** New Beetle Headlight Bulb Suggestions

Hi Folks,

Daughter has a 2001 NB, and seem to have the common problem of headlights burning out. Just wondering if anyone has found a brand that may last longer. I've tried the standard Sylvania H1-55W,and even the Sylvania Silverstar High Output / High Dollar replacements and see no difference in longevity. Even tied some no-name from Ebay , Chinese I believe, with the same results, next step will be to disable the DRL and see if that helps. At least they are easy to replace, but don't want to be doing it with the snowy months comming up. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Butch

Reply to
Anton382
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Don't bother with the Silverstar, its rated life is about a third of normal.

The only thing I can suggest is to make sure the contacts are clean and tight and that no one touches the lamp. Even a finger print can greatly reduce the life of the lamp.

What kind of life are you getting? (miles and months) Mine are about three years and 36,000 miles with the original lamps.

Reply to
Joseph Meehan

Try OEM bulbs, they seem to last 4 years.

Reply to
Rob Guenther

Kudos, Rob.

You just know the ones with a blown bulb have been driving that way for weeks. Especially since they might still have the high beams they will use to blind you with every chance they get

Reply to
Biz

Osrams are good quality and are probably OEM.

But long term you might want to just disable the DRLs.

Reply to
Matt B.

Joseph,

The OEM's lasted about 3 years, then it all went south from there. I replaced them both within a month of each other with the std 55w, one of them burned out a year later, so I replaced them both with the Silverstar, just because I got a deal on them, one of the Silverstar lasted about 2 months and the other burned out a month after that. Now the local stores tell me the Osram/Sylvania no longer make the std 55w, which I think is a sales ploy, because you can still buy them online. They want to sell you the Silverstar. I have been checking the connections pretty good, guess I'll check them again when I replace them this time.

I have the info on disabling the DRL's guess that will be my next step. Thanks for all the information. Happy Holidays !!

Thanks, Butch

Reply to
Anton382

Disabling the DRL's should increase the life, but maybe not as much as you think. As I understand it the voltage is reduced 30% in DRL mode so it greatly reduces the wear in DRL.

BTW. I went with a new Euro head lamp switch. A quick and easy (not too cheap however) change. It has four settings. Off, DRL/w only, parking lights only and full head lights with parking lights. I like the option of parking lights and fog lights for heavy fog or snow. (Don't full the relay to have all the options if you use the switch)

Reply to
Joseph Meehan

There was one Honda I would see every single morning... this is at

4:50am-5:00am (so pitch dark outside) on my way to work... Highbeams always on, no taillights that worked... I flashed him the highbeams the first few times I saw him, as plenty of people forget to turn off their beams when it's that early in the morning (5am is still too early to be thinking 100% so you forget) and he'd drop down to his ONE amber turn signal/parking light that was still running then come back with the high beams.
Reply to
Rob Guenther

I'd bet it's not that much. I know on my EV the reduction is barely noticeable. I put a meter to it and the difference between DRLs and low beam was probably no more than 0.2V.

Reply to
Matt B.

Sorry, I should not have referred to it as a voltage drop. As I recall the reduction was properly referred to as a reduction in power or output not voltage.

Reply to
Joseph Meehan

ah ok...got it.

Reply to
Matt B.

Regardless of the correct terminology of Voltage Drop or Reduction of Power, if the light is off as the dissabling of the DRL would do i believe the bulb would last much longer. For instance the Fog / Driving light is the same H1 bulb and they are still the 2001 original's. This was my thought in turning the lights off to begin with. Thanks again for all the responces.

Thanks, Butch

Reply to
Anton382

Has no-one checked what the "voltage regulator" on the charging circuit is chucking out. Last time I came across a similar problem the regulator was "dicky". That is, when it was being checked, then it appeared OK on the rig, but if it was tapped with a heavy screwdriver the voltage flicked up and down and could go as high as 19 volts. The problems were the same, bulbs burning out and needing replacement, not just headlights. The voltage pack used to be on the back of the alternator, but needed unsoldering. Change the brushes at the same time. Mine is still going strong after another 9 years.

-- Derek Wealleans snipped-for-privacy@clara.dot.co.uk Remember:- remove the anti spam

Reply to
Derek Wealleans

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