Headlights repeatedly burning out? Post here!

[LongHiway]

I think on my 9th or 10th set of bulbs. Replaced both bulbs in the fall and now the driver side is out, again.

 

Not to keep a dying thread going, Silverstars I'll bet!

[Merc6]

Not to keep a dying thread going, Silverstars I'll bet!

 

I used every bulb and they seem to last the same in our housing. eBay had a few for my old car with lifetime warranty. You paid $5 S&H for a new set. I think they were H1 now I have to see.

[LongHiway]

I had good luck with Orsrams, lasted about 3 years.

[SneakyFast]

My Osrams haven't fared any better than any other bulb I've put in. My DRLs are disabled and I go through about 2-3 bulbs a year. I've just resorted to buying in bulk online. Here's a pretty good deal for anyone looking for bulbs.

 

http://www.urotuning.com/shop/h7-bulb-p-1958.html

[LongHiway]

My Osrams haven't fared any better than any other bulb I've put in. My DRLs are disabled and I go through about 2-3 bulbs a year. I've just resorted to buying in bulk online. Here's a pretty good deal for anyone looking for bulbs.

 

http://www.urotuning.com/shop/h7-bulb-p-1958.html

 

Wierd. Well, there also goes the theory about DRL's causing premature bulb failure as well.

[Merc6]

No drls since 07 when I acquired the car from a member here. most of my driving is night or thru the construction zones in pa. turnpike. 90% of my blowouts were on the turnpike. The rest were a day or two after the road trips. I found that eBay user with the lifetime warranty and I got the "No longer a registered user" message.

[waynekranzler]

Bought my LGT in May of '05. I'm on my second set of bulbs. First set lasted about 3 years and I don't have the DRL disabled.

[Hobie]

Bought my '05 Outback in August '08. Never disabled the DRL and the Osram's that were in there lasted to Jan. 2010 (17 months) when the first one burned out. Not sure how old they were when I got the car. Replaced them both with cheapo bulbs made in Korea from O'Reilly's Auto Parts at $8 each. I won't throw away money on anything else especially Silverstars or any "plus" bulbs. I drive to work with the headlights on in the morning, it's too dark otherwise. I never have my headlight switch on when starting the car. I've resigned to the fact these bulbs burn out faster in our cars. They're easy to change.

[gfxdave99]

So I'm going to throw my crackpot theory out there. I have have DRL's disabled but have a habit of just leaving my lights on since they shut off when you take the key out of the ignition. I last replaced my drivers side bulb around memorial day and probably have not touched the light switch since. 3 days ago out of nowhere im like, man its daytime i should just shut my lights off and i did and the next time, the drivers side light didnt come back on. Now this is the 3rd time that a bulb has gone out within a day or two of me using the light switch.

 

Now of course, the devil's advocate to this theory is that because i'm leaving them on all the time I'm reducing the bulb life. However let me then introduce into the equation that I have an 05 with only 43k on it and that for the past 2 years my daily commute has been 10 mins each way. So my new experiment will be to use the switch to turn them on and off every day.

 

I am currently using silverstars just because i bought a pair and then as they go out one at a time I dont want to have one non tinted bulb and one tinted bulb Actually the longest lasting bulbs i have had were for about 8 months with no burn-outs and they were a pair of ghetto HID look no name bulbs i bought off ebay.

[Merc6]

So I'm going to throw my crackpot theory out there. I have have DRL's disabled but have a habit of just leaving my lights on since they shut off when you take the key out of the ignition. I last replaced my drivers side bulb around memorial day and probably have not touched the light switch since. 3 days ago out of nowhere im like, man its daytime i should just shut my lights off and i did and the next time, the drivers side light didnt come back on. Now this is the 3rd time that a bulb has gone out within a day or two of me using the light switch.

 

Now of course, the devil's advocate to this theory is that because i'm leaving them on all the time I'm reducing the bulb life. However let me then introduce into the equation that I have an 05 with only 43k on it and that for the past 2 years my daily commute has been 10 mins each way. So my new experiment will be to use the switch to turn them on and off every day.

 

I am currently using silverstars just because i bought a pair and then as they go out one at a time I dont want to have one non tinted bulb and one tinted bulb Actually the longest lasting bulbs i have had were for about 8 months with no burn-outs and they were a pair of ghetto HID look no name bulbs i bought off ebay.

LOL I rest my case. My lifetime warranty guy left the market tho.

[StPeteAPB]

Here's another crackpot theory with my experience as of late:

 

I have been sitting in the car at night talking with someone as I'm dropping them off after a date. Not wanting to have stagnant air in the car, I keep the engine running so I can keep the climate control running. But, I don't want the headlights on while we're sitting there.

