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H7 Headlight Blew (twice)


tcausey

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Hello.

 

I have a 2002 R1150RT and in the last 2 years, I've never had to replace any of the 4 main bulbs (hi,low,sidelights), but yesterday my low beam died (filament clearly done). No problem, I replaced it with an H7. All was well last night. On my way to work, I noticed it was out again. This could get expensive. Nothing else seems affected. I don't have the specs on the bulb with me, but I can get them if that helps.

 

Looking for the simple things to sort out first. Thank you.

 

Troy

 

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Pop a voltmeter across the battery positive and a good ground (earth) point to see what voltage you have there when:

 

a/. Engine off

b/. Engine on and idling

c/. Engine running at 3000rpm

d/. Engine running at 4500 rpm

 

Just a check to ensure you have correct voltage regulation (it would be very rare for it not to be though).

 

Andy

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Did you know that you must NOT touch the glass with your fingers? Did it happen?

 

BTW, I have been to Atlanta, GA, in Alpharetta :D Nice place and people ;)

 

Dan.

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I did know that I must NOT touch the glass with my fingers. I was wearing nitrile gloves, but it's certainly possible that I touched the glass, at least with my gloves. Atlanta's a nice place and there are a few very helpful BMW owners here (and here on the forum). Selden, in fact taught me to do my own valve adjustments, etc. and for 19.95 (pizza), it was more than a good deal.

 

any other thoughts? (I will check the voltage as well, but I'd be surprised if that was it.

 

ptc

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I'd have to try another bulb and hold my breath when I turned it back on. I had it happen with a bulb that had been rattling around in my side case for a while. No fingerprints on it, but probably enough air contamination to affect it. Go to Auto Zone and get the lowest power H7 they have. Don't put on your gloves or take the bulb out of its wrapper until the old one is out; less chance of banging it into greasy wires on its way into the socket.

 

----

 

 

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"get the lowest power H7 they have"

 

Wisdom in the flesh. I got a couple packages of the brighter bulbs before really reading the chart. Bright, yes, long lived, NO!

Next ones will be dull but will last a while I hope. The F800's have a reputation for eating bulbs.

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Some have reported problems with corroded ground wires for the headlight circuit. Might be worth checking also.

 

Could be... The shrink tubing on my healight connector has really shrinked, I am guessing a poor connection resulting in overheat, that may lead to burning the bulb.

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Some have reported problems with corroded ground wires for the headlight circuit. Might be worth checking also.

Why would that cause a filament to expire?

Surely a bad ground or even bad coonections on supply cable will result in less current flow and a lower voltage at the load (bulb)?

 

Andy

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Some have reported problems with corroded ground wires for the headlight circuit. Might be worth checking also.

Why would that cause a filament to expire?

Surely a bad ground or even bad coonections on supply cable will result in less current flow and a lower voltage at the load (bulb)?

 

Andy

 

Loose or bad connections - especially grounds - are the biggest cause of early lamp failures - the current fluctuation causes voltage spikes and stresses the filament.

 

Andy

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Afternoon Troy

 

On high heat bulbs like the H-7 you should always clean the bulb glass with alcohol or similar before installing then only handle with oil free gloves or clean oil free cloth/napkin.

 

Just a little finger/body oil on the bulb glass can cause quick failure at first heating of the bulb.

 

Always assume someone has removed the bulb from the box and handled it at some point before you bought it. Maybe trying to match it to what they brought it to the parts store.

 

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ShovelStrokeEd

Nitrile or the like are not the best gloves. White cotton gloves are the best. You used to be able to get them in camera stores.

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Some comments on bulbs

 

1) There are a lot of very bad quality Korean bulbs now in the US market commonly sold by the large auto parts chains. Avoid them and stick to the German originals or an equivalent quality

2) Rated service life is published for bulbs if you look in the right place and is typically 500 hours for halogen headlamp typical types. All of the "hi output at the same 55 watts as stock" variants including the Silverstars and related have a much lower rated life - typically 150 hours.

3) There are at least 2 commonly available hi output 65W H-7 types that put out about 40% more light than stock. The IPF bulb has a normal H-7 size filament and glass capsule so runs hotter and for less hours. Not much life from these based on my experience with them in an RT.

There is also an Osram 65W H-7 that is H-9 bulb in an H-7 base- it is rated at the usual 500 hours and gives good service in my experience with them. Its filament length is very slightly longer than a true H-7 filament and the glass bulb is a tiny a bit larger because it is an adapted H-9 and that is apparently why it is more durable than the IPF. Its the one to try if you want something with a bit more punch than stock but don't want to convert to HID. Availablefrom Candlepower.

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Turns out, the bulb is fine (so far), but the ground wire had slipped out the back of the bulb connector. Funny how it requires connectivity to work. At least I know what to look for when it happens again (perhaps tomorrow).

 

Troy

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I've had that happen on occasion with other connectors. The heat of the bulb deforms the plastic housing of the connector body and then the individual connectors can become loose within the plastic body. Pushing the plastic connector onto the bulb forces one of the individual connectors out of the back.

 

The loose ground might have shortened the life of your new bulb. This also happens to me occasionally with hallogen bulbs in my house, when the bulb flickers a bit until it warms up due to poor contact with the +ve part of the socket.

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Probably a bulb issue. Too high charging voltage will take out bulbs but you would probably notice lights are brighter if voltage is up considerably. Other bulbs would probably go out as well. A poor ground would indeed stress the filament but I'd think it would take longer to blow.

Stay away from generic bulbs. Get a bulb from a manufacturer you've heard of like Sylvania, Phillips, Piaa etc. Don't touch the glass and if you do clean it with alcohol.

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