98 Accord Sedan Low Beam Bulb - HB4 51 watt or 55 watt? How to Remove/Replace shroud?

I'm replacing the right low beam bulb on my 98 Accord EX V6 sedan for the
first time, which gives rise to two questions:

1) The owner manual says to use a 51 watt HB4 bulb, and that's also stamped
right on the plastic near the bulb on the car itself. But most of the HB4
bulbs I see listed by auto parts dealers are rated at 55 watts, not 51
watts. If I only replace one low beam bulb, will this cause a visible
mismatch in the amount of light from each side? Does it make any difference
whether it's 51 watts or 55 watts? If so, does anyone know the brand name
and dealers for a 51 watt bulb?

2) Behind the left low beam headlight assembly there is a black plastic
shroud attached at the top by two clips which are easy to remove. But the
same shroud is held at the bottom by something I can't see. How do I remove
the shroud without damaging the bottom attachment point? Do I just pull it
up, and pop it back, or is there a clip down there, too, that I have to
retrieve and replace?

 

There are several standards for rating automotive light bulbs. Some
require the power to be measured at 12.8 Volts, others at 12.0 Volts
(and I believe 13.2 Volts is used as well). HB4 / 9006 type bulbs are
rated 55 Watts at 12.8 Volt, and 51 Watts at 12.0 Volts. Same bulb just
measured at two different voltages.

And in case someone finds that the numbers do not jive with Ohm's law,
when you run the bulb at 12 Volts rather than 12.8 Volts, it will run a
tad cooler, and the resistance of the filament will be a little less.

 

Thank you, Randolph, for such a quick, clear and informed answer to my first
question.

Now, does anyone know the answer to my second question (see start of
thread), concerning how to remove that plastic shroud without damage? It's
a part unique, I think, to the V6 Accord sedan of that series (1998-2002).

- Don

 

They get dimmer as they age. A new bulb will probably be noticeably
brighter than the old original on the other side. Try it and see for
yourself first, but you will probably want to replace both sides.

4 watts is not going to make any difference. Be careful not to touch the
glass on the new bulb with your bare fingers, the little bit of oil from a
fingerprint will cause it to prematurely fail.

I haven't seen any '98s to know for sure, so I can't help with that
question.

 

Usually all you have to do is press on the clip where the wires enter
the bulb to release the connection and turn I believe counter
clockwise to get the bulb out. I don't think that there is a
difference in the headlight between the 4 cyl and 6 cyl model.

Nick

 

I replaced only the right low beam because that's the only one that burned
out.

But if I have to replace the left bulbs later, the black plastic shroud will
be a problem. I still don't know how to remove it without risk of damage,
and it must be removed to reach the clips and bulbs on that side.

Doe anyone here know what I'm talking about?

- Don