I've just had my third headlamp bulb fail (same side) in as many months; this one lasted a week, purely by not driving the car... I'm not touching the bulb with my fingers when fitting. Bought the bulbs from eBay - two different batches, two different dealers. But I guess they're cheap as chips (first pair of bulbs cost a fiver; second pair was £1.50... I don't doubt they're out of a similar Chinese factory.)
Should I be buying better bulbs? If so, from where?
On the plus side, I'm getting good at changing the bulbs and can do it in only a couple of minutes now; first time it took me nearly an hour...
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Eh, why is this in Tech?
I've had too-many owse bulbs blow lately, I buys em in Wilkos, GE made in Hungary - carp!
I bought 2x40w halogens for my old Berry opti-flame last week, they've gorn already so that's £4 down the karzi.
I need to replace 2 front sidelight bulbs in my scoobie doo, which apparently is a right PITA and, I only want to do the job once so, I certainly wont be sourcing the bulbs from ebay.
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>> Should I be buying better bulbs? If so, from where?
>>
Yes is probably the short answer. Try autobulbsdirect.co.uk, I've used them a few times without problems. I bought some "genuine Phillips" xenon bulbs from Ebay for my Saab, but they were less bright than the aged ones they were replacing. A bit of googling led me to conclude they were probably fake, certainly the Osrams I replaced them with were far better. Seems that Phillips bulbs are the ones of choice when producing poor quality clones.
As an aside, I didn't realise you had an Accord Tourer. I've been doing a bit of research, and concluded that it's a possible replacement for my Saab 9-5 estate when it finally expires, being rarer than many of the popular choices, and looking a bit different, plus there is a proper auto option on the diesel. How do you rate it?
Last edited by: Mike H on Mon 20 May 13 at 11:48
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>> >> Should I be buying better bulbs? If so, from where?
>> >>
>> Yes is probably the short answer.
Yes definitely is the answer, Branded bulbs - Philips preferably.
Try autobulbsdirect.co.uk, I've used them a few times without
>> problems. I bought some "genuine Phillips" xenon bulbs from Ebay for my Saab, but they
>> were less bright than the aged ones they were replacing. A bit of googling led
>> me to conclude they were probably fake, certainly the Osrams I replaced them with were
>> far better. Seems that Phillips bulbs are the ones of choice when producing poor quality
>> clones.
Yup Ebay & Bulbs is fake town. I use autobulbs, currently running a pair of Osram super plus extended life. Too early to see if the life is extended, but the light pattern is fabulous. The lights in the lancer with these bulbs are the nest i have ever had.
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The Accord is great. Ugly as hell from behind. I bought a 140k-ish 55 diesel nearly two years ago for under £3k. I reckon this is where bangernomics motoring currently is. Only complaint is that it eats bulbs. Oh yes and the radio can be a bit rubbish sometimes. Otherwise it's comfortable to sit in, comfortable to drive on long journeys, eats up the miles and is a perfectly nice way to drive around. Still looks almost as good as new.
Will try Philips bulbs! Or something. 22 different bulbs to choose from...
www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/h1-55w-headlight-bulbs/
Last edited by: Mapmaker on Mon 20 May 13 at 12:28
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>> is. Only complaint is that it eats bulbs. Oh yes and the radio can be
>> a bit rubbish sometimes.
IIRC this model of Accord has the ellipsoidal projector lenses ? My 1999 A4 B5 (facelift model) had these and I seem to recall that bulbs didn't last as long as I had experienced in cars with conventional Fresnel lenses / reflectors. I put it down to the likelihood that heat builds up in the smaller and fully enclosed ellipsoidal lamp unit (typically used for aesthetic reasons by stylists) but this is merely my conjecture.
As other posters have commented: use good quality bulbs. There is of course still a chance that you have an electrical fault.
I test drove an Accord Tourer 2.2CTDi Executive over a weekend in 2007 but ordered an A4 B7 Avant instead due to my badge snobbery, I really wish I hadn't because I genuinely liked the Accord and the Audi turned out to be a thirsty unrefined creature. IIRC the kids particularly liked the electric tailgate on the Accord.
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I had an Accord Tourer EX iCTDI for almost nine years. I bought it new in March 2004 - it was one of the first diesels produced by Honda. The Accord was bombproof, and I never replaced a bulb the whole time I had it. Apart from early problems with the tailgate, I never had a problem with it. Seats were exceptionally comfortable, and when I changed it for the new CR-V, the bodywork was pristine.
Pity Honda are not marketing the Accord in the UK any more, otherwise I would have hung on and got one.
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About 5 years ago, my wife's Focus kept blowing bulbs and I was desperate to find out what was going wrong because bulb-changing was an hour-long knuckle-skinning experience that had to be carried out with the skill of a a gynaecologist. I had been using cheap bulbs and I was advised, on 'the other place', to only use decent branded bulbs. 'Ring', by the way, are considered as cheapies and not good enough.
I switched to Philips/Osram or OEM supplied by a main dealer and none of those replacements have blown since. The extra cost is EASILY justified by the convenience of reliability. By the way, I'm only talking about 'normal' bulbs - not the super-duper devices designed to dazzle other road-users.
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>> because bulb-changing was an hour-long knuckle-skinning experience
>> that had to be carried out with the skill of a a gynaecologist.
>>
Hmm, I had the dubious pleasure of changing the sidelight bulbs on a colleague's VW Sharan once. Same thing. Sliding access panel in the wheelarch which reveals an aperture slightly too small for an average hand. Once I'd managed to stuff my hand in the hole, I found that VW had thoughtfully mounted the bulb on a longish plastic thing to make it easy to grab and withdraw. Slight snag is that a hand grasping a plastic stick is even less inclined to fit through the hole than one not so encumbered.
The downside of that is that refitting consists of repeatedly shoving the plastic thing / new bulb assembly into the orifice in the faint hope that it'll hit the right spot at the other end of the tunnel. A system that appears to have been designed to promote skinned knuckles and blasphemy.
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Some years ago I dropped a mate off at Heathrow in his fleet BMW 320 and had the use of it while he was away. I noticed that it had a headlamp bulb out and wondered why he hadn't done something about it. Looking in the boot I found a spare bulb, so he had done something....
Retrieve manual from glovebox and turn to section labelled "Headlamp bulbs / changing.". This produced "Your BMW dealer will be pleased to assist you with this operation.". Swear at BMW.
An hour later, surrounded by plastic bits removed from the engine bay, I decided that if BMW dealers were pleased to assist with this they must all be ardent masochists.
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Don't know where i got them (online) but i fitted a pair of Philips Extreme headlight bulbs to the old MB about 5 or 6 years ago, they are both still working well.
Another set went in the Hilux and then when it got sold were transferred to the C2 (yes i have to oil my backside to stop it squeaking..;), one of that pair blew after about 4 years total use.
At work we still use Lucas 24V bulbs (haven't a clue where from but i expect a good factor), they last very well considering the hard life they get in lorry use, always were good bulbs for commercial use.
As mentioned above regarding Ring, my old boss bought thousands of the things which was just as well cos they lasted minutes in tipper work.
I've discovered one good, the only good thing about my new MAN, undo three torx screws and the entire front lamp assembly hinges out for easy access to all bulbs.
Last edited by: gordonbennet on Wed 29 May 13 at 20:46
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Honda Accord Tourer - Car eating headlights - Dog
