2008 S60 low beam bulb failure

hu5ker555 · Post by **hu5ker555** » 27 Jan 2018, 07:19

Anyone else have difficulty actually removing the bulb from the fixture? I rotate the bulb to align the metal tabs with the slots, but it just won't quite come out...

Durenol · Post by **Durenol** » 27 Jan 2018, 13:17

YES. It's a royal pain in the ass and you WILL chew up your hand. Do yourself a huge favor and take out the whole airbox first to give yourself room. (The passenger side bulbs are even worse, and the rear break bulbs on our XC70 are a nightmare- we gave up and paid a shop to spend 20min+ getting a new bulb in the back).

hu5ker555 · Post by **hu5ker555** » 27 Jan 2018, 16:18

I've removed the air box. My issue is getting the tabs on the bulb to line up so I can pull it out. Anyone else dealing with this?

Durenol · Post by **Durenol** » 27 Jan 2018, 23:42

You honestly just have to mess with it a lot. The plastic (on ours at least) is super stiff and finicky- nothing really lines up and stuff snags and catches everywhere. It was a while ago when I did the replacements, but I have a lot of vague memories of having to bend and twist and force it more than I thought I should need to.

Remember again that there's like a 50/50 chance the bulb still works and the socket just got loose. Before taking the whole thing all the way out, try twisting and shaking the bulb a bunch and lock it back in and and see if it comes back on. Try shaking and pressing on the wires too.

Georgeandkira · Post by **Georgeandkira** » 28 Jan 2018, 06:19

hu5ker555: What bulb are we talking about here? H11 or H7 or other?

I empathize with your plight.

hu5ker555 · Post by **hu5ker555** » 28 Jan 2018, 08:18

Georgeandkira · Post by **Georgeandkira** » 28 Jan 2018, 12:48

Picking or scraping would be very difficult. The contacts in the H11 are so small.

I'm holding a troublesome "dead" H11 in my hands now. It's new and there must be a broken wire in its base.
At least the vendor made good on it.

As far as extracting these bulbs goes: A delicate hand is required to keep the old bulb's mating surface parallel (flat to) the fixture.
Straying from the axis will hang 'em up.

As far as installing these bulbs goes: I recommend getting a fix on the largest of the lugs. Match the large lug of the bulb in hand orientation-wise and go straight in. Interpreting what you see in a mirror correctly will exercise your brain.

Torturous side note: I like the idea of putting SMALL dots of dielectric grease on the lugs as well as the electric contacts. It helps the bulbs lock in easily BUT if you do so you must be careful not to get any on the glass during repeated attempts at insertion.

This goes for those horrid rear lamp holders too. At least with those you can get an easier fix on the 2 opposed electric contacts.

Gentle does it!

Post by **cn90** » 17 Oct 2025, 10:18

Hi guys,

The 2006 S60 Right side H11 connector is intermittent.

- Any update re connector brand, Volvo vs others?
- How about using generic spade butt connectors?
- I see Flosser 9441 (made in Germany)...has anyone used this?

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Post by **cn90** » 17 Oct 2025, 10:45

The inner workings of H11 connector...
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Post by **cn90** » 26 Oct 2025, 16:40

Update on the 2006 S60 with H11 bulbs...

- As jimmy57 said above, you can simply use the standard female connector individually. Just find a connector that
fits inside the H11 bulb itself.

- I decided to go with Flosser 9441 (you can use Flosser 9448 too)...About $14.25 on eBay shipping included.

- I did the whole thing with HL assembly in situ bc I know where things are located. Option if you have big hands:
remove the HL assembly from the car, then it is easier.

- Just use the factory connector as a guide bc: 1 side has 1 wire and the other side has 2 wires (with 1 going to the
"Running Light Bulb"). The side with 1 wire: I labeled with white liquid paper so avoid confusion bc once you cut the
the factory wires, you will lose sight of which black wire is which! In this particular connector, the RED wire goes to
the side with 2 wires.

- From a Physics 101 standpoint, Halogen light bulb has no polarity preference. What is important: the small
wire going to the "Running Light Bulb" has the correct polarity.

- Butt connector + Vise-Grip to squeeze it.

- On the H11 bulb trick: if you look from the Passenger Seat, looking directly into the light assembly, then line
the H11 bulb at about 4:30 position and twist it to about 6:00 or 6:30 position to lock it in place. Attached is a
generic H11 setup used in many many cars so you can see...

All is good now...

PS: The Volvo H11 bulb is notoriously difficult to remove from the connector in situ. Trick: keep some
BBQ bamboo skewer sticks and a small flat screwdriver in the glove box together with H11 spare bulbs.
This way when you are far away from home, replacing the H11 bulb is easier. Just use the BBQ bamboo
sticks to help spread the prongs while you use the small flat screwdrive to pry the old bulb out.

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2008 S60 low beam bulb failure

Re: 2008 S60 low beam bulb failure