H7 Lampenverschleiß verringern? | Posts 96+

Hutfahrer wrote:

Roger, the Philips Nightguide headlights, which are roughly the same price, might also appeal to you in terms of light output. I actually found them to be even a little bit brighter than the Osram Silverstar when I compared them directly (installed in a Golf 4). However, I don't know how long they last.

Good point.

I'll keep an eye on that.

"@dieselmartin: I can't find anything appealing about those bluish-tinted lights. Especially on a wet road surface, their light is absorbed very strongly, and it seems like nothing is coming out of the headlights."

In addition, while the Cool Blue bulbs, based on the Silverstar technology, offer the same reduced lifespan, the color filter effectively reduces the amount of light emitted onto the road. What specifically made them appealing to you for your Golf 3?

Hutfahrer wrote:

What made the Volkswagen Golf 3 attractive to you?

A colleague had them in his Jetta 2. I then drove with the Philips Vision Plus bulbs in my Golf 2 and found them to be better than the "standard" H4 bulbs.

The Cool Blue bulbs then replaced the standard H4 bulbs in the G3, and the light was definitely better (I didn't do any comparative tests with other "special" H4 bulbs).
With "better," I mean "more light" and a more distinct contrast between light and dark areas.

I cannot confirm the absorption effect at high humidity that you also mentioned for the 3C Xenon (at least not personally). As I said, with the 3C, I would be happy to take the time to create comparison pictures (H7 - Xenon) if I happen to have a Passat with H7 headlights again.

Okay, please provide the German text you would like me to translate into English. I will only provide the translation.

Regarding the factory-installed and cheap headlights in the ALH Ibiza: I currently have 3 H7 headlight assemblies here, and one of them is still from the original factory set.
On one, the imprint "Unitec" is visible = a supermarket's generic brand.

The others have what are likely origin codes: "GK" or "CEL".

As far as I recall, the CEL is one of the original factory-installed bulbs that lasted for at least ~5 years.
Can anyone make sense of this abbreviation or figure out which brands sell these products?

Okay, gib mir den deutschen Text, den du übersetzt haben möchtest.
Spahn pears are being sold online as "Car1" (I bought two to try them out – if they're junk, at least I didn't overpay too much for them at a price of €4.71 each, which is relatively cheap for this area).

I'm familiar with those "GK" devices and I believe they are manufactured by General Electric in Hungary.

Peugeot also uses GE components extensively, but only for everything except the H7 low beam headlights. In the fog lights and high beams, they used H1 bulbs, which somehow didn't provide very good illumination. GE lamps were also used for turn signals and rear/brake lights, although since last summer, one by one, all of them have failed except for the reverse lights and fog tail light. All the lamps had a black-silver coating on the inside. Just to mention it, my 206 was manufactured in 2006!

Someone has probably retrofitted Unitec products in your place before; these parts are available from almost any hardware store. The quality isn't fundamentally bad, but nothing is particularly outstanding or bright, or anything special. They are definitely better than the currently widely offered cheap Chinese lamps found in hardware stores in this region, some of which don't even survive their first use. For the price normally asked, the Unitec range is okay, and therefore also a bit cheaper than buying from the usually closest Philips store.

I'm not familiar with those "CEL" things. Perhaps they are a Spanish supplier for SEAT, and possibly also used as original equipment?

Hutfahrer wrote:

Someone has probably retrofitted your Unitec headlights; those parts are available from almost any hardware store. However, the quality isn't inherently bad.

I was the one who did it. It lasted about a year, in contrast to approximately 5 years that you might get with CEL-H7 bulbs.

ulf wrote:

I don't believe that (for VAG TDIs) either, because the connection to the charging system is immediately cut off when the ignition is turned OFF, and voltage spikes from the alternator at low RPM might only occur much later.

Okay, I noticed this on another vehicle today; I don't notice it in mine because of the xenon headlights. Actually, mine does the same thing: when I turn on the interior light and switch off the engine, it gets brighter during the afterglow. According to my oscilloscope, the voltage goes up to 15.3V. The battery warning light in my instrument cluster is only triggered by the interior light control unit, which also only briefly sends voltage to the excitation circuit of the alternator shortly after starting the engine; then the alternator starts running automatically. But where does this voltage spike come from, especially at low RPM? It's a 150A Valeo generator; maybe it's better with Bosch or Mitsubishi types, perhaps worth measuring? I can't quite figure out why the alternator voltage should be so high when switching off the engine.

@ ulf: Sometimes one is blind! At least in the case of your Unitec headlights. I probably overlooked that! As H4 bulbs, they lasted forever in my dad's Suzuki Alto, but he replaced them because they became too dim.

"@ Aron: My 206 also exhibits the same flashing in the low beam headlights when the engine is turned off. I measured it with a meter and saw peak voltages of 15.2 to 15.6 V. This voltage spike is reproducible. That's why I turn off the lights before turning off the engine."

"My Löwen workshop somehow fixed the voltage spikes when turning off the engine with the computer. Whatever they did, the effect of the lights flickering when switching off the engine is gone. Today, the on-board voltage dropped from 14.4 to 12.6 V without any noticeable voltage spike. In any case, the peak indicator on my measuring device no longer exceeds the previous on-board voltage when the engine is running."

Perhaps it's possible to implement something similar in your vehicles as well?

Someone in my friend group has just ordered more replacements for their Ford Focus. They found them at a certain online store for €25.50 per pack of ten. The website was subtly linked in the seller's profile, and on the shop page, the entire order came to €19.60 plus €4.10 for Hermes shipping.

