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have you ever noticed


Budman

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I have been noticing this for years. They had many models with these daytime lights and I figure since they are on full time vs. just at night they burn out. Many people seem to run around with daytime and night time lights out either way. Some states have yearly safety inspections and these things are more controlled.

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As the proud owner of a GM and one of the aforementioned burnouts ,I feel like I need to offer an explanation.....it takes more effort figuring out how to get to the lights than it does to change them. My wrench turning days are a thing of the past but it should not be a major ordeal to get to a headlight or tail light to switch it out, anymore it is. Frustrates the heck out of me when a 2 minute job completely mystifies me.

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As the proud owner of a GM and one of the aforementioned burnouts ,I feel like I need to offer an explanation.....it takes more effort figuring out how to get to the lights than it does to change them. My wrench turning days are a thing of the past but it should not be a major ordeal to get to a headlight or tail light to switch it out, anymore it is. Frustrates the heck out of me when a 2 minute job completely mystifies me.

I could not have said this any better. Only to add that it seems I need a "new" set of special tools to do any work now-a-days. lol
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Lights actually burn out by cycling, meaning the less they are switch from either their on or off state the longer they last. There is a bulb at the Livermore, CA fire station that is 110 years old and rarely gets turned off. A light is more durable when lit then it is when cold. Filament gets brittle when not heated. Taking this thought now think of how many times you cycle your key during the course of a day. DRLs cycle with that key so.. Good idea for safety, bad idea for longevity. Would not be a big deal if you didn't have to be a contortionist to get to the bulb. My nemesis is the bulb that lights my fuel gauge in my f150, it seems they only have a one month lifespan. Here's another thing to ponder while driving, that lone shoe that usually lives on the center line of a two lane road. That guy is everywhere.

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My car's HID headlights are its DRLs, and they're on all the time the car is running. One HID headlamp burned out at less than 35,000 mi, and cost me over $400 to replace.

That car now uses LEDs for DLRs.

Should have been waranteed. Also the LED strips cost in excess of 400 dollars on your model but if the are built into the headlamp such as the audi or other similar expect it to be more than 1000 dollars as the whole housing needs to be replaced.

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I've noticed on recent Chrysler vehicles the day time running light shuts off when the vehicle turns, turn right and the right headlight shuts off. I guess I lucked out on my car, 5 years old and original headlights and fog lights 138km on it to.

Same with the audi, its designed that way. I guess you own a 300?

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Lights actually burn out by cycling, meaning the less they are switch from either their on or off state the longer they last. There is a bulb at the Livermore, CA fire station that is 110 years old and rarely gets turned off. A light is more durable when lit then it is when cold. Filament gets brittle when not heated. Taking this thought now think of how many times you cycle your key during the course of a day. DRLs cycle with that key so.. Good idea for safety, bad idea for longevity. Would not be a big deal if you didn't have to be a contortionist to get to the bulb. My nemesis is the bulb that lights my fuel gauge in my f150, it seems they only have a one month lifespan. Here's another thing to ponder while driving, that lone shoe that usually lives on the center line of a two lane road. That guy is everywhere.

Sort of true. First the 110 year old bulb is using a lot less wattage, probably 25 watts. Second the bulb was specially made to hae extended life meaning thicker filament which reduces the lumens though.

As with the DRL most cars use the high beams for the DRL (non led). That means the low beams are not used and are not cycled. The High beam runs at reduced wattage thus creating less lumens but is annoying to still see as the high beam spread above low beam DOT regulations.

The one thing though about safety is that for some reason lights are one of the things that is mentioned to reduce driver distance recognition. Meaning for some odd reason when you drive for a long period on straight roads the car coming the other way can just "come out of nowhere" while if it had its lights on you can notice the closing distance and react much sooner.

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Should have been waranteed.

Maybe, but frankly I've not heard of warranties on headlamps . The service rep said failure was random and infrequent. Based on past history, he'd have replaced under warranty if it was allowed. The price of having a pricey car, I guess.
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I thought your car was waranteed for over 36000 miles bumper to bumper. [:-/] seems like he wanted to make a buck.

HID lights are designed for over 20,000 hours I believe or the life of the car hence why they claimed in the begining that it would last it. But then again there are problems. Mostly the bulbs are introduced to moisture. Many cars have moisture problems with HIDs which cause premature failure. Next time take a look at the projector part (It looks like a lense to see if there is any visible moisture) The moisture usually dissipates after it is turned on but none the less its a problem if you experience it.

I doubt they are ballast problems.

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I thought your car was waranteed for over 36000 miles bumper to bumper. [:-/] seems like he wanted to make a buck.

HID lights are designed for over 20,000 hours I believe or the life of the car hence why they claimed in the begining that it would last it. But then again there are problems. Mostly the bulbs are introduced to moisture. Many cars have moisture problems with HIDs which cause premature failure. Next time take a look at the projector part (It looks like a lense to see if there is any visible moisture) The moisture usually dissipates after it is turned on but none the less its a problem if you experience it.

It's actually 48 mo's or 50,000 miles whichever comes first. I've seen no evidence whatever of warranty parsimony -- the Mercedes dealer replaced a battery non-prorated free of charge when they didn't have to, and they gave me a loaner for a month while they fought a severe mold infestation, all at no cost. That had to cost tons. I'm pretty sure they'd have replaced what they called the HID "burner" if it fell under warranty. Like I say, I've not heard of a warranty that covers headlights.

