Any pro tip to remove a fallen front marker bulb (inside headlight fixture)?

Question

Was replacing the front left marker light on a 2012 VW Passat when the bulb just bumped off and fallen off the holder inside in headlight fixture.

Any tips on how to remove the bulb from the fixture without removing the grill and headlight fixture itself?

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score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Jul 13 '19 at 06:10

2

A bent stiff wire with a sticky end...

answered Jul 13 '19 at 06:10

Solar Mike

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score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 14 '19 at 03:47

My thoughts were:

Use a vacuum suction to try and grab it
Get a double-sided tape on a wire and try to tape it out and grab it.
Use magnets.

What I ended up using was a $9 19" flexible magnetic pick-up tool I got from a local Harbor Freight (hardware store). At first I tried to pry out the bulb via the Daytime Driving Lights (DRL) bulb hole, but I kept on failing. I realized that when the bulb died it melted the housing area and made it to a shape that the bulb was not able to pass through (in reality, I cannot install a new bulb because the bulb fixture wont stay fixed withing the headlight fixture).

To take out the bulb, I removed the headlight bulb, and pried the bulb using the Magnetic Pick-up tool (can see the two empty bulb slots in the last picture below). It worked.

Pictures for reference.

Any pro tip to remove a fallen front marker bulb (inside headlight fixture)?

2 Answers2