Any idea on why my car keep burning low beam headlamps? I have used Sylvania Ultra (top of the line) but they don't seem to last either. I had changed the pair the first time but had two of them burn in a short period since (one on each side). I have a Canadian spec car, so the low beams are on at all times. The car is a 2005 that has only covered 35 000 km ( 20 000 miles) since new, is always garaged and never winter driven (in the snow that is as it spends winters in Florida and also used sparingly there)

Tx
Le Chat

 

You might want to try a different brand of bulb. I'm sure you know this but just in case, it's important that you do not touch the glass part of the bulb during instalation

 

The Sylvania SilverStar Ultra bulbs have a very short life span. I've used them and have had them burn out in less than a month more than once. Not worth the money if you ask me and for a few more dollars you can buy a HID kit.

 

Up there in the far north you have crappy weather. So I'd check all grounding points to be sure there's no corrosion build up. Bad grounds account for a lot of electrical problems and the headlights are out front to pickup the road crap and moisture. It helps to start with the basics and connections are also the cheapest to start with.

Rick B.

 

I have had two sets (high and low beam sets) of SilverStar Ultras in my XF for better than 25 months (over two years). Not lost one bulb yet! Just made sure I never touched then whe I installed them.

 

Looking at the mileage you have on your XF I can see why you've had them better than 25 months. I do most of my driving at night and at the most I got about 6 months out them even in other cars I've used them in.

 

I have them in my car, put them in when I bought it 4 years ago. I have replaced the low beams once, I don't think that that is too bad. I like them alot.

 

One thing I forgot to mention is the ones I replaced didn't burn out the filament wire broke.

 

I've had 4 (2 low beams, rear turn & liscense plate) bulbs burn out on my 07 in last few months. Our 2006 Chevy HHR has daytime running lights ....no bulbs have ever burned out???

 

Thanks all for comments.

No I didi not touch the bulbs when installing and I'll see how long the new ones last. The comment about harsh canadian winters never applied to this car which has never seen snow: summer in Canada and winters in Florida.

I presume HID is somewhat of a xenon type of headlight, which I have on my daily canadian cars

Any suggestion on a good brand of HID kit and ease of installation ( I am not familiar with this product at all).

Tx Le Chat

 

As someone said earlier, SilverStar Ultra's have a short lifespan, especially if you use them quite a bit. Remember the old saying when buying filament type bulbs: "The light that burns twice as bright lasts half as long". Or something like that. It's true in this case and stars.

As far as installing them, just make sure that the connections aren't corroded at all and use bulb grease around the connectors before installing.

I had all my side marker lights and my front parking lights (which are the worst to change) burn out recently. I replaced them all, but didn't make sure to clean out any corrosion and apply bulb grease. The new bulbs burned out a week or two later. All the same ones. Guess what I did the next time?

Anyways, don't buy the brightest bulbs you can find on the shelf, unless you don't mind shelling out money for new ones every month or so. I recommend going a step down or so. Those bulbs will be cheaper and last longer. Doing this, I can get my low beams to last about a year or two before they burn out or dim too much (I don't have DRL's though).

 

"The light that burns twice as bright lasts half as long".

I think that's a line from Blade Runner (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep), just before the genetically engineered guy gouged out his creator's eyeballs.......

 

Morimoto HIDs :
H7: Morimoto Elite HID System - HID Component Kits from The Retrofit Source Inc

They are not cheap, but you get what you pay for .......

Quote from site :
Let’s not forget the 10-year warranty on the entire kit. The Morimoto Elite system is designed to run for 2500 hours, so that’s what it’s guaranteed for. Don’t let vendors with their BS “lifetime” warranties fool you into thinking you're buying something well-made with that lame excuse. (in reality its over-sold cheap parts that cost $3 for them to replace every six months - no HID's will last you a lifetime)

 

Basically this.

A standard halogen has a color temperature of 3100K, anything higher than that has to sacrifice some of its lifespan to produce a brighter light.

My 2004's original low beam went out sometime around April in 2010, that's 6.5 years and 40,000+ miles. After doing some research, I ended up replacing both of my low beams with the Sylvania H7 Xtravision. The Xtravisions are rated at 3200K, so basically just one notch above the standard halogens. About 3 months ago one of the Xtravisions went out on me and I ended up putting in the original stock bulb that I had kept for emergencies and it lasted until 2 days ago.

So the stock Philips H7 lasted me easily 30,000+ miles longer than the Sylvania Xtravision which is rated only 100K higher and probably has a marginal, at best, performance increase over the standard H7.

For daily drivers I recommend the standard Philips H7 bulb which can be purchased on Amazon for under $7. For a slight upgrade and having to sacrifice the least amount of lifespan, the Sylvania Xtravision is not a bad option and can be ppurchased in a twin pack for under $22 on Amazon and for $25 at Advanced Auto.

.02

 

Check your voltage when driving, Woody Life span is a VERY NON LINEAR function of voltage, at 6 volts they wont burn out at 16 volts they wont make it to dinner.

 

In those two+ years and over 10000 miles, I drive with lights on day and night (most of the time). I do this because the other guy can see me much better. Those hours on the low beams are constant. I use the high beams whenever I can. When a low beam bulb burns out, I'll switch out a high beam. BTW, my 01 ranger truck has had Silverstars (regular ones) since 2003, still going strong!

 

I drive with my low beams on during the day also....I have never replace a headlight bulb in the Aero and I upgraded to HID's over a year ago. So that is 5+ years on the factory bulbs and they are still good and sitting in the garage.... I prefer the 5000K HID's....

 

Here's a dumb question, are the high beam bulbs the same as the lows & when they are on you are just burning 4 bulbs instead of two?

 

Yes and yes.