Driver's side headlight blows out every 6 months

i have a 2006 tacoma every 6 months or so the drivers head light keeps blowing any suggestion

 

Switch to LED?
I have also heard the oil from your fingers may cause the bulb glass to overheat.

 

clean connection and dielectric grease. go back to factory head light bulbs. had the same problem in my 06. haven't had a problem since

 

What bulbs are you running?

What is your install procedure?

 

the ultra bright by sylvania

 

Install with bare hands and touching the bulb??

 

yep same ones I was using

 

The brighter the bulb, the shorter they last. But some cheap ones and they will last a very long time.

 

Hmmm,...I run 55/85s and they last for years.

 

thank yall

 

I got conned into buying a set of those for my 2003 Mustang some years back--they lasted about six months same as reported by the OP here.

Did some research at that time and posted the result on a Mustang BB. I had found a Sylvania spec sheet and FAQ (the links are now broken and I cannot them it now) stating the Ultra's have a 230 hour life, and that "The life expectancy of a SilverStar halogen light source is dependent on the driver’s use of the lights, which vary by season, time of day and number of miles driven. We estimate the SilverStar halogen lights to have a life span of up to one year under average driving conditions." [emphasis added]

Note that the specific series/model of SilverStar lamps was not specified, generally the brighter the lamp the shorter the lifespan.

So consider that 230 hours at 2 hours/day = 115 days. If you are commuting 5 days a week, one hour each way, that is only 23 weeks--or just shy of 6 months.

And that's all I have to say about that...

 

A good bright Philips bulb should last around 400 hrs. A Philips long life bulb should be over 1000 hrs lifespan. A good relay harness should keep the voltage up and consistent vs the stock harness.

 

My brother's Silverstar ZXR bulbs are 3 years old. I'm wondering if long duty cycles are a factor. He has driven cross country from SoCal to WI and back twice already, not to mention frequent trips to NorCal and Vegas. In the past he's had Piaa Xtreme Whites that lasted for 2 years. Other bulbs he's had (even Sylvania and Piaa) lasted anywhere from 6 months to a year or so, which is the norm for aftermarket bulbs (at least in our experiences).

Personally on my Tacoma I've had aftermarket bulbs last about 10 or 11 months before one burns out.