Broke post for halogen bulb holding clip in Odyssey, now what?

[Mark Reed]

While I was trying to replace the holding clip over the back of the halogen bulb in my Odyssey, the plastic post that holds the clip down broke off. How bad is this going to be to fix?

I reassembled the enclosure without the clip, and have "secured" the bulb in place with duct tape across the back of the power supply wire, pushing it forward into the socket. But I'm worried that without the clip the heat from the bulb won't be adequately contained and might ignite the tape.

Any advice? We're already out of my depth as a DIY project. Is this a job for a mechanic, body shop, or dealership?

[Pballer2005]

so you broke part of the housing off so that it doesn't hold the bulb assembly? you prolly need a new housing or parts of the housing

[Xeryon]

I think the wire spring he is referring to attaches to the molded plastic in the back of the housing. You likely need a completely new headlight housing. Time to call a few salvage yards in your area. Replacing the housing shouldn't be too tough. I would guess a novice with hand tools doing it for the first time can accomplish it in under two hours. If I recall correctly I spent about two hours replacing both of my front housings in my civic.