Do They Just Burn Out, Or Do They Fade Away?

Question for the group:

Do headlight bulbs lose any/some of their luminance over time, or do they stay as good as day one until they burn out?

Patrick '93 Cobra '83 LTD

Reply to
Patrick
Loading thread data ...

Don't know for certain but I'd guess the bulbs actually burn brighter as they age. Now, that is more than offset by your lenses becoming cloudier as they age.

Reply to
Richard

As far as I know, the old incandescents degraded over time, while modern halogens and HID lamps generally don't.

You could e-mail Daniel Stern to find out for sure.

formatting link
Ah, here's a couple pages on the halogen cycle and dimming:
formatting link

Reply to
Garth Almgren

Garth Almgren opined in news: snipped-for-privacy@individual.net:

He'll just suggest that you sell the Mustang and buy a Beemer!

Reply to
Backyard Mechanic

That's a "Bimmer," if you're thinking of the cars. "Beemers" are the motorcycles. (Or so I've been told.) :)

It is true, though, that modern Mustang headlights leave little room for much-needed improvement. There is no E-code replacement available for '94 and newer aside from the ill-fitting Hyundai lamps. I don't know if an E-code upgrade exists for the aero Foxes, but I'm betting it'd be expensive if there was. Here's hoping the '05 will be easier/cheaper to upgrade!

For cars with sealed beams like mine and Patrick's LTD, it's a simple (if a little pricey) matter to switch to E-code lamps if you want better lighting.

Reply to
Garth Almgren

Garth,

Tell me about these E-code lamps. I replaced the original low-beam headlights with some new quality units, but couldn't find any good replacement high-beams. No one makes 'em, that I know of.

Patrick '93 Cobra '83 LTD

Reply to
Patrick

Yeah, I've seen halogens do that before they soon blow out.

Reply to
WindsorFox[SS]

Oh GOD! don't get him started in here again!! :-p

Reply to
WindsorFox[SS]

E-code just means a lamp that has met Europe's more stringent lighting specifications and standards. A good explanation is here on the last version of Dan Stern's headlamp FAQ I could find:

Well, when the high beam with a hole in it on my Mustang finally burned out, I asked Stern what would be good for replacement options.

He said the absolute best thing you could do would be to get the Cibié H1 high beams as shown on his website (scroll down to the 165mm x 100mm lamps) *and* rewire your headlights with his RIK-4 relay kit.

I didn't want to pay $61 a lamp, so Stern suggested an alternative, which has worked well for me so far. I ordered a single H7935-1 Halogen spotlamp from him for about $30, and installed it in the left high beam socket. Once I got it aimed properly, it did a great job of illuminating a *long, long* way down the road. The reason for only one is that you still need a standard H4651 high beam to fill in the surrounding area that a spotlight doesn't reach.

The lamp does such a good job of focusing and projecting that I can stand six feet away and feel the heat if I stick my hand in the hotspot of the beam. :)

Reply to
Garth Almgren

Here's your answer about bulbs Garth

formatting link

Reply to
Richard

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.