Long Service Headlight Bulbs

[sg66]

Bulbs in my start stop van have been in over 4yrs, never replaced one, our juke we've had 8yrs only had one indicator bulb go.

Something is up for that short a lifespan

 

[Turbo]

higher voltage than normal from alternators seems common these days
maybe something to do with agm batteries or stop/start systems requirements for higher battery cappacities and faster recharge?
i have tested a Peugeot/Citroen van before and noticed 15v charge and said "that doesnt seem right" to the owner so they took it to Citroen who tested and said it was normal as it has an agm battery fitted

Some psa vans have a smart alternator that adjusts it's charge rate according to battery voltage. After startup or under load the alt whacks the volts up to near 15v to charge the battery ASAP then drops way down to 12v.

My van has a std alt so that's not the cause of my issues.

The van has really good headlights so I don't want to spoil that by fitting led bulbs that are illegal and often poor quality.

 

[Robotstar5]

Sorting some bulbs out today and found this, box marked 3/6 so has to be 50+ years old.

 

[Seadog]

I seem to recall that the "Smart" cars had to have their front bodywork removed to change a bulb.

 

[Bobupndown]

I seem to recall that the "Smart" cars had to have their front bodywork removed to change a bulb.

Wasn't there one of the Mondeo models that Ford used to charge £200 to change a headlight bulb in, because so much had to be removed to get at it?

 

[Melvyn Best]

Overcharging or bad earth

 

[Mick Annick]

I seem to recall that the "Smart" cars had to have their front bodywork removed to change a bulb.

Don’t know, but it’s only 7 self-tappers and a couple of bolts to remove the whole front end, takes minutes.