Can You Unconfuse Me? Bulb Help

[Shaun]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlXM8GcVQsQ

This video is what i made today for a friend he got some bulbs off of ebay and they are practically the same thats in my micra however after the engine is turned on the bulbs blow... but only after the engine is on, any ideas? fwn

 

[badj]

Check the voltage at the bulb with a multimeter, its either exceeding what the bulb is capable of handling or the bulbs are crap.

Dont see why people change normal bulbs as they just make it harder for other traffic to see at night, making the roads more dangerous for everyone else.

Regardless, a bulb is just a thin filament where resistance in eletrical energy causes the excess energy converted to heat to cause a reaction with the gas (halogen) to emit light.

If the voltage is too high it will be exceeding the heat the bulb is capable of safely emitting and just melting the filament causing it to blow (similar principle to a fuse).

 

[Shaun]

Check the voltage at the bulb with a multimeter, its either exceeding what the bulb is capable of handling or the bulbs are crap.

Dont see why people change normal bulbs as they just make it harder for other traffic to see at night, making the roads more dangerous for everyone else.

Regardless, a bulb is just a thin filament where resistance in eletrical energy causes the excess energy converted to heat to cause a reaction with the gas (halogen) to emit light.

If the voltage is too high it will be exceeding the heat the bulb is capable of safely emitting and just melting the filament causing it to blow (similar principle to a fuse).

thanks for your reply badj i understand what you mean about other drivers blinding you with their headlights, however i think that is more to do with poorly adjusted headlight levels which are easy to adjust nowadays with the gizmos in their cars.

i have only ever replaced bulbs for good reasons such as poor visibilty due to the age of the bulbs and they are shining more orange than anything,

take a look at my blog for clear example

 

[pjg1979]

thanks for your reply badj i understand what you mean about other drivers blinding you with their headlights, however i think that is more to do with poorly adjusted headlight levels which are easy to adjust nowadays with the gizmos in their cars.

i have only ever replaced bulbs for good reasons such as poor visibilty due to the age of the bulbs and they are shining more orange than anything,

take a look at my blog for clear example

This is my kind of thread, right my guess is either running voltage or cheap manufactured bulbs. Can you provide a picture of the markings on the bulb looking at that particular one I'm guess it's an HB3 or HB4 fitting but I can be wrong. The previous bulb that might have been in there might have been a Philips, Narva or Osram being an Audi. There is a lot of dodgy companies out there that do provide illegal bulbs as legal. I know that Ring sell Legal bulbs if they're not legal it does say on the packet ie Rally Sport & Sportz Blue.

Maximum Running Voltage is about 14.4v but that is still high as the ideal running voltage should be 13.2v some cars can reach 16v but anything over 14.4 will seriously shorten the life of the bulb.

 

[Shaun]

This is my kind of thread, right my guess is either running voltage or cheap manufactured bulbs. Can you provide a picture of the markings on the bulb looking at that particular one I'm guess it's an HB3 or HB4 fitting but I can be wrong. The previous bulb that might have been in there might have been a Philips, Narva or Osram being an Audi. There is a lot of dodgy companies out there that do provide illegal bulbs as legal. I know that Ring sell Legal bulbs if they're not legal it does say on the packet ie Rally Sport & Sportz Blue.

Maximum Running Voltage is about 14.4v but that is still high as the ideal running voltage should be 13.2v some cars can reach 16v but anything over 14.4 will seriously shorten the life of the bulb.

Well the bulbs came from ebay... they were a complete replacement set for his old bulbs minus the rears so he had
2x fog lights
4x head lights
2x parking bulbs/sidelights

i think the originals were 55w ill have to get more details from my friend for what the new ones have written on them they look very similiar to this:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Audi-A4-from0...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item20aaf3e532
only he got white leds instead of bulbs for the sidelights.

thankyou for your help!(Y)

 

[mckenziecz]

Hey,
Its about my other car.
This is the exact auction on ebay
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160377725510&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT
4x H7 2x H11 and 2x 501 white LED. All from Type R brand.
Another very weird think is that them 501 Led were flashing like stroboscope when in headlights, but lighting fine in boot. Original bulbs are Philips.

 

[pjg1979]

If the 501 LED are flashing in the headlight sounds like a bulb failure testing the circuit. You might need a resistor to fool the vehicle. It's the same with LED 382/581 for the indicators, the flasher unit itself will need to be changed or get resistors.

The blueness of the glass envelope do not look legal if you ask me.

 

[Shaun]

If the 501 LED are flashing in the headlight sounds like a bulb failure testing the circuit. You might need a resistor to fool the vehicle. It's the same with LED 382/581 for the indicators, the flasher unit itself will need to be changed or get resistors.

The blueness of the glass envelope do not look legal if you ask me.

thankyou for your reply pjg1979 any ideas on how to sort this out with a resistor as it clips into the back in a block like most vehicles, and the lights are white with a touch of blue have seen worse :blush:

 

[pjg1979]

You'll need a 10w 8ohm resistor, connect one lead to the positive of the side light feed and the other lead to the negative side light feed. This should then sort out that problem.

 

[Shaun]

ok well we shall see what the company does for my friend and see what we can do, shame really the lights really suited the car.