Burning Through Headlights
Senior Member
Joined: 10-06-2011
Posts: 1,150
From: Mesa, AZ
Just a guess on my part BUT, I would think, if you are putting out excess voltage/wattage/amperage, there would be indications of that on the bulb and on the bulb receptacle.
SIDE NOTE>>>>I remember, a while back, we had a discussion on kind of this topic. People were experiencing melting bulb receptacles (plastic).
I do know a friend installed bulbs with increased wattage, from stock, and he experienced the melted bulb receptacle. He installed ceramic aftermarket receptacles which cured his problem.
goetysld..... are you only having this problem with aftermarket bubs. If you have the stock OEM's, I would reinstall those and see what type of longevity you have.
But you know, I have had my Hella's (in anotherr thread I mistakenly said PIAA) in for 5 years and not had a problem.
SIDE NOTE>>>>I remember, a while back, we had a discussion on kind of this topic. People were experiencing melting bulb receptacles (plastic).
I do know a friend installed bulbs with increased wattage, from stock, and he experienced the melted bulb receptacle. He installed ceramic aftermarket receptacles which cured his problem.
goetysld..... are you only having this problem with aftermarket bubs. If you have the stock OEM's, I would reinstall those and see what type of longevity you have.
But you know, I have had my Hella's (in anotherr thread I mistakenly said PIAA) in for 5 years and not had a problem.
I expirienced bulb failures due to high voltage before in my 95 Intergra. These were aftermarket blue bulbs that kept going out on me. The cause was a faulty voltage reg putting out 17v. The bulbs that I had in the car when I bought it were still able to survive with 17v somehow. In either case though there was never any burnt or charred areas to be found. The only reason I even figured it out was because my amp was also shutting off during these times and even more often then the bulbs failing. The bulbs seemed to last a few months at a time of this intermittent voltage increase.
FWIW most DC powered items have an operationg range around their normal recommended voltage so items built to work in a 12v-14.8v curcuit are probably able to work still at 17v due to their voltage range.
I still would try the cleaning of the bulbs to make sure that that is not the problem.
Senior Member
Joined: 08-06-2008
Posts: 1,761
From: Grand Haven, MI
I would use a good multimeter and see what your voltage is with the car running.
If it is 14.8v or less, then I would really check the connector at the bulb. Bad connections can greatly shorten the life of a bulb. Odds are that both didn't go bad together, but you never know.
Then if both of those check out, I would say to try a better bulb or back to stock. Some of those aftermarket bulbs, even sylvania, are crap.
The DRLs are only run at about 40% voltage, so I don't think that is having any effect.
Good luck and let us know what you find.
If it is 14.8v or less, then I would really check the connector at the bulb. Bad connections can greatly shorten the life of a bulb. Odds are that both didn't go bad together, but you never know.
Then if both of those check out, I would say to try a better bulb or back to stock. Some of those aftermarket bulbs, even sylvania, are crap.
The DRLs are only run at about 40% voltage, so I don't think that is having any effect.
Good luck and let us know what you find.
Senior Member
Joined: 02-06-2010
Posts: 580
From: Shreveport, LA
Which bulb?
I presume you are using the basic Wal-Mart replacements? The "blue" bulbs and other high-performance bulbs burn out quickly. If the basic bulbs are the ones you are replacing frequently, then it's a different problem. I wear plastic gloves to change the bulbs, since I can't avoid touching them when I change them in such a difficult location.
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