406 Headlamp bulbs

you fitting the right watts bulb in? mine in my 405 lasted 3years then it went just as m.o.t. was being done but it passed.

What has the wattage got to do with it? I can imagine those 50% brighter bulbs going sooner but the wattage is simply the amount of power the bulb consumes. Leaving your headlights on all day as some people seem to do will have an effect too.

I once had a car that did that a few years back. Doesn't matter what brand bulb I bought the car would blow them out once every six months. Very annoying. HID upgrade...you'll never go back! :-o)

Funny thing is, on a couple of occasions both the LH and RH bulbs have blown exactly at the same time - i.e. switch on, nowt from either left or right. Full beam ok, dipped, both gone.

Neil.

The thing I find incredible is that, with usually three or four vehicles at any one time (including my current 406 and two earlier pugs), I have not had to replace a bulb in the last ten years and, over thirty years, might have replace three. I suppose it comes down to the fact that most driving is done in daylight. But you would think that the fragility of filaments and the constant bouncing around would destroy bulbs rapidly. Now I find myself developing conspiracy theories as to why the life of household bulbs is so short - I buy them by the dozen. You would think the household environment, compared to vehicle, would be looxury!

Now I find myself developing conspiracy

You should invest in low energy bulbs for the house. Save you a fortune in the longer term, and ecologically sound too.

I would begin to question a few other things here, when both go at the same moment, it's too much of a co-incidence. I did buy some cheap bulbs off Ebay a bit ago, both of which only lasted less than 12 months.

I had a similar experience last year, had three go in a week, two within

24Hrs. So I bought half a dozen spares and prepared to have the electrics checked out. Twelve months later I still have half a dozen spares and feeling that perhaps coincidence as well as 'shit' happens.

Djimbo.

We call those Transitional Lighting because of the way they come on slowly ;o)

Ours don't. Virtually instant they are. I think the slow ones are usually older, serpently the ones produced in the last couple of years are instant. And there's less mercury in them than previously, less than emitted by a coal fired power station powering an incandescent bulb.

Don't worry about only having one head light, just join what would seem to be about the1 in 10 cars that drive up and down the A10 with only 1 headlight night after night after night. GGJ

Low-energy bulbs are good where they are usually left on. For places with lots of on/off their life suffers. Also they seem to lose brilliance as they get old - like us! But they have their uses.

Hi Try switching the lights on before starting engine (just for 5 secs), this will give them a chance to heat up before the 14v of the alternator starts them with a bang. (inrush current of a cold bulb is higher than inrush current of preheated bulb -if they only blow at switch on the above may help).

Also you could check that the output voltage of alt. is not too high!

Regards Al

Nice one Al, that sounds reasonable.

Neil.

To get the same power with a higher voltage (i.e. mains for household bulbs), you need a higher resistance filament, which is achieved both by it being longer and made of thinner wire. Thinner wire is inherently more short lived and fragile, so your household bulbs are a more delicate beast than your automotive ones!