Non VW; headlight bulbs keep blowing

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We’re getting through headlight (and sidelight) bulb start at a silly rate on our otherwise ultra reliable old 2006 Subaru Outbsvk; I recently got brighter Bosch ones (H7s) which lasted longer but both have now blown.

Any ideas what the problem might be? At first I thought it was just age and a coincidence they all kept going but now think there’s something else up.

Not on any Subaru forum so thought I’d ask the light experts on here.
 
Measure with a multimeter and check the alternator voltage is not too high.
 
Have you checked the voltage at the lamp? Could be the alternator regulator is shot!
 
I’ll give that a go.
Seems to be a very common issue. As a possibly related issue, when I changed the speakers the wiring was bizarre!
 
We used to have a 2004 legacy that also went through bulbs especially rear bulbs.

The newer 2011 model we now have has HID bulbs so no issue there but the rear ones still have a habit of blowing on a regular basis.

Even buying more expensive ones doesnt make any difference so I have a stock of cheep ones.

Assume it must be an inherent issue with the car design/manufacture
 
LordGozer said:
We used to have a 2004 legacy that also went through bulbs especially rear bulbs.

The newer 2011 model we now have has HID bulbs so no issue there but the rear ones still have a habit of blowing on a regular basis.

Even buying more expensive ones doesnt make any difference so I have a stock of cheep ones.

Assume it must be an inherent issue with the car design/manufacture
Click to expand...

I does seem to be a design flaw.
Called a dealer who suggested the bulbs that lasted no time before; I’ve re-ordered the Bosch Gigalight 120 as they do work well and lasted a little longer. Looks like I might just have to budget for regular replacements, seems it’s been an issue for well over a decade!
 
Apart from the little niggles they are not bad cars, there is just something about them that I love, hence why we bought another. Maybe it’s because you don’t see one everyday, well not in Hampshire anyway.

The previous model was petrol and appeared to be indestructible, shouldn’t have sold it really but that’s the power of hindsight. The current one is diesel and needs a bit more TLC but apart from a DPF issue which I ended up getting for free due the incompetent garage we have not spent that much on it over the years. Just a shame that a minibus driver took a liking to it the other week and ploughed into the back of it. Just waiting to find out if it will be written off.
 
Indeed; we bought ours as a local run around. 2.5 4 cylinder petrol that seems to be indestructible, I love the handling and it’s unbelievably good off road. I use it for Coastguard shouts and often have to go quite severely off road.
 
The new model has lost the low range gearbox which I really miss as used it a lot in slow moving traffic. Not exactly what it was designed for but never the less very useful. The furthest ours got off road was a campsite field when we used to camp before the days of the van!

There is also a lot more body roll than the last one. Very refined at speed which the 2 ltr petrol version was not, feels like a completely different car.

Hoping that we can replace it with something similar though if the current one does get written off, they are just not easy to get hold of so fingers crossed it can be repaired.
 
Bulbs replaced again today - using these again; https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00YCL23KI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

When they aren't blown they are excellent and I don't think it' the "fault" of the bulbs.

Had voltage tested - all fine, no spikes or dips. So it's a bit of a mystery. The guys (local garage, they service the Subaru, I really trust them) suggested an HID kit from a reputable seller; it seems a few are now selling them with a two year warranty. Now this isn't to be a blue light chav but mainly because the "ballast" that comes with them can cope very well with voltage spikes (they step the voltage up to 12000v so presumably step the current right down proportionally?). The Subaru has no Canbus so I would only need basic ones and the 6000k (legal limit) ones are a near pure white not that horrible blue colour. It would be a right faff on the van as it has Canbus but this could solve my light blowing issues on my basic Subaru.

Any opinions from light experts? Bear in mind this is a car worth no more than £4k, 11 years old and while I look after it as well as possible, it does get a fairly hard life on and off road.

H7 55W X5 Smart Canbus Xenon HID Conversion Kit
 
Loz said:
I fitted those to Mrs Loz's previous Smart and they were excellent..
Click to expand...
Any particular vendor or make you recommend? These seem to be the sort of thing that have countless knock offs (like those dodgy Chinese made torches!) but also some mark them right up because of a brand.
Did a bit of checking with the garage and they seemed to think the site I've linked to was decent.
 
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