headlight problems

[ndamico]

Hi,

I've been having a problem with higher wattage bulbs that hopefully someone can shed some light on :confused:

I installed a kennedy headlight booster. so far the passenger side has blown 4 bulbs. most of the time they pop within a minute or two of installation. the firt bulbs i got from JK were defective, so no big deal i thought. however the replacements still seem to pop. i've check the voltage and both sides are within .02 volts of eachother. i haven't been able to clean out all of the reside (looks foggy) inside my lens since i can't get them apart. i've used water, dish soap, etc. and they still look foggy. could the reside be getting on the new bulbs and causing them to fail? john has sent me a few replacements and i'm starting to wonder if there is another problem. my grounds are solid and my stock bulbs seem to work fine. initially i was just popping the low beams, but today when i went to install another replacement set he sent me, i noticed the 100w high had also blown on the same side. i'm at a loss here. does anyone have any ideas? i can't have that many defective bulbs can i? i'm thinking of buying a new headlight assembly at the dealer so it doesn't look all foggy, but i don't want to mess that one up to. any help would be appreciated.

[SoCalDMAX]

Have you been touching them with your bare hands?

The oil in our skin (or any oil) can cause quartz halogen bulbs to burn out. Try a paper towel or napkin, it must be clean.

There's a remote possibility that the foggy stuff is oily and causing the problem. Try super hot water with dish soap, if it's oily that'll probably get it out.

The voltage shouldn't be excessive, the bulbs are designed to take all of the voltage that the alternator can put out.

Good luck, Steve

[ 08-09-2002: Message edited by: SoCalDMAX ]</p>

[SoCalDieselNewbie]

ndamico,

I have been having the same fricking problem... I have blown 2 entire sets of JK's bulbs and now I blew a stock low beam bulb.

I am about to rip this fricking thing outta here and go with the Sylvania HID units.

[FirstDiesel]

The question was "Are you touching the bulbs with your fingers??"

Are you??? If so that's the problem. The oil from your fingers is boiling on the glass and breaking them. That is about the only reason I have ever seen for bulbs cracking.

If you touch the bulb wash it off with a rag soaked in alcohol and use a rag to hold it while you install it.

[Kennedy]

The yellow boxed Hella bulbs appear to have a problem. Looking at them, they appear linty and dirty. The first set (low beam) that I installed blew within 10 minutes of install. I went back to the previously installed bulbs and went on our trip. While at Peninsular Diesel for a visit, I obtained some sterile wipes and cleaned a pair of the Hella lamps and installed them. These worked fine and I figured all was well, the bulbs were just dirty, etc. About a month later, they both failed. So, now we are trying the Optilux (Hella owned company) bulbs which appear to work very well. Luckily, there were very few of the yellow boxed Hellas shipped out and once they are all back, they will all (300Hi and 300 Low) be returned.

The Phillips bulbs that I had been using have gone up considerably in price, and are difficult to obtain. They performed flawlessly and seemed to go about 6 months on average. I consider 6 months a fair life considering the tremendous light output, and the High Performance nature of the bulbs.

In the mean time, I'd suggest running the stock lamps until I can get things ironed out with Hella as to what the potential causes are, how to clean up, etc. I am also still searching for a supplier for the Phillips lamps.


I should also note that if one were to clean a lamp, it is suggested to use 100% pure (or closest to) isopropyl alcohol on a clean cotton swab.

[letsgo]

If you are touching the polished reflector inside the headlight you have scratched the surface (to to late to fix).
The only way headlight bulbs will burn out as fast as your saying they do on your truck is you have voltages exceeding 14.5 volts, infact you would have voltage in the 20 volt range.
If you remove the bulbs from the 9005 and 9006 sockets and take voltage readings first from ground to each pin then between the pins in each socket you will have a better idea of what is happening,

good luck

GMC 2002 DURAMAX SLT EXCAB SHORT BOX 2500HD 4X4 AUTO

[ndamico]

Thanks for the replies. I haven't been touching the bulbs with my fingers. i've even tried cleaning them with 91% isopropyl alcohol before installing and using a lint-free cloth.

the inside of the reflector is scratched, but only from pieces of glass getting embedded in it, and me having to dig them out with a zip-tie.

also the voltage reads between 14.42 and 14.44 volts on all 4 headlight connectors.

my stock bulbs seems to be fine, but i'm just putting them back in. so we'll see. hopefully someone knows the solution! tongue.gif tongue.gif tongue.gif

[ 08-10-2002: Message edited by: ndamico ]</p>

[ThePend]

Not to take business away from JK, but there is a site I go to for my bulbs. They ship from England and take from 8 to 10 days to arrive. Havent had a bit of trouble with their stuff. I use the Phillips Rallye bulbs. 85w for low, 100w for high. You can find them at:

www.powerbulbs.com

[hoot]

After my low beams burnt out after 6 months, I put the original stock lows back in. I still have the Kennedy high beam bulbs in now coming close to a year. You don't use the highs continuously so they last a lot longer.

