Well there I was reading last week's Autoexpress which said that they would feature a bulb test this week. Ha, says I, must be about 5 years since I had to last change a bulb and what is wrong with standard bulbs anyway?
Today went out to my car (Seat Altea) and the bulb warning light was lit on the dashboard signifying a bulb was out. On closer inspection it would seem that both main headlight bulbs are not working. I have still to check the actual fuses (its dark and pouring down) but according to the book they run off different fuses for each side so it does look like both bulbs are gone.
This therefore leads to three questions
1. How does a car bulb self-check system work? I didn't have my headlights on when I was out and about at lunchtime. Got back into my car and the bulb check light was lit so it must do some sort of precheck when I switch the ignition on but could this blow 2 headlight bulbs?
2. Should I upgrade to one of the "extra % light" bulbs? Has anyone else done it, did you find it worthwhile? I can't say that I am disappointed with the standard bulbs but more may be better?
3. If these bulbs are so much better why are they not fitted as standard at the factory?
If its relevant, according to the book my bulbs are H7
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The brighter bulbs won't last for so long. Probably why they are not fitted as standard.
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I upgraded the bulbs on the Lancer to +80% osrams. They are superb, best lights ever, been working for 10 months fine.
As per both your bulbs going at once? I would suspect not, I would look for a control system error.
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>>as per both your bulbs going at once? I would suspect not, I would look for a control system error.
Any pointers where I should start looking after I check the fuses?
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Answer your question first, On boot up the system throws a quick voltage through the filaments to check current draw. This checks the bulbs are OK
How would I fault find both bulbs going out? change one see if it works. I suspect it wont.
I would then reset the system by removing the battery.
I could be wrong, Its possible both bulbs blew at the same time, but that's a bit strange.
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OK will order new ones anyway as if not needed now, they probably soon will. Going for the Osram Night Breaker Plus as they came out best in the test.
Will check each bulb on my old voltmeter thingy thing that I got from Tandy many moons ago!!
Meanwhile, I will do one of my pet hates and drive round on side lights and fog lights.....
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Osram Night Breakers here as well. Both cars and the motor bike. One of the 6 failed last month; I had to remember C3 nearside bulb-changing technique. A useful increase in light output but I've nothing to compare that against.
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One year ago, almost to the day I changed the headlight bulbs on the lancer for Osram +80%.
One year later, almost to the day, BOTH bulbs have blown on dipped beam within 25 hours of each other.
I am 150 miles away from home, not due back till Saturday morning. I have one spare bulb, which I have changed, to change the other I need to remove the battery.
Its cold, wet, sleeting.
Osram? I am no impressed, not by a long way Oh No!
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>> One year ago, almost to the day I changed the headlight bulbs on the lancer
>> for Osram +80%.
>>
>> One year later, almost to the day, BOTH bulbs have blown on dipped beam within
>> 25 hours of each other.
>>
The brighter the bulb the shorter its life. Osram also do heavy duty long life bulbs, your choice.
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12 months use is not good enough, brighter or not.
If bulb life is deceased they are required to say so.
I have ordered some Philips + 80% bulbs. Lets see how they perform. I am prepared to accept a degradation in life for the higher light output, but 12 months is extracting the urine.
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i hope so, that's what I ordered.
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>> i hope so, that's what I ordered.
And they arrived today (first time postie has turned up since Friday) and guess what?
Inside was a Christmas card and small bag of chocolate money!
Aww sweet! Now that's what I call customer Service.
(oh and the bulbs were in the pack of course)
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>> (oh and the bulbs were in the pack of course)
Hope they weren't made from chocolate too?
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>> >> (oh and the bulbs were in the pack of course)
>>
>> Hope they weren't made from chocolate too?
I think the previous Osrams were.
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Philips Extreme's been in 2 cars for over 2 years now and give a much better and legal light...that reminds me i must fetch them out of the MB and shove 'em in the C2, seeing as i've got to work longer to keep foreign aid ring fenced shan't be buying another set.