I have no idea if it exceeded 20,000 hours or if there was moisture. The service rep did say it was very unusual. The other headlight has been trouble-free so far. I'll look for moisture, but think I'd have seen it.

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I thought your car was waranteed for over 36000 miles bumper to bumper. [:-/] seems like he wanted to make a buck.

HID lights are designed for over 20,000 hours I believe or the life of the car hence why they claimed in the begining that it would last it. But then again there are problems. Mostly the bulbs are introduced to moisture. Many cars have moisture problems with HIDs which cause premature failure. Next time take a look at the projector part (It looks like a lense to see if there is any visible moisture) The moisture usually dissipates after it is turned on but none the less its a problem if you experience it.

It's actually 48 mo's or 50,000 miles whichever comes first. I've seen no evidence whatever of warranty parsimony -- the Mercedes dealer replaced a battery non-prorated free of charge when they didn't have to, and they gave me a loaner for a month while they fought a severe mold infestation, all at no cost. That had to cost tons. I'm pretty sure they'd have replaced what they called the HID "burner" if it fell under warranty. Like I say, I've not heard of a warranty that covers headlights.

I have no idea if it exceeded 20,000 hours or if there was moisture. The service rep did say it was very unusual. The other headlight has been trouble-free so far. I'll look for moisture, but think I'd have seen it.

They called it the burner? hmmm sounds like the ballast was bad. The problem with HID's also is when you replace one you have to replace both as a set as the HIDs change color throughout their lifespan so if you replace one they will mismatch.

I doubt you exceeded 20,000 hours as 9.6 years assuming you drive 8 hours a day 5 days a week. Or 2.2 years of constant driving.

As for the headlights, Acura apparently does as I know someone with the same car have bad bulbs and were replaced under the 48,000 mile or 4 year warantee.

And when I mean moisture in the headlight, not the actual housing but the projector part where the bulb is, the lense part, its really hard to get a good look at it unless you are specifically looking at it. Below is a picture, you have to look at the pupil? of the bulb as the HID is housed inside there separated from the headlamp housing.

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRC5I92ElA6oOXJmgEo0ye

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They called it the burner? hmmm sounds like the ballast was bad. The problem with HID's also is when you replace one you have to replace both as a set as the HIDs change color throughout their lifespan so if you replace one they will mismatch.

I doubt you exceeded 20,000 hours as 9.6 years assuming you drive 8 hours a day 5 days a week. Or 2.2 years of constant driving.

As for the headlights, Acura apparently does as I know someone with the same car have bad bulbs and were replaced under the 48,000 mile or 4 year warantee.

And when I mean moisture in the headlight, not the actual housing but the projector part where the bulb is, the lense part, its really hard to get a good look at it unless you are specifically looking at it. Below is a picture, you have to look at the pupil? of the bulb as the HID is housed inside there separated from the headlamp housing.

Believe me, they couldn't have talked me into a second $400 unit, and they didn't try. Naturally, I don't notice a color difference, but never looked...

I drive very few hours per week and had only 30k miles or so on it (I'm only up to 40k now, and it's going on 6 yrs old). Still, I'm glad they found another way to do DRLs. I understood about looking at the ";pupil," but still think I would have seen it. You raise a very interesting point, though, I'll have to ask the service rep, to look into it further.

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They called it the burner? hmmm sounds like the ballast was bad. The problem with HID's also is when you replace one you have to replace both as a set as the HIDs change color throughout their lifespan so if you replace one they will mismatch.

I doubt you exceeded 20,000 hours as 9.6 years assuming you drive 8 hours a day 5 days a week. Or 2.2 years of constant driving.

As for the headlights, Acura apparently does as I know someone with the same car have bad bulbs and were replaced under the 48,000 mile or 4 year warantee.

And when I mean moisture in the headlight, not the actual housing but the projector part where the bulb is, the lense part, its really hard to get a good look at it unless you are specifically looking at it. Below is a picture, you have to look at the pupil? of the bulb as the HID is housed inside there separated from the headlamp housing.

Believe me, they couldn't have talked me into a second $400 unit, and they didn't try. Naturally, I don't notice a color difference, but never looked...



I drive very few hours per week and had only 30k miles or so on it (I'm only up to 40k now, and it's going on 6 yrs old). Still, I'm glad they found another way to do DRLs. I understood about looking at the ";pupil," but still think I would have seen it. You raise a very interesting point, though, I'll have to ask the service rep, to look into it further.

Sorry let me clarify. The bulbs have to be brought in pairs hence the high cost. The ballasts can be changed individually. Ballasts are around 300 dollars minus labor and light bulbs are sold in sets for about 400 dollars without labels assuming they are DS2 4300 kelvin lightbulbs. (95% of real HID are, disregard the illegal ones kids put in.)

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Sorry let me clarify. The bulbs have to be brought in pairs hence the high cost. The ballasts can be changed individually. Ballasts are around 300 dollars minus labor and light bulbs are sold in sets for about 400 dollars without labels assuming they are DS2 4300 kelvin lightbulbs. (95% of real HID are, disregard the illegal ones kids put in.)

I wasn't given that kind of detail, but now I might ask . I need to look up the total, it's been a while. It might have been $600....
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