 

So, in order to turn off the headlights with the engine on, I have to (1) turn the headlight switch completely off*, AND (2) engage one click of the parking brake.

 

* I typically always leave the headlight switch in the on position since the headlights turn off when the ignition is turned off. There's not that much difference in bulb usage with the headlight switch off during the day because of the DRL mechanism.

 

Anyway, I haven't been going thru bulbs all that much 'til recently when I started playing this trick with the parking brake. Maybe the switch on the parking brake is sending a spike to the bulb(s)** when I disengage it??

 

** I've only been experiencing the short life of the H7 bulb on the driver's side, oddly.

[Merc6]

mine alternate and I replace both when just one goes. I keep the one that isn't completely burned out in the event it happens again in the turnpike @ 3 am.

[TSiWRX]

I keep a full set of replacement bulbs in each of our cars, just-in-case.

[Merc6]

I need to finnish my HID kit.

[TSiWRX]

^ That'll cure it, too. What'd you get?

[Merc6]

I'd have to dig in my trunk for them. They were a trade before I left DMV area and I never took the car apart since beyond upstream o2 swap.

[TSiWRX]

^ Ah, gotcha.

[rmoore5]

I've replaced 8 bulbs in 135k miles.

 

Last week when I started the car I noticed the left bulb was out. I turned the headlights off and left the car running then changed the bulb, I had 2 on the shelf. I got in and turned on the headlights and the right one burned out before I got the car in gear. I got out and changed it.

 

I guess stuff like this is why I leave for work early.

[rollo]

Early build 2005 LGT wagon, lost count of how many headlight bulbs it's gone through but I'd guess 7 or 8 and currently running "one-eyed" yet again. It's not only headlights, but to a lesser extent brake lights and tails too. I disabled the DRLs about a week after we got the car.

 

It's really annoying, but nice to know I'm not the only one.

 

I'm definitely gonna be looking into this:

http://legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2834428&postcount=58

[waynekranzler]

I've been following this headlight bulb thing on this forum since 2005. My '05 LGT is a really early build (09/04). I've replaced the bulbs just once at about 30K a couple of years ago. One bulb was out and the dealer replaced both under warranty.

 

Car is now at 44K & bulbs are still OK. I wonder if a higher humidity climate then my LGT lives in may cause these problems...that's what my dealer (who also sells GM) thinks. Service manager said they haven't had any more headlight bulb burnout experiences with Legacies then any other brands they sell.

[Merc6]

^ Ah, gotcha.

 

Take offs from a toyota. Will go to a friends house to decide if they are some good still.

[rollo]

I wonder if a higher humidity climate then my LGT lives in may cause these problems...that's what my dealer (who also sells GM) thinks. Service manager said they haven't had any more headlight bulb burnout experiences with Legacies then any other brands they sell.

 

Definitely not humid here, so I'm not sure about that.

 

I'm leaning more and more toward a bad batch of alternators, or specifically a bad batch of voltage regulators. That might also explain why the battery that I just replaced had a crazy amount of corrosion on it (as did the previous one) since overcharging leads to outgassing and outgassing leads to battery acid fumes reacting with metal and causing corrosion.

 

I'm pretty laissez-faire when it comes to cracking stuff open and taking stuff to pieces but I'm gonna guess that replacing the voltage regulator in a modern alt is not gonna be a workbench project, so I guess replacing the whole unit is where I'll go. Hopefully a replacement wouldn't have the same issue.

 

I'll do some multimeter testing and figure something out. I'm officially sick of this problem - just took a weekend trip out-of-town, stopped at several parts places and gas stations on the way, no H7s to be had - and sure enough, 30 minutes after nightfall I see the familiar CHP Crown Vic lights approaching, we get pulled over - using the light out as "probable cause" - and now I have a fix-it ticket

[jasejase]

I posted this somewhere else on here as well, but this is likely a better spot...

 

Our 05 has the infamous headlight burnout as well (my 07 hasnt yet surfaced any issues in this dept).

 

However, amazon has a twin pack of H7 bulbs for $9.99 right now. i snatched up a couple as did my buddy. He already put his in, and he claims they are pretty decent.

 

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00318NR3U/ref=oss_product]Amazon.com: Sylvania H7 EB BP/2 12 TWIN EcoBright Headlight, Pack of 2: Automotive[/ame]

 

 

i figure if we cant get subie to fix our headlight issues, we might as well get them for cheap!

[Merc6]

page 40 of 41... Which of U's broke the internet again?

[jasejase]

showing 40 of 40 on my screen... must have been you?