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Hey GB, I've got an idea. Sell the C2 and use the money for petrol for the Merc...
:-)
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>> Hey GB, I've got an idea. Sell the C2
Before Mart joins in and points out yet another helpful...not...post from Hump.;)
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I'm only trying to help you to get to where you know you really want to be GB. Call it councelling...
:-)
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>> The brighter bulbs won't last for so long. Probably why they are not fitted as
>> standard.
>>
I don't think that's much of an issue if the originals lasted five years. Three years would be OK with me if I could get access and change them myself.
I went through four pairs of dipped bulbs in 21 months thanks to DRL's. I put it down to the engine cranking with the lights on as since I've had the DRL function disabled never had to change a bulb in over two years. I usually have the lights on when I'm driving too.
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.*********
I didn't mean to infer these ones had lasted 5 years although I can see how my post could be taken that way.
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What !?
Pah ! These Spanish it's the beginning of the slippery slope today the headlight bulbs, tomorrow a DPF, diesel pump or DMF (joking). It is a diesel isn't it :-)
It does seem odd for both to fail at exactly the same time though I wouldn't put it past those pesky engineers at Bosch. As Z says more likely a failure elsewhere as the bulb failure is usually initially triggered by a drop in resistance. If you didn't have the lights on why would it tell you ?
Is there a Ctrl-Alt-Del set of buttons in your car ?
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>> The brighter bulbs won't last for so long. Probably why they are not fitted as standard.>>
I fitted two new 50 per cent brighter Halfords own brand bulbs on a VW in late 2003 (£12.99 on a BOGOF offer at the time).
The car was replaced earlier this month and these headlight bulbs were still providing top class light output.....:-)
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>> The brighter bulbs won't last for so long. Probably why they are not fitted as
>> standard.
>>
Rot. I've had osram silverstars in my car for probably 6 or 7 years now. Never needed to change them. Considering it's ancient and Italian I think it would suggest they're pretty robust!
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To answer question 1.
Normally bulb self check systems work by sending a pulse of electrical current through the bulb circuit and measuring what happens. If no electrical current comes back through the circuit then the system assumes the bulb has failed.
Very unusual for both headlight bulbs to blow at the same time. Happened to me once with a Peugeot 305 when the voltage regulator failed. The resulting voltage spikes saw off the headlight bulbs very quickly.
Edit:Zero beat me by 60 seconds.
Last edited by: Bagpuss on Wed 20 Oct 10 at 22:12
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How did the Halfords own brand H7s fair in the Autoexpress test ?
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>> How did the Halfords own brand H7s fair in the Autoexpress test ?
>>
They only tested H4's, both the super and extreme brilliance got four stars out of five.
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Which? tested headlight bulbs last March. Best were Bosch Pure Light, which gave 141 lux on dipped beam despite not claiming to be any % brighter than standard, and Osram Night Breaker +90%, which gave 97 lux on dipped beam. The night breakers were recommended on value for money, rather than brightness. For comparison, standard bulbs fitted to a new Astra gave 91 lux whilst factory xenons on a new Astra gave 164 lux.
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>> 3. If these bulbs are so much better why are they not fitted as standard
>> at the factory?
The car manufacturers don't think that the extra cost is justified.
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Some very competitive prices per pair at present at:
www.autobulbsonline.co.uk/
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Thanks, I really need to do something to improve the Xantia's main beam. Main and dipped are seperate H1 bulbs so replacing the outer pair should be reasonably straightforward.
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Also:
www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/
The prices generally seem to be for pairs in both cases.
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The Philips Extreme in the Yaris are now four years old.. Happy Birthday and lots more please...
(Easyish to change by hand.. no double jointed fingers needed)
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My Vectra-C is renowned for poor headlights. I slightly improved them by fitting H7 Osram Nightbreakers, but 8 months later they both blew within a week of one another. As it's a right PITA to change the offside bulb (either you have to remove the air filter box or bumper) I couldn't be bothered going though all the hassle again in a few months, so I forked out for a HID kit. Yes, more money, but then again supposed longer lasting.
