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My car eats through left headlights.

Q

qr25nismo

Junior Member
A couple of days ago, my low beam headlight on my Altima went out for the third time in a year and a half. I'm thinking there might be a ground somewhere in the wiring, any opinions?

Also, how much would I have to pay to get this fixed? I work on my own cars but I don't know shit about wiring.
 
My Mazda Protege5 used to do that and I even tried using electrical grease since i believed the loose connection was the culprit. It would get loose all the time and sometimes hitting the light would fix it and other times i had to pull it out and regrease it. It is annoying but not the end of the world. I drove my car for 11 years and 188K miles.
 
NutBucket said:
Just a case of poor design IMHO. There are other examples of cars that are notorious for eating bulbs.
Click to expand...
haha fuckers, its a pain to change these bulbs too, think I might just get a different car XD

but seriously I have been thinking of getting a new car, there was a built 95 civic hatch with a d16z6 with forged internals, the down side is the car Is lowered with a full straight pipe to fart can exhaust. I'd take a little un-ricing, but it wouldn't be bad. plus those cars are cheap and easy to fix.
 
edro said:
Does the housing leak? if there is extra moisture in there, it could be your problem.
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No leaks, and I bought the best bulbs, think ill just replace the left bulb and keep the right one as is. Damn thing replaced the same exact bulb 2 other times.
 
id probably try re grounding it, cut the old ground and run new ground to whatever is close and part of the body, probably the rad support.
 
You might've said, but were you wearing latex / nitrile gloves or being very careful not to touch the glass when installing these? Also, I'd recommend OEM or equivalent/LL bulbs. Anything that's brighter (different temp etc.) will die a lot faster.
 
there is 2 grounds for your headlights.

just in front of the wheel arches inside the hood on either side of the engine compartment.

take them apart and clean them.

google e24 and e15 grounds.

should be able to find a picture.
 
I had some "fancy" headlights that burned out in <6 months. I mentioned it to the dude at NAPA, and he was like, "oh, those? Yeah, no. Get the cheap ones - they last way longer."
 
JimKiler said:
My Mazda Protege5 used to do that and I even tried using electrical grease since i believed the loose connection was the culprit. It would get loose all the time and sometimes hitting the light would fix it and other times i had to pull it out and regrease it. It is annoying but not the end of the world. I drove my car for 11 years and 188K miles.
Click to expand...

I am assuming you are saying Dielectric Grease? That will never help a connection as it is an insulator and does not conduct electric current. It could actually make a bad or loose connection worse.

The sole purpose of dielectric grease is to keep out moisture. Silicone Grease. Usually used on connector seals and rubber boots for things such as spark plugs. Not for the conductor pins.

Dielectric grease is electrically insulating and does not break down when high voltage is applied. It is often applied to electrical connectors, particularly those containing rubber gaskets, as a means of lubricating and sealing rubber portions of the connector without arcing.
 
Find a new bulb supplier
Stop touching the bulb with your bare hand
Take vehicle to the dealer to let them install with an OEM bulb with guarantee
 
pcgeek11 said:
I am assuming you are saying Dielectric Grease? That will never help a connection as it is an insulator and does not conduct electric current. It could actually make a bad or loose connection worse.

The sole purpose of dielectric grease is to keep out moisture. Silicone Grease. Usually used on connector seals and rubber boots for things such as spark plugs. Not for the conductor pins.

Dielectric grease is electrically insulating and does not break down when high voltage is applied. It is often applied to electrical connectors, particularly those containing rubber gaskets, as a means of lubricating and sealing rubber portions of the connector without arcing.
Click to expand...

Looks like i was using it wrong, but i only started using it after my headlight would constantly lose connection. So I should stick to using it around the battery connection to keep it from getting that crusty stuff on it?
 
pcgeek11 said:
The sole purpose of dielectric grease is to keep out moisture. Silicone Grease. Usually used on connector seals and rubber boots for things such as spark plugs. Not for the conductor pins.

.
Click to expand...

I use the crap out of it on the farm. water is a blessing and a curse
 
Raizinman said:
Find a new bulb supplier
Stop touching the bulb with your bare hand
Take vehicle to the dealer to let them install with an OEM bulb with guarantee
Click to expand...
What guarantee?

And yes, any "high output" bulb will not last as long. That said I still prefer Osram Nitebreakers over normal halogens.
 
qr25nismo said:
A couple of days ago, my low beam headlight on my Altima went out for the third time in a year and a half. I'm thinking there might be a ground somewhere in the wiring, any opinions?

Also, how much would I have to pay to get this fixed? I work on my own cars but I don't know shit about wiring.
Click to expand...

All wiring systems have a ground. Even then an abnormal ground in the wiring would maybe blow a fuse, it probably wouldn't cause the bulb to blow.

A loose connection can cause a bulb to blow by causing the lamp to flicker which will shorten the life of the bulb.

As everyone said in the thread so far that the most common cause is oil on the bulb glass which causes hot spots.
 
A bad ground would make the lamp live longer due to it being run at lower voltage, so that's probably not the issue. The battery and charging system should be checked to make sure excessive voltage is not present.
 
Dielectric grease is your friend. The factory probably forgot to apply it, like they did to my Mailbu. It ended up killing the socket, so I had to replace that and splice it in to the harness.
Also, getting even the driest of hands on your bulb will kill it within months. Skin oil is a bitch. I have really oily hands some of the time, so it's an easy reminder to put on gloves when I handle the replacement bulb.

-Buy a packet of dielectric grease. Apply it.
-Buy OEM style bulbs if you want more than several months of service. Stay away from "super white" or "super cool" lights.
-While changing the bulb, check the socket for corrosion or any signs of the wiring or socket getting brittle. Get a bright flashlight and have a good look at the socket contacts. They should be somewhat shiny or really shiny even after years of service. The grease and the sealed connection keeps it that way.
-Always handle the replacement bulb with gloves.

OEM bulbs are also the cheapest, the grease packet are like 97 cents, and they sell gloves at the chain auto parts stores in small quantities if you want to save money.

-edit-
Also, before I replaced the socket, the Malibu chewed through bulbs like a fat kid with enabling parents.
 
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