Odd headlight issue

[BoOdOg]

Ok so in about the last 2 weeks I been threw about 3 sets of lights. Mind you all sets of lights were purchased at same time. Here is what is happening.

First my passenger side low beam went, the high beam worked fine. So I was like thats normal replaced bulb everything good. Then about 3 days later my drivers side went. Once again no low beam high beam works fine. This time I noticed my drivering lamp was still working. Ok replace bulb everything good. So I go out and passenger side low beam gone again. Driving lamp works high beam works. Replace bulb all works. Now tonight once again my driver side is dead. Did I just buy a bunch of bad bulbs or what? Anyone have any ideas on what I could check ?

[millionflame]

Are you touching the bulbs with your fingers? If so, the oils will burn the bulbs out fast.

If not, there "may" be short somewhere or bad wire connection.

If that's not it, then the bulbs are probably of bad quality.

What brand are these bulbs? Are they normal or "blue tinted" as well??

If they're Asian made, then that's your problem right there.

~A

[Taras]

Buy Quality bulbs....

[BoOdOg]

so I took a set of piaa put them in. Piaa was first type of bulb I had in their. I thought they were a quality bulb maybe I was wrong. I was careful not to touch the bulb this time. Unsure if I did last time. Also I checked the wiring on part looked like wire was getting thin so i fix that. The bulbs worked all last night so hopefully I be fine. If not I will find it over winter. Only a couple days left for the car.

[Taras]

PIAA is not a quality bulb. THey have improved a lot, but comparatively it is lower quality than what is to be had in the marketplace.

[millionflame]

PIAA also are over-priced.

There's better bulbs for better prices.

~A

[2.5mx3]

I was thinking of getting some PIAA Xtreme White headlight bulbs, because I really like the ones in my sidemarkers (however, I'm taking them back for replacement, because after only 2 months, the coating has fallen off of one of the bulbs). But I am having a hard time paying $50-$70 for a set of headlight bulbs.

If PIAA is not the best out there and is overpriced (which they are), can anyone recommend a set of bulbs that are comparable to the PIAA Xtreme Whites, but not so expensive?

Thanks guys...

Apologies if I hijacked this thread!

<small>[ October 28, 2003, 06:21 PM: Message edited by: 2.5mx3 ]</small>

[Pearl-JapSpec]

eurolite??

[rancid420potheadpunk]

i have apc bulbs in my car, they work pretty good.

[curtklze]

As far as I know there are only 2 quality lighting makers.

1)Osram Sylvainia
2) Philips

you can get Sylvainia Silver Star, they are very bright, both sylvainia and Philips make cool blue, long life, and extended vision bulbs.

both of the companies make the best bulbs you can buy, they are the primary suppliers of HID xenon bulbs to the worlds auto makers,
they only make DOT legal bulbs, so you cant get the cheesy blue tinted head light bulbs that shine a blue light.

They do make a head lamp bulb that LOOKS blue, but the light is clear and white.
these are the links to help you with all the bulb options.
http://www.eur.lighting.philips.com/automotive/eur/html/products_xenon.html

http://www.sylvania.com/auto/

<small>[ October 28, 2003, 11:25 PM: Message edited by: curtklze ]</small>

[millionflame]

Honestly, if you HAVE to go halogen, then the best bulbs out there are the Sylvania Silverstar bulbs.

They're way better than a normal halogen bulb, and will beat out any blue tint piece of craps. They're not cheap, but they're at least worth some of their money.

Don't think they're going to create day light - they're sitll halogen bulbs - but, they're at least the best option.

~A

<small>[ October 28, 2003, 11:11 PM: Message edited by: Aiden ]</small>

[Taras]

There is nothing wrong with Halogen. H9 is almost as bright as HID.

The best bulbs are made by Philips, GE, Osram/Silvania, Hella, and Narva. That is not to say that Philips does not produce bulbs in Korea, and not all of their bulbs are outrageaously great. Most ones made in Germany or EU are of superior qualty as they have to comply with stringent ECE regulations. So if you have a bulb that has E marking on it, it should be good, and by the way will not be DOT legal unless it is marked so. I would say that anything coated is less of a performer than clear glass bulbs. Common sense, coating will take candela away.
So, Sylvania Silverstar that is faint blue coated for North American market is a worse bulb than Osram Silverstar that is clear for EU market. A really good bulb is Philips Vision Plus, but it is not available in 9004.

If that would be me, and I could not get H4 based lights for Mx-3, I would run my lights with 9004 Philips Extra Vision bulbs from WalMart and build a good and solid relay'ed harness to supply full 14v to those bulbs.

Of course optical quality is a whole different topic.

<small>[ October 28, 2003, 11:27 PM: Message edited by: JDM ]</small>

[millionflame]

Originally posted by JDM:
There is nothing wrong with Halogen. H9 is almost as bright as HID.

No, nothing wrong, just out-dated, not as efficient, and not as good.

Also, H9 puts out what 1900 lumens? HID is 2300 at 4100K. That's close but the H9 will lose more due to heat. Also, in general, optics designed to use D2s bulbs are more efficient than ones for H9.

~A

[Taras]

D2S at 12v - 3200lm
D2R at 12v - 2800lm
H9 at 12v - 1900lm, but then through the harness it would get full 14.5v or so and be:
H9 at 14.5v - about 2300lm - 28% less than D2S, not too bad.

I absolutely agree, that optics are a key. And I know you would agree that D2S in a Halogen DOT housing is a worse alternative to an H1/7/9 in a decent E-code projector running through a relayed harness. You and I know that there are plenty of crappy OEM HID's out there. Most American SUV's are just horrible glare monsters. I also know that any of Acura TL/CL and Infinity G35 with HID reflectors are no comparison to BMW and Audi HID projectors. But there are some pretty decent Halogens out there that I would take over HID's mentioned above: any newer E-code Halogen projector, Most VW E-code reflectors, and even new Miata projectors are pretty decent. Although the output is less, but the beam pattern is awesome.

[Gro Harlem]

I've heard nothing but great things about the Sylvania SilverStars, they look white, are brighter and the price isn't bad (~$35 a set).

I had a set of Eurolites in the past, and they sucked...burnt out in about 2 months. My buddy had some APC's, and one of them burnt out after 3-4 months.