I know some people moan about HID lights, but in the 13 months I've had them I've only had a couple of people flash their headlights at me. That's about a dozen people less than when I had the halogen H7's fitted.
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>> I know some people moan about HID lights, but in the 13 months I've had
>> them I've only had a couple of people flash their headlights at me. That's about
>> a dozen people less than when I had the halogen H7's fitted.
>>
... I'll bet you have seen lots of cars embedded in hedges on the return trip though. ;-)
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Xantia bulb change out is not too bad, certainly do able without too much dismantling! The outers are the dip, and the inners the mains though.....
Xantia dips are notorisouly rubbish, but the mains are usually OK. I've got Nightbreakers in the dips and something else (might be Halfords, can't remember in the mains). Dip much improved, main not that much different. I am going to relay the dips to help evenmore (and realign them as they look bosseyed when driving in fog!). First set of nightbreakers only lasted < 1 year, but current set are 13 months old. Pffft on the way home then....
I had some of the Halfords bulbs and didn't rate them at all- the light scatter was bad, not that much brighter, and one of them went dim after not very long. And they were expensive - £20 each(?) - the nightbreakers can be had for £20 / pair.
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Blimey, I fit £4.99 petrol station specials and replace them when they pop. Always have done.
I now feel like I'm missing something.
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>> I now feel like I'm missing something.
with lights that bad, you have been lucky to miss things.
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>> with lights that bad, you have been lucky to miss things.
They're not bad at all. I'm just wondering how far they are from the best they could be though, and whether this gap is big enough to justify the considerable extra cost.
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the single biggest improvement I have made to any car, and it cost £19.99
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>> Xantia dips are notorisouly rubbish ...
So are the Synergie and XM dips of the same era. What were they playing at ?
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>> >> Xantia dips are notorisouly rubbish ...
>>
>> So are the Synergie and XM dips of the same era. What were they playing
>> at ?
>>
Citroen sorted the bodywork rust issue of previous cars. To pay for it, they saved money on the electrics...
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>>What were they playing at ?
Someone sold them a computer package that told them that 'complex surface reflectors' were the bees knees. Pity they never actually drove the things in the dark on test!
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One of the questions in the original post was how does the car now when a bulb has blown,it either measures current or resistance thats why you get all sorts of problems when the incorrect bulbs are fitted.
Fitting higher powered bulbs can cause the fitting to overheat ,draw to much current and hence have a short life.If you cannot see with the standard bulbs then you either need your eyes testing or you are driving to fast
Last edited by: Collos on Thu 21 Oct 10 at 19:29
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I have xenons in the S-Max. They give a white light but I am not convinced they are 'better' than regular headlights for throw of the beam and overall performance. Having said that I have not driven on roads without street lights, so maybe I am missing the point.
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Nothing wrong with my eyes - I drive 300 miles a week to/from work, on mostly unlit country roads, in the dark for at least 4 months a year, in a car well known for having poor dip lights. £20 invested in a set of improved headlamp bulbs is a necessity. I am also going to fit relays to get up the voltage at the bulbs and get the most out of them.
They are not higher power - they're still 55W, they're just more efficient at generating light.
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Well it turns out that both bulbs had gone at the same time. For some strange reason....
Ordered the new bulbs from Powerbulbs Direct, got them the next day, fitted them this afternoon so have a trip to Edinburgh tonight, will see if there is any noticeable difference with them.
Full marks to SEAT for making the bulb change a 5 minute process as opposed to the several hour, knuckle scraping process for the Scenic I experienced!
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Being a tight wad i slipped the Phillips Extreme's out of the MB (20 secs) and into the C2 (20 mins) yesterday following this thread, handy reminder thanks.
Looking forward to your report BG.
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And me, the standard Altea lights were pretty good anyway, some of the best non HID's I have experienced.
