Hi,
in the last 40 months ( 42000 km ) I already had to replace 5 broken H7 halogen bulbs of the headlights of my Fiat Punto Mk2 and these H7 bulbs are quite expensive and difficult to replace. Is that normal? The H4 bulbs of my previous Punto Mk1 lasted several years each...
Broken physically or burnt out? Any particular brand of bulb? Battery ok, or on its last legs, battery helps to stabilise the alternator output.
ato snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com wrote in news:sNKdnRCwfd snipped-for-privacy@pipex.net:
Just burnt out, different brands. The battery is o.k. I think. Very strange! I only see two possible causes: too much vibrationys or unstable voltage. Or maybe the bulbs overheats in these tight lens headlights.
I'd start by checking the voltage across the battery terminals at fairly high (autobahn/motorway) speeds. There are cheap digital voltmeters over here (UK). Just run a lead through one of the bulkhead grommets. Round about 14.4V is an upper figure but depends on battery mfrs. recommendations.
14.5V or over needs investigating. Charging systems carry heavy currents so conections and lugs need to be clean. Best to test at speed during daylight, headlamp load will pull the voltage down, so if it's ok in daylight it should be ok at night. What might be happening is you are overcharging, raising the battery volts, then you put the lights on across this higher voltage, and phut.schreef in bericht news: snipped-for-privacy@pipex.net...
Just a thought... do you start the car with the lights switched on? It seems that sometimes, just when the engine is about to run while starting it, a higher (peak)tension in the boardcircuit can occur (forgive my bad tech.english). This seems to shorten the life of your headlamps considerably. At least, that is what i found with our own MK II. So i turn my lights on after startingprocedure. Overheating is not an option in my opinion. The headlamps of my MK II have lifespan for about two years, and that's not bad i think.
"E-Cie" wrote in news:cua7vj$jc5$ snipped-for-privacy@reader13.wxs.nl:
Yes, I don't switch them off because it's allways dark when driving to or from work.
Thanks for the tip, I will try to switch the lights off before starting the engine. In 12 months I will give a short report on my experiences ;-)
MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.