Causes of Blown Headlight Bulbs and How to Correct It
Are your headlights burning out more quickly than you believe they should? There are plenty of causes for why your headlights may be ending their life early. Once you identify the issue you can save yourself money because you do not need to replace or change the bulbs as frequently.
The Times You Use Your Headlights Affect their Usage
The typical expected lifespan of a standard halogen headlight bulb is around 350 to 400 hours, so if you are driving a lot during the long winter nights or even if you keep your headlights on during the day it is possible that your bulbs could only last 2 to 3 months.
You should know that upgraded xenon light bulbs will work for 200 hours because they are meant to produce a higher power of light for projection purposes. Drivers who use these lights for a long duration will find they need to replace them with longer living headlight bulbs to avoid the frequent changes.
Heavy duty components for headlights, which last longer than regular halogen bulbs, provide you the same performance as halogen bulbs.
Are You Touching The Glass Bulb When You Change Them?
Headlight bulbs are touchy when it comes to your bare hands because you have oils on them which can be left behind on the glass bulb. This oil will create a hotspot on the halogen bulb where it is illuminated by light. This hotspot then burns more quickly thus a blown bulb. You should wear latex gloves when changing your cars headlight bulbs.
Moisture or Vibration Affects Light Bulbs
Light bulb creators for vehicles do use a heavier glass when they build headlight bulbs; however there are still some areas where the glass can be more vulnerable. For example thermal shock is when the bulbs meet water, which leaks into the headlight unit, thus ruining the bulb. You do need to make sure the bulb is correctly replaced, and ensuring it is secure and protected from jolts and bumps to avoid damaging the filament.
Is Your Wiring System Correct?
When installing the bulbs make sure that the electrical connectors from the lights power lead are firmly joined to the metal connectors on the base of the headlight bulbs, otherwise it is easy to get a short circuit and blow the bulb.
You may want to check the alternator as well, since it could provide too much charge to the battery thereby increasing the volt that the bulb receives. The headlight bulb can only handle up to 13.2 volts of power.
Are You Buying Good Quality Headlight Bulbs?
Saving money can be important; however buying inexpensive headlight bulbs results in lower quality components. Osram and Philips are two top manufacturers of headlights providing durable and quality materials in their bulbs. You want a quality bulb that has the E1 mark, which shows the rigorous testing and standards they have been through.
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