H7 Lampenverschleiß verringern? | Posts 16+

Okay, I learned something new again! There used to be, among other things, intermediate cables from Opel to deal with the H7 bulbs that burned out quickly in the Astra-G and the first Zafira. What was inside them? Probably just a resistor?!

Hi!
Well, I can only agree with one of my predecessors: Brand-name lamps last SIGNIFICANTLY longer. And before I start jamming random metal pieces into there that could potentially damage the rotating belt if they fall off...I'd rather pay a few euros more.
My standard brand headlights (not the +XX% versions) were installed on January 2006 at a mileage of 97,000 km... and they are still working. And that's despite mostly nighttime driving over distances of 500 km. However, I honestly expect them to fail this winter.

In my experience, inexpensive light bulbs consistently had a very short lifespan.


EDIT: By the way, it's a 3-cylinder engine that vibrates.

Hutfahrer wrote:

Okay, I've learned something new! There used to be, among other things, intermediate cables from Opel designed to deal with the H7 bulbs that burned out quickly in the Astra-G and the first Zafira. What was inside them? Probably just a resistor?!

It might also just be cheap original equipment. In my dad's C-Class ('2000), the exterior lights kept burning out one after another at first. Now they've all been replaced and it's quiet...

Bertil wrote:

ulf wrote: ... Consequently, the 6K headlights are likely to be mounted with the metal housings exposed. The headlight casings themselves are made of plastic, and inside them is where the actual motor-driven reflector for low beam adjustment is mounted. So, like with the Skoda 1M. In my opinion, this is better than the early plastic parts. It's strange; I would have expected this construction to use fewer bulbs. Or maybe the metal is so thin that it vibrates even more. Compare it directly with the Polo. Just shake it and you should be able to see.

(I missed that earlier).
I've only started noticing the "lamp eater" effect since I started using generic light bulbs from Bauhaus.
As far as I recall, the original H7 bulbs in my Ibiza lasted about 5 years/65,000 km and then both failed within a few months. I replaced the first ones (a generic brand) this morning after about 1 year of use/18,000 km – again with another generic brand that I had bought on sale some time ago.

Unfortunately, the generic pears were still significantly more expensive than one-fifth of the price of branded pears.
Overall, our experiences in Ibiza seem to confirm what brezelmann has stated.

I bought my Peugeot 206 as a nearly new demonstration car when it was 9 months old. Whatever the previous owners did with the car, I'm sure they always used the lights. In any case, almost everyone does that when it's not their own car, and somehow it seems very cool to drive around with the lights on all the time.

At a mileage of 8455 kilometers, one of the Philips Premium H7 bulbs that came standard fell out. I don't consider this to be an excessively short lifespan, but it seems to be roughly in line with what other forum members have reported. Initially, I had installed Chinese AIA bulbs, which were sold as a pair for the unbelievable price of 5.95 EUR and advertised as "Longlife." I removed them because they were too dim and didn't provide enough visibility, especially on the edges of the road.

The Philips Allweather headlights that are currently installed have been in place since late summer. When you look at the headlights, the filaments already appear quite worn. They produce good light and illuminate a wide area beautifully. However, I haven't experienced this rapid filament degradation with previous vehicles that used H4 bulbs! Also, H4 bulbs rarely burned out; instead, they usually failed after 2-3 years because they stopped producing enough light to illuminate the road.

Hutfahrer wrote:

... But I haven't experienced this type of rapid filament burnout in previous vehicles that used H4 bulbs! ...

Absolutely agree.
For that reason, the light output of the H7 bulb is significantly higher.
It's a delicate balance between light output and durability.

Okay, I won't say anything more about NoName and branded lamps. Unfortunately, I've had the worst experiences with expensive brand-name lamps. They were the first "Bright withe" from Philips. Very expensive pieces of junk. The only good thing was that I could get them extremely cheaply through the Philips personal sales program.
You can also have bad luck with branded lamps. However, generic brands are usually worse, both in terms of light output and lifespan.

Ulf wrote:

Unfortunately, the NoNames were still significantly more expensive than 1/5 of the price of branded pears.

I can't say for sure. My parts supplier offers bulbs labeled with the "Hella" brand for €2.95 each. I can't really complain about that, especially since those parts are very durable.


Even in my friend's large Mercedes (W414 model), I had to replace both headlight bulbs within a few hours.

Hi,

My outboard motor is very similar to the one owned by Ulf's wife, except for the engine and some comfort features (mine are almost fully equipped, while Ulf's is even more basic). I certainly wouldn't describe it as a "power hog," because this one...

Quote:

As far as I recall, the original H7 bulbs in my Ibiza lasted about 5 years/65,000 km and then both failed within a few months. I replaced the first ones (a generic brand) this morning after about 1 year of use/18,000 km – again with another generic brand that I had bought on sale some time ago.

"...sounds very normal, especially since I wouldn't draw any further conclusions from a single lamp – perhaps it was due to a severe jolt or pothole."

My original headlights failed after just over three years and nearly 50,000 km, with both bulbs going within a month (just like Ulf's experience). Of the Bauhaus headlights I installed afterwards, the right one failed about nine months ago at 90,000 km, while the left one is still working now (at 99,000 km), but I expect it to fail soon as well.

