Why are my Lo Beams burning out?

[alpinecrick]

My 97 had the original bulbs. Before I installed the wiring upgrades I installed the Sylvania Ultras--they are definitely a cleaner light and allow one to see better--this is especially important the older a guy 's eyes become. The Ultras didn't project any further down the road though. The 4 Hi mod does make a difference. An equal improvement was to polish the lenses with a 3M kit. My 97 and 06 TD are generally garaged in the shop. The 96 and 01 trucks are inside only when I have the room. I've started "touching up" the lenses each year on all four of my trucks and the lenses of all of them look almost brand new.

Where I live the wintering population of wild ungulates is believed to represent some of the highest ungulate densities outside of Africa. Being able to see at night is mighty important. It ain't pretty when somebody centers an elk at 50mph.......Mooskies are even worse, they're knees are practically at eye level, and they WILL come over the hood into the windshield.

 

[alpinecrick]

Gawd, that's a good point about the voltage rating. I wonder what the voltage of others are?

 

[thegawd]

I dont know.... I don't have anymore packages and the bulbs inside say 12v lol.

 

[Dariusz Salomon]

When I was trying to get more light I've been lookin at silvanias and philips and they all seem to have rather short lifespan(reviews claimed 3-6 months) so I've done 9006 to 9012 hir conversion instead. I got a lil bit whiter,more modern light but nothing crazy. Bought some cheap bulbs too and they're still good a year later.

 

[alpinecrick]

The Sylvania ZXE's ae also 12.8v.

Looking around it appears both the Sylvania and Phillips bulbs across the board are 12.8v.

 

[alpinecrick]

When I was trying to get more light I've been lookin at silvanias and philips and they all seem to have rather short lifespan(reviews claimed 3-6 months) so I've done 9006 to 9012 hir conversion instead. I got a lil bit whiter,more modern light but nothing crazy. Bought some cheap bulbs too and they're still good a year later.

So what headlight assemblies did you buy to go with the HIR's?

 

[df2x4]

I just had a friend/mechanic tell me the Sylvanias--especially the Ultras--have a very short lifespan.

Not true with every Sylvania bulb, but definitely with the SilverStar Ultras. And I suspect it's due to the same reason that they aren't as bright as their marketing would have you believe, that blue coating on the glass. It definitely blocks light output, and I think it traps heat and kills them quicker than normal. I used them for a while and had a similar experience to you regarding lifespan. Better performance bulbs don't have nearly as much of that blue coating, just enough to keep them within the legal brightness limits. For example...

Anybody have experience with the Phillips X-treme Vision bulbs?

Yes, they're awesome. I have a couple used sets that I took out of my trucks before I tried some LEDs, I'll probably go back to them one of these days when I get all the wiring upgraded. According the the CandlePower forums and a few other sources they're the brightest 9005/9006 halogens on the market. I also ran them for over a year in both trucks and they were all still working when I removed them.

oh wait one sec.... I have a package with an extra cheap set... it's possible our 4 High mods are destroying these bulbs. they only have a voltage rating of 12.8 Volts. I think most halogen bulbs have a rating closer to 14V.

This is absolutely another contributing factor to early bulb death. They're all rated at around the same (12.8) voltage. Increasing the voltage will increase output, but will definitely shorten the life of any bulb. That said, personally I'd rather have the extra output and replace bulbs a little more often.

So what headlight assemblies did you buy to go with the HIR's?

The HIRs will work in any of the composite 9005/9006 housings, you just have to trim the tabs on the 9011/9012 HIR bulbs a little bit to fit. Like so...

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From what I've read this is a great upgrade. The only thing I would recommend is that if your headlight housings don't have a glare cap over the low beam bulb or diffused lenses like the factory headlights, I would think twice about using the 9012 HIR low beams. Reason being the factory 9006 bulbs have a painted tip to prevent glare and the 9012s do not.

 

[thegawd]

Excellent info right there!

I was wondering if that coating could be the reason for the shorter lifespan. like touching them with our fingers and contaminating the glass.

 

[454cid]

Silverstars didnt last for me either.

 

[alpinecrick]

Good info df, thanks!