Opinion: causes for mass amounts of lights out on vehicles

[CraigRT]

Most people I point out that have out tail lights and things just have no idea. Generally if they can see that both headlights are on, I don't think people look too much further. I worked with a guy who had a 97 Maxima, it has 5 total lights on the back minus the license plate lights, and only 1 out of the 5 was working. He replaced them all after I told him, but he just had no idea. I periodically make sure I check mine, or even if I notice if I am backing into a spot, I can tell if a light is out, etc.

Inattentiveness for sure.

[ProchargeMe]

It seems like i see more silverado trucks with either the back left or back right tail light burnt out than anything else. I haven't changed my lights since I've had my car, but i check frequently. Hilariously i check all my lights in traffic using the reflection of my car in others' paint jobs.

[BoberFett]

I drove for a long time with one headlight because Sylvania and Ford decided to discontinue the HID system that existed only for the Mark VIII. Grrrr...

I did finally find one on eBay, but I got pulled over numerous times for the missing headlight. Thanks Ford.

[fralexandr]

Originally Posted by JulesMaximus

Wow... I've heard some dumb theories but that one takes the cake.

I would guess it's because CFLs wear significantly more with on/off cycles. Cars don't use CFLs, but the person might not know enough to distinguish that fact :S.

It's not very common to see lights out around here, significantly less than 1% anyway.

[amdhunter]

Just not knowing for me.

[pandemonium]

Originally Posted by Spades45

Make and model

If you drove here, you'd change your mind. I see an over abundance of newer vehicles with bulbs out, and make seems to have little to do with it.

Originally Posted by JCH13

Bulbs are sealed. Humidity shouldn't affect the filaments in the bulb in any way.

True, however, there's a lot of the wiring that the bulbs are connected by and can be exposed causing shorting and premature bulb failure.


It's pretty funny, since I see people running fog lights all the time (just to add to their "coolness" factor?), and a lot of the time they'll have 1 fog out, or a headlight out, and they're running their fogs to compensate. Points for being "cool" out the window, lol.

[DaTT]

Originally Posted by LTC8K6

I purchased a new 1997 Cavalier Z24. It had DRL's. I traded it in 11 years later in 2008, with all it's original light bulbs still working.

I purchased my Mustang new in 2005 and still have yet to replace a bulb.....now that I have expressed this thought, probably be changing all of them tomorrow.

[JCH13]

Originally Posted by pandemonium

If you drove here, you'd change your mind. I see an over abundance of newer vehicles with bulbs out, and make seems to have little to do with it.



True, however, there's a lot of the wiring that the bulbs are connected by and can be exposed causing shorting and premature bulb failure.


It's pretty funny, since I see people running fog lights all the time (just to add to their "coolness" factor?), and a lot of the time they'll have 1 fog out, or a headlight out, and they're running their fogs to compensate. Points for being "cool" out the window, lol.

Please show me how shorted wires cause anything other than a blown fuse. Also please show me how humidity can short out wires in the first place.

At the low voltages seen in a car I doubt anything short of full immersion in salt water would cause any electrical issues.

[skyking]

Our Pilot is a headlight bulb eater. Probably changed 4 in 7 years and 130K. The camry, not. The camry has told me about tail lights, I love that feature. I think an alcoholic developed that one

[GoatMonkey]

I think the frequency of burned out lights will go down as the use of LEDs increases. They seem to last a lot longer, and if they do fail there are usually multiple other LEDs right next to it that continue to work.

Humidity probably doesn't help anything electrical if it causes condensation to form. But if that were the case, we would also see high failures on other electronics in cars.

I think this is more of a situation where people are lazy, cheap or just don't know. I borrowed someone's car one time and got pulled over because every single tail light was burned out, and none of the turn signals worked. Unbelievable.

[amish]

I usually don't pay attention to my lights, especially the rear lights. I just found out my third brake light is out because I had to follow my wife home over the weekend.

[FuzzyDunlop]

I wouldnt put it below the major manufacturers of most of the new bulbs out there to actually design the bulbs to burn out faster... that way they get more sales as they need to be replaced more often. Im a conspiracy theorist like that.

I check my lights often. It cheeses me off when Im behind someone with a burnt out taillight, especially if they dont have the third brake light on the top of the vehicle. I put it totally on Driver Inattentiveness. In driver training our instructor made us do a walk-around of the car every morning to see if anything needed attention. Its a good habit to have.

[slashbinslashbash]

Do some states just not have inspections? In Texas, all registered vehicles are required to undergo a yearly inspection, which includes the function of all lights. In urban counties, an emissions test is also conducted. I once bought a car in Colorado, and there seemed not to be an inspection requirement there. Seems lax to me, but maybe it is the norm?