The bulb that failed at 90,000 km has dark marks on the glass cylinder and melted metal pellets inside – a significant portion of the filament is missing, so it appears to have "burned out." I no longer have the original bulbs that failed, but both of those were also black.

The headlights are mounted on the metal body – I think so too.

Best regards,

January.

Bertil wrote:

My parts supplier offers me "Hella" branded bulbs for €2.95 each. I can't complain about that.

Especially since those parts really last a long time.}I would also like to buy them from there... Does your supplier happen to have a branch near Saarbrücken?

Hello!

Use standard light bulbs from reputable brands. No premium models, no "+xxx" versions, and nothing with overly fancy names.

Cheap materials are also produced cheaply.
More brightness is achieved with higher temperatures, and this drastically reduces the lifespan.

Originalbirnen. 4 Jahre im Einsatz, dann Tausch auf Bosch +60. Die fielen nach einem Jahr im Abstand von 2 Wochen beide aus. Wiedereinsatz der Originalleuchtmittel. Die sind jetzt im 5. Year....

BYE
TDI mechanics.

ulf wrote:

. . . By any chance, does your company

have a branch near Saarbrücken?

It looks bad...:
Aschaffenburg, Bamberg, Eisenach, Giessen, Gladenbach, Grünsfeld, Kaufungen, Maintal, Nuremberg, Schweinfurt, Suhl, Wiesbaden, Würzburg.

I've heard that some of the branches are apparently heavily focused on attracting a younger audience with things like "Wow, cool!" promotions. At least in our area, which is more rural, that doesn't seem to be the case.

I believe the claim that switching frequency doesn't affect lifespan is a myth. Please measure the resistance when cold, or consider the effects of the NTC (Negative Temperature Coefficient) resistor. There's so much current flowing at the moment of switch-on that it has a significant impact on lifespan.

If the lamp is already slightly damaged (or poorly manufactured), and the filament is therefore thinner in one spot, the resistance at that small point will be higher. Combined with the significantly higher inrush current (an order of magnitude of 10), this causes strong local overheating until the rest of the filament reaches operating temperature and the current decreases. (The power density at this small point is quadratically higher than normal because P=I²*R. This means that during switch-on, this small point must withstand a power level that is roughly 100 times higher than in normal operation).

Therefore, in professional equipment, the lamps are also powered up using constant current (often 1-2 times the rated current) and then maintained at a constant voltage. I suspect that a similar approach is used with PWM in the onboard computer of modern vehicles (with a steadily increasing PWM signal when turned on).

Regards,
Hendrik.

Hello, enlightened ones.
"I have observed that when switching to Trifa (Pfalz) H7 Longlife bulbs for Astra customers, the lifespan is extended by at least one year, whereas previously they would often fail within a maximum of two years."
However, the +30% option provides a noticeably brighter illumination at a still reasonable price increase.
I believe that an increase of 50% already exceeds the cost/benefit ratio.
I can't say anything about its lifespan.
Sure, here's the translation of the text from German to English:

"P.S. - Ulf"
You could implement a lamp starting circuit as a DIY project, using "two H7 bulbs connected in series for cold start and in parallel during operation," with a time window feature.
But be careful to dampen any sudden voltage spikes during the switching process...
or current limiting with a transistor circuit - this also causes a voltage drop of at least 0.7 volts, and the lamps last longer. There are a few more things that come to mind.

The failed LED bulbs (Philips Premium) had a silver/milky discoloration on the lower part. Both of them exhibited this issue. The filament of the failed bulb had two metal droplets resembling weld points at both ends, with approximately 1 mm missing between them. The second bulb is still functional but is stored in a box in the garage.

According to the Osram website, the H7 and H1 bulbs have an average light output of 1500 to 1700 lumens. The differences in brightness don't seem that significant, but the lifespan does vary. This is also specified! Interestingly, the "Allseason" versions of the H1 and H7 bulbs have a higher light output than the standard types. I assume my Philips bulbs have similar characteristics.

Früher hatte ich H1 als Steinzeittechnik in Erinnerung und meinte, daß sie nicht sonderlich hell sind. Inzwischen gibt sie zumindest Osram auch als gleich hell an wie die H7. WWhy is that?

Since I have H1 bulbs in my headlights, I would also love to install something really bright there! The lifespan is not that important, because probably no one uses their high beams constantly. However, I drive a lot on country roads at night, and you can never have enough (high beam) light. What would you recommend to me? Maybe the 100W versions??

@ Hatdriver
if you install an additional relay at the same time.
Do these 0.75? 2mm wires also hold up ?

I once had a T4 where I successfully bypassed the headlight wiring and connected the H4 lights directly to a relay.
Keyword: Voltage drop!

Unfortunately, the cable cross-section really doesn't exceed 0.75 mm². The entire lighting control system runs from the interior via a CAN bus. A control unit then switches everything using relays. The low beam and high beam headlights are controlled separately on each side by their own relay. Only the fog lights share one relay. Standard relays with a switching capacity of 30A are installed.

When measured at the battery, approximately 1 hour into driving with the engine running, a voltage of 14.2V is still available. The low beam headlights are simultaneously supplied with 13.8V, which corresponds to a voltage drop of 0.4V across the wiring. When the high beams are turned on, there is 0.5V less than what is measured at the battery.

To isolate the high current from the thin wires, a relay is used.
But what does the reflector do with the increased heat? Does it still handle 100 watts?