Headlight bulbs keep blowing?

Don't quote me on this but I would say no, you could potentially do more harm than good.

 

I would probably use rubbing alcohol, and give it several minutes in the sun to make sure it's fully dry.

 

Anything that leaves residue would be a major harm to the bulb.

Never seen a dirty bulb, and I'd never clean one unless it was greasy. Rubbing alcohol before I started using gloves worked for me, though.

 

I always clean bulbs with isopropyl alcohol before installing and use latex or nitral gloves.

 

I've been fighting a similar, but more devious issue. 07 AC 4x4, driver side bulb went out in November. Replaced both with Silverstar Ultras, but was in a hurry and didn't get them lined up properly. Took a couple days to realize it (wasn't doing much after dark driving). Driver side bulb goes out within a few weeks. I assumed it was just from movement where I hadn't lined them up correctly and bit the bullet and bought a new bulb. Driver side has worked fine since, but then passenger side goes out a couple weeks ago. I finally got around to replacing it last night (assumed that it, too had been damaged from incorrect alignment when I first put them in), but no luck. Replaced fuse, still no luck. Both the new bulb and one I replaced (still relatively new) work fine on high beam. I can't believe I'd have gotten a bad bulb out of the box, but now I have a new bulb, new fuse, and still only high beam. Guess I have a wiring problem to track down.

 

In my very humble opinion, Silverstar bulbs are absolute garbage. Really was not impressed when I tried them.

 

I've had no problems with them, using them exclusively over a decade.

 

I found they just didn't last that long, but who knows, maybe I got a bad batch or something. I think even the paperwork that is supplied suggests a 6 month lifespan.

 

Its the bulbs. Silverstars dont last long, I had the same problem

 

Something I haven't seen anyone post in regards to resolving this. Check to make sure your headlight is secure! The wear and tear on bushings and mounts for the light or the basket it sits in can cause excessive and unnecessary jolts on the housing to break the filament on the bulbs! Some bulbs are more prone than others. This was an issue on "more seasoned" vehicles when I was a tech or if a body shop did a shit job on the repairs and the headlight housing was loose or had a cracked tab mount into the body stamping.

 

What will replacment of good fuses, assuming they are the proper amps, do for this situation?

What do gloves have to do with the battery?

Pretty confusing info here to someone who is just reading thru the thread.

 

LOL, not real car people.....regurgitating info that's read, but somehow mixed it up when re-typing?

 

The strange thing in my case is that a brand new bulb has no low beam. I was going to replace the connector, but I'd think I wouldn't have high beams if it was the connector

 

My shortest set lasted 2 years.

My longest running set was on a 1998 Chevy truck and it only went through 2 sets of bulbs before it was sold in 2011.

Lots of guys complain about their longevity but my experience has been completely different, across 4 different vehicles - all running Silverstar/Silverstar Ultra in headlights/DRLs and fogs.

 

I ended up cleaning my connectors as good as possible, also replaced the fuse, and put new bulbs in. I continue to use the silverstars but I am tempted to find another option after replacing several sets of these this year alone. After doing that I have only had 1 blow so far. Mine are the same way though, the high beams continue to work like normal on these bulbs. I was actually able to return a couple of the bulbs to wal-mart for store credit. But one of them lasted a little over 3 months and the other is still going...so I am not super hopeful for these bulbs anymore.

Has anyone had better luck with another brand of bulbs?

 

I don't know why, but I feel like should stick a DMM in the connectors ends and see what the current and voltage is at the connector. Then compare to another member on here. That will tell you if the problem is at the bulb or deeper in the electrical system.

Maybe that's a shitty idea, but it's what I would do.

 

Hey, just came across this. I've been replacing Silverstar Ultras every 3-6 months now. Wasn't like that a couple years ago. Just last night I had to but another twin pack (at Walmart). The Sylvania headlamp section has been decimated. About 2/3s the shelf hooks are empty. And get this (a separate issue, but funny) There was one package left. Looked at it carefully and saw that one bulb was used. Realized that it was a twin pack that I had returned the week before. The light output on these are phenomenal. It's like crack and I'm hooked. I swore to myself after returning that pack that I was done, but I came back...

Anyway, I replace the one that had just blown out yesterday, using dielectric grease and gloves, and did a few errands. Get home about 45 minutes later and see the other blew out sometime while driving!

I think manufacturing and standards have gone down on these. I know they say they are made in Germany, but starting to believe it's one of those situations where individual components are made in China then maybe shipped to Germany for final assembly. Not sure, just a guess.

 

But there are three connections within the modular plug. You have a ground, a hot for low beam and a hot for high beam. If the hot for the low beam is bad, you will still have the high beam.