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Well I assumed that since the bulb had a prong that stuck out and the bulb holder had an indent at 6 oclock then that is the way the bulb should go.
But having just driven to Edinburgh and lighting up the 2m of tarmac in front of the car I think I have done something wrong. And no its not the head lamp levelling switch.
So since daughter is still not out her concert I am sitting outside the Playhouse and have just switched both bulbs through 180 degrees to see if that makes any difference on way home.
And as an aside, why is Edinburgh such a different city to drive through at 10pm from Glasgow?
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>> And as an aside, why is Edinburgh such a different city to drive through at 10pm from Glasgow?
C'mon then spill Bobby. In what way ?
:-)
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When you drive thru Glasgow the streets are narrower as are the pavements so more crowds of people spilling onto the road, making noise and general drunken like rowdiness.
In Edinburgh the roads are wide and pedestrians seem to be more sober and the whole "atmosphere" is different. Hard to put a finger on it but just different.
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>> But having just driven to Edinburgh and lighting up the 2m of tarmac in front
>> of the car I think I have done something wrong.
Try turning off the foglights, and putting the main beams on.
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Aye at one point I did put my fogs on and their beam stretched further!
On way home with my bulbs fitted the other way beam was definitely much better than going through there. However now not sure exactly what way the bulbs should be fitted. Will need to try and find out tomorrow.
Its a much whiter light than the side lights. Very noticably so. Am sure my last bulbs didnt have that difference.
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>> >> Xantia dips are notorisouly rubbish ...
>>
>> So are the Synergie and XM dips of the same era. What were they playing
>> at ?
>>
Hardly a surprise - they all use the same lamp units.
I know some folk get in a tizzy over them, but in my book you just can't beat Xenons - especially on dark unlit roads. I think they are now on my 'must have' list for future cars now.
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"First set of nightbreakers only lasted < 1 year, but current set are 13 months old. Pffft on the way home then...."
OK, it was a bit longer, but offside has gone now. 15 months and 20k - much of it with the lights on, so not too bad. Maybe I'll try some of these Phillips Extreme this time.
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My dipped beam bulbs both blew at the same instant on Tuesday night. Both now replaced and working fine.
Clearly not a coincidence, more chance of winning the lottery, but explanation not obvious!
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Well, as a follow up, the Osram Night Breaker Plus has now blown on one side - so I reckon that about 14 months worth. No doubt the other one is going to go anytime now.
Zero, are your Phillips still going strong?
Need to check the latest reports to see whats deemed the best nowadays, although tempted to go back to the fiver Lidl ones!
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>> Well, as a follow up, the Osram Night Breaker Plus has now blown on one
>> side - so I reckon that about 14 months worth. No doubt the other one
>> is going to go anytime now.
Crumbs! I've only ever changed 4 normal halogen bulbs plus 2 tungsten bulbs in 35 years of driving.
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>> Crumbs! I've only ever changed 4 normal halogen bulbs plus 2 tungsten bulbs in 35
>> years of driving.
If you own a car with DRLs for three years, I can almost guarantee you will double your 35 year total. Infernal things, unless they can be disabled.
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DP, my car doesn't have DRLs but I do normally have the headlights on "auto" and I feel they switch on when not required in many cases.
I had a rumage through my supplies and found a set of Lidl + 50% bulbs which I had bought for my wife's car but wrong size so will be putting these in now.
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I bought some Philips --- something or other 6 years ago,.. Still going strong.
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>> Well, as a follow up, the Osram Night Breaker Plus has now blown on one
>> side - so I reckon that about 14 months worth. No doubt the other one
>> is going to go anytime now.
>>
>> Zero, are your Phillips still going strong?
Well you got two months more out of them than I did. Yes the Philips ones still going strong.
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Just put the Lidl one in. Remember a feature I like about the Altea - 2 mins max to change the headlight bulb!
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Headlight bulbs and increased visibility bulbs - rtj70
