I keep burning out stock headlight bulbs

[dgeesaman]

I'm using stock halogen 9004s, stock wattage.

The low beam filament to be partly or totally burns out every 6 months or so. I've always driven with my lights on, but for the first several years I owned/drove the car the bulbs were lasting much longer. Both the left and right side are burning out.

I've already:
- made *CERTAIN* the bulb does not get touched or dirtied
- checked that the headlight housings are not moist
- I don't see anything toasty around harnesses or plugs

I've heard about, but don't know much about
- checking the electrical circuits
- use anti-seize or dielectric grease
- replace the harnesses

I'd appreciate any advice on what to do next. It's not that bulbs cost a lot, but I've been pulled over 3! times in the past few years for a fix-it ticket and those are a PITA.

[AndrewR2442]

Are any other bulbs giving you problems as well?

Your alternator's voltage regulator could be wacked. You'd need to buy a multi-meter and check the voltage...ground/black and power/red. My battery is at 13.0 when i check the battery w/the car running.

[ThurzNite]

I think most headlight bulb failures are caused by 2 things: heat, and vibration. Vibration's obvious, and you can't do much about it. So let's tackle the heat issue. Energy comes in and gets converted into heat with light as a byproduct (or the other way around). What's the condition of the filament? If that's the part getting burnt out, try using higher quality bulbs (ebay bulbs are notorious for being cheaply made; and stay away from 'hyperwhite' bulbs, the blue bulb coating could be affecting the heat dissipation).

If the filament's ok, then how's the base of the bulb? I always use dielectric grease, even when I was running 100/130watt bulbs on stock harness, never had a problem, bright as heck with the proper beam pattern too. I stopped using those bulbs when I was doing a mountain run acceding 8000 ft in minimal time, and popped a bulb probably due to altitude pressure change and vibration. After that, I made my own upgraded wire harness using 12guage speakerwire, high temp sockets from ebay, and a 30amp relay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/3-Pro...Q5fAccessories

Since then, I've converted to 9007, but don't do it. The output is brighter, but there's so much 'overspray' light that's wasted and affects other drivers. It's not blinding, but annoying to others.

Dr J

[dgeesaman]

Thanks for the ideas. The only bulbs going out are the low beams on the headlights. You can see the filament is getting kinda scratchy looking if I catch it before it burns out completely.

I've been using the white Sylvanias ($20/2 at Advance Auto). I just today picked up some dielectric grease and I'll try that.

I don't believe my alternator is overcharging but I'll check it.

[chillin014]

I get the same thing, but its not really consistent. I have gone through more than an usual amount of bulbs in the past few years though. That is why I started buying the cheap bulbs (same as you get)...

[95max327]

have you checked your pig tails?? same thing happend to my old maxima something with a heat issue i changed out the pig tails and it worked fine. and they only cost like 7 bucks for both at advance auto

[chillin014]

I actually have converted to 9007 so the harnesses arent but like 3 years old at most.

[gregmaxin]

water seal on right?

[ThurzNite]

Originally Posted by gregmaxin

water seal on right?

Water up there? Isn't there a squeegy piece that prevents water from getting into that area?

[4thGMax]

Originally Posted by gregmaxin

water seal on right?

I had that problem with a 97

[dgeesaman]

Yeah the water seal at the plug is good.

I polished the lenses (getting cloudy again) and added terminal grease to the connectors. The lights are definitely brighter, time will tell if it made a difference.

Dave

[10psigti]

maybe there is a shortage in the socket and only after it vibrates and shorts out the bulb blows ive had that happen to me on my 91 ser