[ndamico]

hoot and others: when your bulbs burn out, do they blow up in the lense? all of mine that have burned out have exploded inside the lens...

[FirstDiesel]

ndamico

That's the weird part of your problem. I have worked on equipment for 20 years that use different kinds of high output bulbs. The only thing that I have ever seen that causes bulbs to explode is envelope contamination. Over voltage just causes the filament to break.

I'm wondering if you don't have something inside the reflector that is contaminating the envelope when the inside of the housing gets hot. Might be your first bulb was contaminated and when it exploded it left something on the insdie of the housing that keeps contaminating the new bulbs.

This is all just a SWAG but based on years of experience it is about the only thing that would make sense to me for constantly exploding bulbs.

Anyway you can clean out the housings??

[ndamico]

I've tried to clean the housing with water, dish soap, alcohol, etc. it actaully takes a bit of contact to get the stuff off...i thought about sticking crushed walnut in there to swish around but i doubt i'd ever get it all out... :(

[RONCLYDE]

The other thing that will cause a halogen bulb to explode would be water coming in contact with a hot bulb. Have seen this nomerous times in emergency vehicles where condensation comes in contact with a hot bulb in a light bar. the only thing left is the socket with the wires sticking up. are your headlampassy sealed, (o-ring in tack)?

[hoot]

No, mine just burned out normally. Filiment went. Both bulbs burnt out the same week. No fuse problems at all.

[HowieE]

Hi Ndamico

So far no one has mentioned if the failure is taking place just after the engine is started. I would like to know what the voltage is just after startup. My reason for asking this is to question the voltage regulator.

[SoCalDieselNewbie]

ndamico,

I have only had 1 bulb actually blow... It was the first blub that went (a low beam Hella).

The rest have wound up smoky looking on the inside of the blub... some have even cracked... but none of the others have broken like the first.

The wierd thing is that they are not going on real quickly. Most of them have gone within a week to 4 weeks of being installed.

Cleaned all the bulbs throughly, because I was forewarned about possible contamination at purchase, with Isopropyl straight out of the hospital.

[Kennedy]

I believe it all boils down to crappy bulbs. I guess I should have stuck with the tried/true...

[ndamico]

JK,

so do you think the first hella jacked up my lens to where all bulbs blow in it now due to residue? if so, i should be able to resolve it as i've ordered a new lens ~$150. i just hope hope hope they don't blow in there as well!

[SoCalDieselNewbie]

JK,

I am NOT blaming you for the bulb problem. You didn't make these Hella bulbs unless you have a part-time job that I am unaware of. :D

Anyway, like I said earlier, you did say that there had been problems with them.

[Kennedy]

I've been in contact with Hella on this, but things move slowly with them. BOTH series of bulbs (yellow box and Optilux) are contract built, and imported. IIRC, the yellow boxes are made in Korea. The thing I need now is all of the old bulbs back so I can return them. The Optilux do not seem any better except that they just plain quit. PIAA bulbs did the same thing for me some time back so I quit them too.

As for the housings, they really should not affect bulb life. Replacement of the housings (Hella Funded) will be on the agenda next time I speak with Hella.

Once again, the Phillips bulbs have proven to be a solid preformer, and I am likely going back to them. The link provided bt ThePend above has them in stock, but they run about $20ea. I am working out some pricing details as we speak...

[ndamico]

JK,

I go ahead and ship you all the bad bulbs/boxes...I gues I'll hold onto my receipt for the lens too...Still waiting for my Phillips Rallye bulbs to show but I'll cross my fingers!

Thanks again...

[Kennedy]

Should have the Phillips Rallye bulbs back in stock soon.

Will be taking up the housing issue with Hella next....

[ndamico]

Hey JK,

Well I've put quite a few hours on the Phillips Rallye bulbs (70/100W) and they are working great. I guess the first Hella's trashed my healight. the new one hasn't popped one yet! (knock on wood!). i'll ship all the bulbs back to you including the hella's that do work, as i don't have any complete sets. then you can tell them they owe me a headlight!

thanks!

[Kennedy]

As with any High wattage bulb, life will be shorter, but I've been seeing 6-8 months from the Phillips bulbs. Small price to pay for the super gain in visibility...

I have a call in to my rep, and will keep you advised, but with the DP pull-off coming soon, my time is short, as is my attention span :eek:

[Kennedy]

OK, I landed some Phillips bulbs, so those who are owed bulbs by me may want to stand up and be counted before I run out again...

[ndamico]

thanks for the update john..i have my box full of broken ones sitting here..i guess i'd better send it out..do you want my old headlight too? do you really think i have a chance of hella replacing it? after all it wasn't too cheap...