Blown headlight bulb

Hey guys,

In Feb. this year, I replaced my Bosch Silver evolution bulbs with Philips Diamond vision 5000k bulbs. The Bosch were great and lasted for almost 3 years before the bulb on the driver's side gave way.

Today, after just six months, the Philips bulb on the driver's side blew too. Is that purely coincidental or is there something wrong with the light assembly on the driver's side?!

Coincidentally, I also changed over to clear side indicators today and had to change the side indicator bulbs. As weird as this may sound, that wouldn't have anything to do with the blown headlight, right? (Just being real sceptical here).

Any advice would be appreciated, thanks!

SiR

were both the philips & the bosch share same voltage?

The Bosch were 12V 85/80W
The Philips are 12V 60/55W

philips bulb seems standard, did u check the connector? i changed the bulb last time to a higher voltage as well, but it caused the plastic connector to melt & the next time i tried to replace a new bulb, it just goes on and off, so maybe you should check the bulb as well, to see if the filament is actually broken or fried. i ended up replacing the connector.

RedEu: Thanks for your reply.

Yep, I've checked the connector and it's fine. I've fitted another bulb on the side of the blown bulb and it's working, no probs at all. And just to double check, I tested the blown bulb on the other side and it still didn't work, so it's definitely a blown. I took a look at the filament, but there didn't seem to be anything wrong with it though...

I'm just surprised by the short-life of the Philips Diamond vision - perhaps it's a one-off, but I'm unwilling to buy another set of Philips in the forseeable future.

When you installed the philips globe did you touch th eactual glass globe itself with ur fingers?

if you did then that migt have contributed to you blowing the globe faster, as touching the globe with ur bare flesh leaves and oily residue which can overheat the globe and cause it to blow up faster.

Best thing to do before installing the globe is to wipe it down with metho and avoid touching the glass.

I always wipe down the globes every month or 2 with metho just be be sure they are grease free, when I am using good quality globes. My drivers side super white globes were blowing every couple months, and now after wiping it down every now and then, its still going strong after 12months.

Your car might not be earthed properly...

Yeh problems with aftermarket globes are:
*Insufficient Earthing
*When you have a low car and go over bumps, this can effect the filament inside the globe
*Also if you have a decent stereo system Headunit, Amp and Sub... then this can shorten the life of the globes also, because of the power demand. Thats why alot of people buy capacitors to store charge.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by EG4

When you installed the philips globe did you touch th eactual glass globe itself with ur fingers?

if you did then that migt have contributed to you blowing the globe faster, as touching the globe with ur bare flesh leaves and oily residue which can overheat the globe and cause it to blow up faster.

Best thing to do before installing the globe is to wipe it down with metho and avoid touching the glass.

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Nah, never touched the glass with my fingers - I always wear gloves when handling them.

As with insufficient earthing, I'm not sure, but I kinda doubt it. I've had the current ride height for 2 years now and didn't experience such short life from my Bosch bulbs.

Wow, just over a year since I last posted in this thread....how uncanny!! So instead of posting a new thread, thereby eliminating the "do a search" replies :p , I'll continue on from my original thread since it is almost exactly the same problem.

Anyway guys, I've had another blown headlight, again on the driver's side and again fitted with Philips Diamond Vision 5000K 12V 60/55W.

This time, the bulb lasted me 8 months, 2 more than my previous one.

Last time I had a service, I got Rob to check out the driver's side headlight assembly to see if there was an underlying problem, but he said it was fine and dandy. Mind you, it wasn't a thorough and detailed inspection, I don't think.

So wtf's going on?!

Has anyone else had a similar problem, i.e. the headlight bulb always blowing on one side and/or short life out of the Philips?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

this is a bit off topic. but with the diamond vision you cant really see much in rain rite?

dont phillips have a one year warrenty on their globes? thats what the guy at autobarn told me. just bring the reciept back together witht he blown globe and get a new one.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SiR

Has anyone else had a similar problem, i.e. the headlight bulb always blowing on one side and/or short life out of the Philips?

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Yes. I have exactly the same problem - my drivers side bulb goes on avaerage every 6 months....But I use the cheap-ass $30 Autotechnica specials from supercheap.....I might wait until I sort out this problem before getting the more expensive Phillips ones.

Are the Phillips ones really worth that much?? Do they give better night vision, etc?

get some enons man LOL.


seriouslyt check all neighbooring conections for faults. that COULD be a prob OR phillips r crap

agreed with egsi

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rowie

I always wipe down the globes every month or 2 with metho just be be sure they are grease free, when I am using good quality globes. My drivers side super white globes were blowing every couple months, and now after wiping it down every now and then, its still going strong after 12months.

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this is an excellent tip.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chameleon

dont phillips have a one year warrenty on their globes? thats what the guy at autobarn told me. just bring the reciept back together witht he blown globe and get a new one.

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They do? I honestly have no idea. :confused: I bought these overseas, so maybe I'll ask around to see if such a warranty does exist or not.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DomenEK

Yes. I have exactly the same problem - my drivers side bulb goes on avaerage every 6 months....But I use the cheap-ass $30 Autotechnica specials from supercheap.....I might wait until I sort out this problem before getting the more expensive Phillips ones.

Are the Phillips ones really worth that much?? Do they give better night vision, etc?

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Yeah, weird isn't it? I've never had a blown headlight bulb on the passenger side, never!

From my experience alone, no, the Philips aren't worth that much, considering that I got two blown bulbs in a year. Until I can identify a potential problem with my driver's side headlight assembly, I'm blaming the Philips :p .

As to whether they really do give better night vision, it's quite debatable. They do look much better than the normal halogens though.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by egSi

seriouslyt check all neighbooring conections for faults. that COULD be a prob OR phillips r crap

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Thanks for the advice man. Any idea how I would go about checking all neighbouring connections for faults? Would I be better off getting my mechanic to do it?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SiR

Thanks for the advice man. Any idea how I would go about checking all neighbouring connections for faults? Would I be better off getting my mechanic to do it?

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pfft mechanics wont give a ****.

get out ur manual man and get off ur ass and have a look!!

get in the engine bay and look for lose/coreded connections etc!! anything that would lower the integrity of ur electrical system.

man i swear its the phillips :thumbdwn:

Can i ask the question, has anyone with this problem looked at improving the electricals involved with the lights before adding better/more powerful bulbs. I bought my civic and the plastic connectors had melted into some sort of weird blob shape in the past. Because of this, i had the same on/off problem associated with a bad connection. Spoke to an auto-electrician who told me that honda's are touchy with electricals, and quoted me $180 to improve all associated wiring to fix the problem, and allow fitment of heavy duty bulbs.....

Moral, none.
I still got one winking headlight, i've learnt to love it like a son :)

rewire it yourself man, its not hard