: "some" 😄😄😄👌👌👍

[@DrittAdrAtta]

@@comcarclub One thing though: DRLs are not supposed to be used in bad weather conditions in the first place. For those you are obliged to use the low beam, at least in my country (Poland), though probably regulations concerning that matter vary from country to country. Anyway, technically, cold white is more visible than warm white during daytime. In my C5 I have gone the middle way and installed 6Watt 4000K LEDs (colloquially called "cool white"), which look whiter than standard incandescent bulbs, but warmer than typical 6000K LEDs (called "cold white"), which often have this nasty purplish tint. I actually used standard g4 12v LEDs meant for home use, which cost peanuts. To install them you need to tweak the original HP24W base (namely - cut off that 4-piece "basket" which holds the original bulb) because LEDs are usually too wide to fit in. The base still holds the bulb pins firmly in place and you are given the freedom to use almost any bulb you like, including g4 halogen bulbs meant for home lighting, if you want to go really cheap :). Just remember: the DRLs should emmit at least about 500 lumens per bulb, so choose those which meet this requirement. I too often see C5s equipped with cheap aftermarket LEDs which barely give off any light. If an LED is rated at less than 5 Watt, it will most probably not produce enough light. Having said all this, I absolutely share your sentiment for warm white light inside the car. I have installed W5W warm white LEDs in the interior lamps. They have no canbus ( haven't found warm white w5w LED bulbs with canbus so far) and don't quite agree with the dimmer though. I mean, they do work, produce significantly more pleasant, warm light but they just go bad after some time and start blinking. However, they are cheap so I don't mind replacing them from time to time. And they are not fit for the rear overhead lamp because they will permanently glow there. In the footwells I put orange LEDs, just to go with the colour of the dashboard displays ;D I enjoy yor channel, keep up the good work :)

[@comcarclub]

@@DrittAdrAtta Thank you!

[@MasinacCcC]

Yeees, thank you! Now back to watching :D

[@MasinacCcC]

Just spent an hour trying to get passenger side one, space is really tight. I need smaller hands. will try again tomorrow.