[SparkyJJO]

Originally Posted by slashbinslashbash

I remember one time I heard a crazy/stupid theory about this. It was on kbb or edmunds or some other "auto site" that people-not-that-really-into-cars might visit. It was in a forum about a specific vehicle, I think it was the Chevy Trailblazer since that's what I was driving at the time. And I think that those had known issues with the taillights burning out faster than they should have. (I don't recall having problems with mine. I think that 1 of the 4 bulbs burned out in the 5 years that I had the vehicle.)

Some of them had a bad circuit board for the tail light. Not overly hard or expensive to replace, but there were a bunch earlier on that had a defect. At the same time, my 02 Trailblazer has original circuit boards and never an issue, still had all the original bulbs too.

Originally Posted by slashbinslashbash

Do some states just not have inspections? In Texas, all registered vehicles are required to undergo a yearly inspection, which includes the function of all lights. In urban counties, an emissions test is also conducted. I once bought a car in Colorado, and there seemed not to be an inspection requirement there. Seems lax to me, but maybe it is the norm?

A lot of places don't. In Ohio there is only e-check near the Cleveland area, but no other real inspections. There used to be random roadside safety checks but they haven't done those for a long time now.

Sometimes I wish we had safety inspections because of the sheer number of idiots on the road who don't check things like their lights, but then they also would be picky about stupid stuff too and fail people for dumb stuff. Like my vehicle for example has a chip in the windshield that has been there for years (isn't in the line of sight either) but inspectors could throw a fit over it.

[wirednuts]

Originally Posted by JCH13

At the low voltages seen in a car I doubt anything short of full immersion in salt water would cause any electrical issues.

have you ever worked on a car?

[wirednuts]

Originally Posted by ProchargeMe

It seems like i see more silverado trucks with either the back left or back right tail light burnt out than anything else. I haven't changed my lights since I've had my car, but i check frequently. Hilariously i check all my lights in traffic using the reflection of my car in others' paint jobs.

they haul trailers, and put weird loads on the lighting system. and many times have poor wiring jobs

[Rezist]

Originally Posted by DominionSeraph

GM.

This may have been a joke but I drive a 2500HD and every winter the driver and passenger running lights burn out the 2009 I had did it now my 2011 does it. I also notice alot of gm trucks and SUV's have this trouble when it get's cold.

[JCH13]

Originally Posted by wirednuts

have you ever worked on a car?

Have you ever built a car from scratch?

[Mark R]

I'd say lack of maintenance - but this is also due to maintenance being very difficult in modern cars.

My old Hyundai, changing any bulb was a 5 minute job - max. No tools required. Not even a screwdriver.

Here's how you change a headlight in my new lexus:
Tools required: Philips-2 screwdriver, 14mm socket wrench with extension bar.
Remove the engine covers by undoing the 10 philips head screw-latches. Undo the retaining bolts on the air intake and resonator with the socket wrench. Remove the airbox using the socket wrench and extension bar. Disconnect the MAF and intake temp sensor cabling, taking care not to damage it. Undo the retaining clips attaching the intake to the throttle body, by loosening the screw. Remove the entire intake assembly.
Remove the wiper fluid washer bottle after removing its retaining bolts.
Open the headlight access compartment and replace the bulb.
Replace the washer bottle, air intake and engine covers.
Allow 20 minutes if familiar with vehicle maintenance. Allow a longer period if unfamiliar.

The above assumes that the fault is the bulb. If it's the ballast, then you are SOL. The ballast is integrated into the sealed unit and cannot be replaced. New sealed unit $1k +

[SparkyJJO]

Originally Posted by JCH13

Have you ever built a car from scratch?

Your point about nothing short of a dunk in salt water is invalid, which is what prompted the question. Grats to you if you have built a car from scratch, but that evidently doesn't mean you grasp car electrical issues all that well

[JCH13]

Originally Posted by SparkyJJO

Your point about nothing short of a dunk in salt water is invalid, which is what prompted the question. Grats to you if you have built a car from scratch, but that evidently doesn't mean you grasp car electrical issues all that well

In your opinion, anyway.

Perhaps I exaggerated a little, but my point is that a normal car can tolerate a lot of water contact for a long time without any electrical issues. It is laughable to think that high humidity can result in 'premature bulb failure' when there are cars driving around with water inside their corner lights and no blown bulbs.

The only electrical issue I have ever traced to possible water exposure was a 22 year old headlight control relay on my Miata that the previous owner had relocated to the outlet of the windshield rain gutter. It was oriented upside down so that water would never drain out of it. The relay had survived like that for over four years before it finally fried.