# Ideas why bulb keeps blowing in car?



## blinkbelle (7 Nov 2006)

hi,

Ive just noticed again that the 2nd white light on front of my car has blown again much to my annoyance as ive only replaced it about 3weeks ago when it went 1st.  

On sunday it was a back parking light that went too.  

Anyone have any ideas why the front one could be blowing so often?


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## tallpaul04 (7 Nov 2006)

make sure you don't touch the glass part of the bulb when fitting,  your fingerprints can blow the bulb when it gets hot!!!!!


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## Eurofan (7 Nov 2006)

tallpaul04 said:


> make sure you don't touch the glass part of the bulb when fitting,  your fingerprints can blow the bulb when it gets hot!!!!!



I'll second this, it's by far and away the most common reason replaced bulbs blow again quite quickly.


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## delgirl (8 Nov 2006)

I had the same problem with my previous car - Peugeot 307.  

The garage thought it was because the car had been started with the lights on and the sudden surge of power caused the bulbs to blow.


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## Frank (8 Nov 2006)

Sounds like bad luck could have been a dodgy bulb or as was mentionted a finger print on the glass.

Maybe get two spares this time. Not the time of year to be without light.


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## mayoman2 (8 Nov 2006)

Maybe it could be that you alternator is over charging the battery and sending too much power to the bulbs causing them to blow.


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## Ron Burgundy (8 Nov 2006)

don't know what car is in question, but i had the same problem with 2 golfs that i owned. It was a design fault and it i honestly put in about 10 bulbs a year ( parkers ) in the rear.


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## blinkbelle (8 Nov 2006)

delgirl the car in question is a 307!!   

My Dad fitted the bulbs and when i was givin him the box with bulb in it he was like oh dont touch the bulb your not ment to so I doubt it that.

And another thing was when it was fitted last time it was brighter than the other bulb looking as if i had one full light on when i didnt.

I had a funny indicator a while ago and brought car to place i bought it, put new bulb in and still wasnt right, so he replaced the holder (whatever this is)  

Could it be this?  

Oh any by the way how much should a bulb for this car cost roughly because the guy charged me €7 i thought was a bit steep for a bulb considern you can buy house bulbs for nuthin!!

Im not complaining just wonderin hate blowin bulbs on car, but then again i see at least 2 in every 5 cars with bulbs gone or one full light ah werid anyways

Thanks
Blinkbelle


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## blinkbelle (8 Nov 2006)

and forgot to mention i never start car with lights on. thanks


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## tallpaul04 (8 Nov 2006)

headlight bulbs can cost around €7 any other bulb shouldn't be any more than €1-€2.


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## Aidomoss (8 Nov 2006)

I think most headlight bulbs have a wire attached to them, and you just have to connect it to another wire on the car. If yours is like this then make sure the connection between the two wires is covered (there should be a plasic type cover covering the connector) and that the wire in the car is not bare. If bare wire hits off any metal on the car the bulb will be earthed through the power wire and blow the bulb. Happened to me twice before realising the wire was bare. Also becareful putting the bulb back in to the holder that the plastic cover dosen't come off the connection.


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## delgirl (8 Nov 2006)

blinkbelle said:


> delgirl the car in question is a 307!!


I had the car for about a year and had to change 2 or 3 bulbs a month.  As time went on, I had them replaced at different garages as I became suspicious that the local small garage might be doing something to them, or using inferior quality bulbs, that they were blowing so frequently.  It cost €10 for each replacement.

Despite changing garages, they continued to blow.  I made absolutely sure I didn't start the car with the lights on, and they still blew.

I changed my car in February 2006 and haven't had to change a bulb since then.  Perhaps it's something peculiar to 307's?  Maybe other 307 owners could comment?


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## delgirl (14 Nov 2006)

According to the winter edition of the AA magazine:

"Don't let the lenses (headlights) get too dirty as this can act as an insulator and the heat build-up inside the headlamp can cause the bulb to blow".


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## johndoe64 (14 Nov 2006)

same thing happenig with our 307..........seems to be a trend here!!!


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## blinkbelle (14 Nov 2006)

This is crazy, ive replaced the bulb again and it blew FFS .  Guess i'll just have to bring it to a garage im so annoyed at my 307 haha ah no i still love it despite my problems with it


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## Lollie (14 Nov 2006)

Had the same problem with a Corolla a few years ago. It's likely that there's a loose connection in the wires. The power has to jump the loose connection and this blows the bulb - every time! You'll probably need a mechanic to fix this one.


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## Guest125 (14 Nov 2006)

Get a garage to test the voltage from the alternator. Do the bulbs look black when they blow? thats a sure sign of excess voltage. Get them to check around the light unit for loose connections particularly the earth connection.Is it the same side that keeps blowing?


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## blinkbelle (16 Nov 2006)

No bulb isnt black when comes out. Im goin to put another bulb in today and see if it will work. I bought it in a different place (not saying there was anything dodgy with the other 2 I put in  )

Will let ye know if it blows again!  Then will go to garage.


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## blinkbelle (16 Nov 2006)

Oh yeah same side that keeps blowing. All others work fine.


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## Guest125 (16 Nov 2006)

What type of bulb is it? i.e. H1,H3,H4,H7,etc. Had trouble with Avensis 1999 model,H7 bulb. In the end I bought one in the main dealer. It's still going strong after two years!!! I think there are some dodgy quality H7 bulbs out there. Get those connections checked as well!! hopefully your new bulb will last longer


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## blinkbelle (18 Nov 2006)

hi caff,

i checked the bulb and it says h7 on it.  what does h1, h2 etc mean?


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## Guest125 (20 Nov 2006)

H7's seem to be the most troublesome,try a main dealer bulb they definitely seem to be better quality.H1,H2 etc are different types of bulb. They aren't interchangable.If you get someone to show you a H4 H3 etc the differences are very obvious.Go to any main dealer for your H7 bulb not necessarily a Peugeot dealer just make sure its a H7


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## SiTheCabby (29 Nov 2006)

Many cabby's that I work with use Peugeot 406 diesels and they all have the same problem, i.e. dip headlight bulbs blow.. sometimes 2 or 3 a month (OK, we run 10 to 12 hours overnight, lots of switch off/on, etc, but this still seems excessive).  The bulbs are not being touched, they are not black when blown, they get switched on after engine start. If it's a design fault, any ideas for a work around? say an in-line fuse to the headlights? We're probably all buying cheap bulbs of course (10 for £27).. maybe a trip to the dealer to get 'proper' bulbs _would _be worth a try.


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## Guest125 (29 Nov 2006)

Actually the avensis I mentioned earlier is a cab. The main dealer bulbs really seem to last much longer. How is your latest bulb fairing out blinkbelle? P.s I drive an 02 transit 8 seater cab,good old trusty H4 bulbs. One blown in over a year's driving!!!


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