Light bulb kit - 2002 BMW 330i

I have a beautiful and much loved 2002 330i (steel grey on black) with

86K on it. The tail light bulbs are starting to go out here and there

-- and the indicator light on my dash is driving me crazy.

I'd like to just go and replace all of the bulbs myself. Is there any sort of all inclusive "kit" I can buy on the internet that includes all of the bulbs I would need to replace the taillights, turn signal indicators, etc., all at once? I am not interested in getting custom colored bulbs -- I would want everything to remain stock.

Any inisight would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Brandon

2002 330i grey/black 1999 VW Passat 1.8T silver/creme
Reply to
Brandon
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The important thing is to use good quality bulbs as replacements. A hint to this is often that the cap is plated rather than brass.

I'd not replace all of them. Turn signal bulbs tend to have a much longer life as they're not on as long as tails, etc. On my E39 its the stop bulbs which go first. But they're so easy to replace I keep a spare or two on board.

In the UK places like Halfords (a big car accessory chain) do kits for most cars. But this is because it's a legal requirement to carry such a kit in some countries in the EU.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote

Because nobody uses them? :)

Seriously though, wouldn't the fact that they're subject to constant on/off action cause them to wear out sooner rather than later?

Cheers,

Pete

Reply to
Pete

No - it seems not. Makes no difference. Remember a mains lamp is switching on and off at 120 times a second in the US.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Yes, but, tungston bulbs die because the tungston vaporises and deposits a black film on the inside of the bulb (making it dimmer). The filament does eventually "wear out".

Now, halogen bulbs have a halide (iodione) that reatcs with the tungson preventing it from depositing itself on the glass; this happens at 300C and when it cools down the tungston redeposits itself back on the filament. This is called the "halogen cycle" or some such thing; thetechnology was invented by GE for the Boeing 707 and is common these days as you're probably aware.

There are halogen bulbs for the rear lamps. 37xxx something. Dan Stern would be the guy to talk to.

Reply to
Richard Sexton

And *only* 100 times a second in the YooKay.

Here, we're talking about DC switching positive/zero at 1 Hz or less, but you already knew that.

Reply to
Dean Dark

To reach Daniel Stern; Shoot mail to snipped-for-privacy@candlepowerinc.com ; Candlepower has all the right German-made, BMW-spec bulbs that fit and WORK right, instead of the common American-type "almost right, mostly works" items. They keep standard and upgrade types and are intelligent enough to know WTF they're talking about.

Reply to
Richard Sexton

But it's not like the filament cools-down much from peak temperature during the low-voltage periods...

Reply to
dizzy

Indeed. I was just making a sort of point. But there are plenty of flashing incandescent lamps around. Xmas tree ones for example. Some traffic signs. Juke boxes and fruit machines. All of which can have a long service life.

In all my long experience of many different makes of cars I've not had a problem with turn signal lamps burning out. On my E39, stop lamps seem to go more than others, for some reason. I've replaced them all, and the centre one twice. But only one other - a tail light bulb.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

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