Who designed this CRAP!

Whoever designed the OEM 9003 headlight bulb retaining wire contraption needs a kick right in the privates! I just spent more than a half an hour in a dark cold snowing parking lot changing the passenger side bulb in my 2005. I still have the OEM headlight assemblies. There is very little space between the wiring harness plug for the bulb and the washer fluid tank. It's dificult to get the new bulb into place without touching the glass. You can't see where the bulb goes, you have to feel around to get the tabs aligned in the slots. Then there is that cursed wire contraption. It doesn't stay in place and is impossible to get seated back into place. In order to get access to even see it, I had to take out the washer fluid tank. Of course now the wiring harness plug that goes into the washer fluid tank has a broken tab as a result of my efforts.
My head is going to explode.

 

Those wire retainer clips can be infuriating.

@Too Stroked

 

As soon as you release the wire clip it can swing away from the bulb and drop out of sight somewhere... another three hands required in the space for one job. Being forewarned from experience, I clipped alligator clip leads on mine to leash them to the truck while working there. Those things are funny, they are hard to work with and then they go into place and you think "oh, that was easy, that's how they go", like some wiper blades, then you don't do it again for 3 years. I'm sure that clip is very fast to assemble...... off the truck,at the factory.

 

I had the exact same experience while on vacation in Colorado this past Christmas. I asked my fiancé if she'd hold the flashlight since it would only take "5 minutes." Needless to say, she handed me the flashlight after a half hour or so and went back to the warm hotel room. Another half hour and I had the sucker back in. And I thought I could do bulb changes in my sleep!

FYI: I'm working on a post sharing all of crashnburn80's and my tips and tricks as to how to make bulb changes a bit easier. I still need some pics and it's 2 degrees (F) outside right now. I'm going to wait until I can at least feel my fingertips if you don't mind.