Delivery in workshop packaging (box of ten with individual compartments) and payment by invoice within 2 days already made a good impression! We tested all the headlights in the "reference headlight" (a disassembled Golf 4 headlight, securely mounted on a workbench) on the garage wall. Conclusion: The geometry is uniform and flawless, and the workmanship appears excellent at first glance. The headlights have the manufacturer's marking "DEPO" and an E1 approval mark. Let's see how they perform...

I was able to prevent the premature failure of the lights in my car by using a special grease on the electrical connectors.
I didn't just apply the grease to the battery, but also to all the more or less easily accessible plug and screw connections in the engine compartment.
In particular, the center of gravity located below the battery and on the motor itself.
Depending on availability, this is updated every few months.

Since then, the H7 bulbs have lasted significantly longer, even though I'm using '+50%' bulbs and have a daytime running light function enabled.
Only lamps from Osram or Philips will be installed.


Regarding the test voltage for automotive lamps.
Here's what Osram has to say about it:
Construction stress.
Question:

Why not increase the design voltage for lamps to 14 volts in order to avoid lamp failures, especially in new cars that often supply relatively high voltages?

Answer:

Because the European standard ECE legally mandates a design voltage of 13.2 volts for headlight bulbs and 13.5 volts for auxiliary lights.
A change to the design stress is only possible after a standard revision.
The current demands on lamps from the automotive industry can be better met with relatively smaller design voltages.

Here are my experiences regarding the use of H7 bulbs in a G4 socket:

flightmaster wrote:

... And lo and behold, the lifespan was almost doubled, lasting for 70,000 km. And that despite being a cheap lamp from Lidl. Best regards

.

"These are from Tesla, and they were available for purchase each autumn for the past 3 years at a price of €5.99 per pair, with a +50% discount. Unfortunately, I missed the sale this year and am still looking for suitable replacements. In my experience, their lifespan was roughly equivalent to one year (40,000 km). The brightness is significantly better than the standard ones."

Hutfahrer wrote:

If anyone is interested in the brand new and quite expensive Osram Nightbreaker bulbs: Yesterday, I installed these things in a Golf 4 with standard Hella headlights, and I can say that they are absolutely amazing.

I bought it in November of this year, and last week was the second one that burned out.
From my gut feeling, I found it to be a bit darker from the beginning compared to the Tesla mentioned above. But especially the price and lifespan are driving me crazy. I received two replacements from Osram free of charge, along with the following email:

"The illumination of the road surface depends on factors such as the lamp geometry, the position of the light source within the headlight, and the luminous flux of the lamp. The luminous flux, in turn, is a function of the temperature of the light source (filament temperature). Similarly, the lifespan of the lamp is also a function of the light source temperature. As the filament temperature increases, the illumination intensity increases on one hand, but on the other hand, the evaporation of tungsten increases, which ultimately determines the failure of the lamp."
All exterior lights on the vehicle require approval from the German Federal Motor Vehicle Office or a similarly authorized authority abroad. The tolerances for automotive lamps are very strict regarding power and luminous flux. To cater to various needs, the company OSRAM offers several different versions of the H7 lamp.
The first option is the standard version. In the interest of minimizing failure rates during a vehicle's operating life, the alternative is a so-called longlife version (LIGHT@DAY). To increase safety, meaning the early detection of obstacles on or at the edge of the road, NIGHT BREAKER offers greater reliability. With the COOL BLUE variant, the piston received a filter layer to shift the color impression towards that of discharge lamps (XENARC). However, all variants have different rated lifespans as a result. You can see the relationships in the table below:
Service life nominal values Tc.
Lamp Type: OSRAM Part Number:
H7 64210 550 h
H7 Longlife (LIGHT@DAY) 64210D - 930 hours.
H7 COOL BLUE 64210CB 200 hours.
H7 NIGHT BREAKER 64210NBR 200 hours
Of course, the values are subject to certain fluctuations and are also highly dependent on the vehicle's electrical system. For example, an increase in voltage of 5% (from a lamp test voltage of 13.2 V to a supply voltage of 13.9 V in the vehicle) will reduce the lifespan of the lamp by 50%. Furthermore, due to the very high operating temperature of the NIGHT BREAKER and COOL BLUE lamps, the filament is more sensitive to voltage spikes.
This table also shows that the lifespan values of "high-performance" lamps (NIGHT BREAKER, COOL BLUE) are significantly reduced compared to standard lamps. The packaging indicates this with the text "reduced replacement intervals" and with the symbol of a stopwatch. ""

Since I no longer want to do without the +50% brightness, I am still looking for cheaper alternatives (perhaps again the Lidl Teslas). The Nightbreakers tend to break on me almost as soon as I unpack them .

The Tesla lamps are manufactured on the same machines as the Osram lamps. The metal parts, their shapes, and the laser markings are identical. When comparing the (apparent) thickness of the filament coil and the number of windings, it is found that the Tesla +50% lamps correspond quite closely to Osram Silverstar lamps. I therefore suspect that they are relabeled Osram products.

My parts supplier has a pack of four unnamed +50% brighter lamps for €10. Subjectively, they have a slightly more yellowish light color compared to Osram Silverstar, but they also provide quite a strong illumination of the road. How long they will last is still unknown, but other cheap lamps offer significantly less brightness for that price.

Is it possible to purchase the Teslas outside of that one week at Lidl?

No, that's promotional merchandise. The evening before the next promotion starts and new items are put on display, any unsold items from the "old assortment" are moved back to the stockroom. If you speak to the staff and get lucky, you might be able to find something still available. Lidl's promotional days are Monday and Thursday.

Since it doesn't really have anything to do with "lamp wear," my light test is now presented as a separate thread.

Okay, I understand. Please provide the German text you want me to translate into English. I will only provide the translation.