Approaching spring time - list of things to do

 so yes spring is around the corner and we must prepare for this time of year. Normally that'd mean gardening stuff but in fact I am talking about car stuff. Specifically the GTR as its MOT is due mid April... Squeaky bottom time.

So to prepare for this event I decided to awaken it from its winter slumber and do some really basic checks like

• does the car actually fire up - it did and sounded fab
• does anything leak out of the bottom of it - nothing did
• is there a burning smell  - no there is not

So once the above was done I figured while I'm here I'll check the lights work and boom it happened. Passenger side low beam comes on and then fades away... GTR headlight bulb change is a bumper off shot in most cases. Sigh. 

Anyhow I check the fuses (in the rear boot shelf in case anyone wonders) and fuses are fine so we're looking at the bulb. So after much swearing I remove the airbox snorkel and have a squint at the bulb and I reckon I can get my small hands in there and get the case off and the bulb out. This is what it looks like

Not the biggest amount of space to work in but I managed to twist the plastic bulb cover off, release the spring holding the bulb in, thankfully the light unit does retain the spring and then get the bulb out. Quick test on the multimeter and yep bulb is toast. Luckily when I bought the car they had left a headlight bulb in the car and luckily i knew where said bulb was stored. Tested the new bulb (H1 55W in case anyone wonders ) with the multimeter and it seemed ok so plugged it into the wiring, shoved it back into the light unit and pushed the spring clip back over the bulb end. Moment of truth and both headlights now working fine, even the same shade of light on the garage door. Hoo raa. I wont bore with the details of trying to get the damned plastic screw on cap back on the headlight anything like that other than it really was a pain in the fingers and arms. 

The list of jobs to do before spring driving season include but not limited to

• new tyres to get fitted - ordered some Michelin PS4 which should be plenty grippy for me
• get tyre alignment done - tba
• get the floor inspected and any underseal top up done - tba but process started
• oil and filter change 
• MOT booked and er deal with any issues..

think that's it really.