Headlight wiring upgrade with +90% bulbs problem

[TheOtherLeft]

Hiya all,

I'm having this weird problem with my upgrades.

I did a headlight upgrade (home made with relays etc but now getting full voltage to the bulb) about 6 months ago and then started using the Osram Nightstalker bulbs which are +90%.

I now seem to always blow the left hand bulb whilst the right bulb is fine. The left hand wiring is also the shortest distance from the battery and hence has the shortest amount of wiring, ie. least amount of voltage drop.

Could this be causing the left bulb to be blow after only a few months? I realise to be able to get +90% brightness the life expectancy is greatly reduced but I thought a few months is a bit short.

Should I just go back to normal, or maybe even +50% bulbs?

Cheers.

[pongo]

vibration? check everything. Western stars are now having a tendancy to blow lights. the golbes rattle in the holders, only a couple yr old too.

[drivesafe]

Hi TheOtherLeft, I supply heaps of headlight wiring upgrade kits and never have problems caused by the increase in voltage at the globes.

As pongo posted, start by checking to see if the globe housing is secure as vibration, even small amounts, will stuff globes very quickly.

[MICK77]

As mentioned above, check that both the globe and light body are securely mounted.
Also check that moisture cannot enter the housing as this will dramatically decrease the life of the globe.

Cheers,

Micko

[Moph]

I had been running bog stock 55/60W chunkers prior to doing my Adelaide - Perth trip in the Zook. Upgraded the wiring loom just before leaving to run my spots, and put in some Narva Arctic Blues. Had run Arctic Blues in my EL Falcon and generally got about 18 months / 30,000k's out of them. Got just past Whyalla in the Zook and lost low beam on both of them within about 100 clicks of each other... they lasted about 3 hours.

Put some 100/130s in that I had in my spares box and they've been there ever since. The Arctic Blues (+60% I think) certainly seem more sensitive to voltage than the bog stockers.

[chimpboy]

0/130s in that I had in my spares box and they've been there ever since. The Arctic Blues (+60% I think) certainly seem more sensitive to voltage than the bog stockers.

Could it have been a roughter ride in the zuk as well?

[-Scott-]

I haven't thought much about these "+" globes, and how they work (if they work?)

How do they achieve more light output using the same power? The only way I can imagine is higher filament temperature? If this is the case, then I would expect them to have a shorter life, and also be more susceptible to problems such as vibration and excess voltage.

[chimpboy]

I haven't thought much about these "+" globes, and how they work (if they work?)

How do they achieve more light output using the same power? The only way I can imagine is higher filament temperature? If this is the case, then I would expect them to have a shorter life, and also be more susceptible to problems such as vibration and excess voltage.

They say:

The NARVA Plus 50 globes use a Xenon filler gas with the halogen mixture that recycles and ignites more of the available gas. A special more tightly wound filament is brighter and more precisely focused and captures a higher percentage of available gas. The recommended pricing starts from around $35 per pair of globes (dependent on fitment).

It sounds like the filament is probably a finer gauge, which presumably would be more vulnerable to vibration. I don't know about temperatures.

[-Scott-]

The NARVA Plus 50 globes use a Xenon filler gas with the halogen mixture that recycles and ignites more of the available gas. A special more tightly wound filament is brighter and more precisely focused and captures a higher percentage of available gas. The recommended pricing starts from around $35 per pair of globes (dependent on fitment).

It sounds like the filament is probably a finer gauge, which presumably would be more vulnerable to vibration. I don't know about temperatures.

That sounds like marketing hype to me. Xenon lamps are gas discharge lamps - HID.

A traditional halogen globe is an incandescent globe which uses halogen gas to "protect" the filament at higher temperatures, leading to longer filament life. A globe with a filament is not a discharge device - is it? "Igniting" the gas? They're not burning it, and I don't see how they can be ionising it (like in a HID lamp) with only 12 - 14V.

So, I read that it's a more tightly wound filament, with marketing hype added.

[TheOtherLeft]

The +90% bulbs I had used before were marketed as having a shorter life then their standard bulbs so I put it done to that.

It might be the same amount of vibration as before but I think the +90's are just too sensitive. They might be suited to road cars but not SWB Suzi's. My previous +50's lasted a couple of years which I thought was a good life.

The mounting looks to be the same and there's no dust inside the housing so I assume everything's fine and sealed.

I have gone +30's as they were on special.

[rumpig89]

The NARVA Plus 50 globes use a Xenon filler gas with the halogen mixture that recycles and ignites more of the available gas. A special more tightly wound filament is brighter and more precisely focused and captures a higher percentage of available gas. The recommended pricing starts from around $35 per pair of globes (dependent on fitment).

It sounds like the filament is probably a finer gauge, which presumably would be more vulnerable to vibration. I don't know about temperatures.

That sounds like marketing hype to me. Xenon lamps are gas discharge lamps - HID.

A traditional halogen globe is an incandescent globe which uses halogen gas to "protect" the filament at higher temperatures, leading to longer filament life. A globe with a filament is not a discharge device - is it? "Igniting" the gas? They're not burning it, and I don't see how they can be ionising it (like in a HID lamp) with only 12 - 14V.

So, I read that it's a more tightly wound filament, with marketing hype added.

unless the xenon gas is used as a more effective cooling medium for the filament. i would assume that the filaments would have to run hotter (same current less CSA)... just an educated (un-educated) guess.

[gumtree]

try the phillips x-treme 80% more power. i remember when u were deciding which ones to use u went for the osrams, here is a chance to put the philips to the test.

mine were in my sierra which drove over corrogations like u would not believe and now in my vitara and still fine. they are 2 yrs old now and still strong.

give one a go, it might come out good and then u can use them and they are about the same as the osrams in brightness.