2006 honda civic parking light bulb issue or?

[Dubb]

Noticed yesterday that the left turn signal on my Girlfriends civic was blinking fast, when we got back we determined that one of the filaments in the front parking light had blown (light was on but wouldn't blink on turn signal or hazards).

A quick google turned up that it was an 1157A bulb, and I couldn't find a specification in a quick glance through the manual. Bought a pack of sylvania 1157A bulbs at autozone, went to replace it and discovered it's a clear bulb, not amber. I found multiple forum posts that list it as an 1157A...The stock bulb didn't have any markings on it, but from pictures I'm guessing it's a 7528? I tried putting the 1157A in and it was a bit loose in the socket, not quite connecting with the contacts.

I think I'm headed back to autozone to try a 7528, but kinda puzzled. I guess they switched at some point?

I also noticed what looks like melting on the connector plug, where the wires had been. Haven't ever seen that before. Cause for concern?

 

[herm0016]

take the old bulb and match it up, this way you stop guessing. I would replace the connector too, looks like it did get hot. are you sure the PO did not use the wrong lamp, forcing it in and having too high a wattage for the socket?

 

[Dubb]

I thought about that, but I assumed that if it was supposed to be a tinted bulb, it would have a clear housing - the car has a tinted housing. Should have noticed that before buying a tinted bulb.

Also just looked it up on sylvania's website, they list it as a 7528 despite what the rest of the internet says.

 

[Zenmervolt]

The base of an 1157 and a 7528 is exactly the same. They both use a dual contact bayonet base (BA15D). Physically and electrically the bases for the 1157 and 7528 bulbs are completely identical.

The difference is that an 1157 bulb draws 27 watts for the high filament and 8.3 watts for the low filament. A 7528 bulb draws 25 watts for the high filament and 5.9 watts for the low filament.

For all practical concerns, the two bulbs are 100% interchangeable.

1157A means the bulb is amber tinted (some companies call it 1157NA for "natural amber") but 1157 will be clear.

There do exist some special purpose bulbs that will use the same BA15D base and draw a lot more current, which is what it looks like the previous owner may have used, so you might want to consider replacing all the signal bulbs to make sure that there aren't other issues waiting to happen. As far as that connector goes, as long as all the electrical connections are good, it should be fine if you put the proper bulb in the socket again.

 

[Dubb]

The base of an 1157 and a 7528 is exactly the same. They both use a dual contact bayonet base (BA15D). Physically and electrically the bases for the 1157 and 7528 bulbs are completely identical.

The difference is that an 1157 bulb draws 27 watts for the high filament and 8.3 watts for the low filament. A 7528 bulb draws 25 watts for the high filament and 5.9 watts for the low filament.

For all practical concerns, the two bulbs are 100% interchangeable.

1157A means the bulb is amber tinted (some companies call it 1157NA for "natural amber") but 1157 will be clear.

Good info - the bases on the current bulb and the new 1157A do look very similar, but there's some slight differences that make the 1157A not work. The current bulb is ever so slightly wider, and the contact bumps on the bottom are more pronounced, by 1/16" or so. So the 1157A fits, but is loose in the socket and doesn't make contact unless I push on it. Will go get a 7528 in a bit and see if it fits better.

There do exist some special purpose bulbs that will use the same BA15D base and draw a lot more current, which is what it looks like the previous owner may have used, so you might want to consider replacing all the signal bulbs to make sure that there aren't other issues waiting to happen. As far as that connector goes, as long as all the electrical connections are good, it should be fine if you put the proper bulb in the socket again.

I just checked the passenger side - it has a different bulb than the blown drivers side - a stanley I haven't been able to dig up online yet, but is labeled "5w" and doesn't display any melting. I'm guessing it's a 7528 and the
5w is for the low filament?

 

[Zenmervolt]

Good info - the bases on the current bulb and the new 1157A do look very similar, but there's some slight differences that make the 1157A not work. The current bulb is ever so slightly wider, and the contact bumps on the bottom are more pronounced, by 1/16" or so. So the 1157A fits, but is loose in the socket and doesn't make contact unless I push on it. Will go get a 7528 in a bit and see if it fits better.

If you pull up an engineering diagram, the dimensional specifications for the two bulbs are all the same. Any differences would be in manufacturing and quality control. It's common for bayonet bulbs to feel a little loose and it's also fairly common for the little tabs on the bottom that make contact to get bent and not fully connect with the contacts on the bulb's base.

Still, I think you're making the right decision to go get the 7528; it's always best to use what the electrical system was actually designed for.

I just checked the passenger side - it has a different bulb than the blown drivers side - a stanley I haven't been able to dig up online yet, but is labeled "5w" and doesn't display any melting. I'm guessing it's a 7528 and the 5w is for the low filament?

That would seem correct. ECE spec for the 7528 is 5 watts for the low filament (ECE specs are at nominal 12 volts, most US specs are between 12.8 and 14 volts nominal, which explains the difference between this rating and the rating I listed earlier). Looks like a previous owner simply put a higher wattage bulb on the side the burnt out.

ZV

 

[LTC8K6]

I'm going to say that there's a problem with that melted socket and the contacts. Must not be making good contact and therefore getting hot, with a higher wattage bulb only exacerbating the problem.

 

[Dubb]

Got the 7528 in and it's working fine. I cleaned the contacts in the socket and bent them up a tad to make solid contact, and put a little bulb grease on everything.

Cleaned off the burned out bulb and was able to read (very faint) numbers once I got it inside - looks like: 2057 12v 32/2CP. According to google it's an OE part for an accord, can't find much on specs.

I'll check the socket again in a couple weeks to see if there's any more melting, but I'm hoping it was just the wrong bulb / bad contact in the socket.

Thanks all.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Got the 7528 in and it's working fine. I cleaned the contacts in the socket and bent them up a tad to make solid contact, and put a little bulb grease on everything.

Cleaned off the burned out bulb and was able to read (very faint) numbers once I got it inside - looks like: 2057 12v 32/2CP. According to google it's an OE part for an accord, can't find much on specs.

Glad it's all working well again.

2057 is a variant on the 1157. Same wattage high filament, slightly lower wattage low filament. Still draws more power than the 7528. Sometimes it seems like there are about a billion different bulbs all using that BA15D base.

ZV

 

[Busterbar]

I checked out an 1157 bulb and 7528 bulb .
They may look the same and fit the same receptacle
But the elements on the inside of bulb are reversed . My 2007volkswagon beetle requires a 7528 Period . 1157 will not light up .

I would imagine this issue has been resolved over the past 7 years.

~DaTT